Disabled People More Likely to Be Victims of Crime

by Matt Kelley · 2009-10-05 16:45:00 UTC
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A new study shows that people with physical, mental or emotional disabilities are at least 1.5 times more likely to be the victims of crime in the U.S.

Drawing data from 2007 crimes, the study found disabled women to be particularly vulnerable, and one in five disabled crime victims responding to a survey said they believed their disability was the motivation for the crime. Other research has shown that disabled children can be twice as likely to be the victims of sexual abuse than non-disabled kids. Another study a few years ago found that one in four people with severe mental illness is the victim of a crime each year.

These studies underscore the need for victims' services to be particularly attuned to the needs and challenges of people with disabilities, and for law enforcement agencies to be aware that disabled individuals may not always report crimes.

When law enforcement agencies and victims' service providers make an extra effort to reach out to disabled individuals, they increase the chances to stopping ongoing abuse and protecting the safety of some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Photo by Brad & Sabrina

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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