Non-verbal Symptoms of abuse

[Kayla55]

Indicators and signs

Common indicators and signs that may help a service to recognise and respond to incidents of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

www.dsdsatsip.qld.gov.au

The disability rights and justice movement and the reproductive health, rights, and justice movements must come together for nuanced discussions of the silent epidemic of sexual violence against disabled people.

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/sexual-violence-disability-community/

National Crime Victimization Survey, people with disabilities were more than three times more likely than nondisabled people to experience serious violent crime such as rape and sexual assault. In addition, having multiple disabilities can increase a person’s risk of rape and sexual assault, and children with mental health or intellectual disabilities are almost five times more likely than their nondisabled peers to experience sexual abuse.

 

[AspieChris]

Criminals tend to be lazy and opportunistic. Disabled people fight back a lot less, and are more likely to be confused about what was done to them, rather than going straight to the police.

It’s a terrible thing. Worse when it’s a child. I speak from experience. I was molested at age 10 and didn’t even realize it was a bad thing for many years. There was no conversation about sex when I was growing up. My ASD left me confused into thinking I was being shown affection and I told nobody. And the man who did it to me, also did it to several other children in my neighborhood. If I had understood that it was wrong, I would have told my parents and he would have gone to jail instead of hurting other children.

 

[Kayla55]

Criminals tend to be lazy and opportunistic. Disabled people fight back a lot less, and are more likely to be confused about what was done to them, rather than going straight to the police.

It’s a terrible thing. Worse when it’s a child. I speak from experience. I was molested at age 10 and didn’t even realize it was a bad thing for many years. There was no conversation about sex when I was growing up. My ASD left me confused into thinking I was being shown affection and I told nobody. And the man who did it to me, also did it to several other children in my neighborhood. If I had understood that it was wrong, I would have told my parents and he would have gone to jail instead of hurting other children.

I became so used to unhappy experiences that you could say I didn't know any better but deep inside subconscious we know something is amiss. I'm now at point where I've lived with broken spirit for so long and I wish when I was younger I learnt to say no, to make my life the way I wanted and to not have reached point where happiness was unreachable.

I'm sorry for what happened to you, the abuse in my life or rather nowadays we don't hit kids and have recognised emotional neglect was enough to tarnish me. This world isn't a nice place and I never we anted to have kids in this world, I suppose life pushes us beyond our limits all the time.