Empowering women with intellectual and developmental disabilities to resist abuse in interpersonal relationships: Promising interventions and practices

Abstract

Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience heightened rates of domestic violence and all forms of abuse in their interpersonal relationships (e.g., Barger et al. Intellect Dev Disabil 47(4):249-262, 2009; Ward et al. Intellect Dev Disabil 48(2):89-98, 2010). After reviewing studies conducted between 2000 and 2010, Hughes et al. (Rehabil Psychol 56(4):302-319, 2011) reported that up to 90% of women with IDD experience some form of abuse during their lifetime. Almost all of the abuse is perpetrated by someone who is known to the victim, including intimate partners, family members, and paid caregivers (e.g., Stevens. J Ment Health Res Intellect Disabil 5:168-186, 2012). In the present chapter, the terms abuse and maltreatment are used interchangeably to refer to the full range of intentional harm experienced by individuals with IDD. This encompasses the various terms appearing in the literature to describe sexual abuse, physical abuse, and verbal/emotional abuse.