2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

This interactive lecture format presentation will provide education concerning the growing social problem of abuse within the disability community to persons with disabilities, health care providers, educators and advocates. Research shows a 26% to 90% range for adults with disabilities who have experienced some form of abuse in their lifetime (Hughes et al., 2011). Children with a disability are 1.68 times more likely to have experienced abuse or neglect than children without a disability (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Although it may be assumed that health care providers would be the first line of defense in this epidemic, it has been found that only 15% of women with disabilities report being asked by a healthcare provider whether abuse was a concern and/or if they wanted education on how they could be safer (Curry et al., 2011). When healthcare providers are not the primary advocates for abuse victims it may fall to persons with disabilities, and other allies, to begin to make changes within the system to help decrease the number of people who experience abuse. Isolation and attitudinal barriers increase vulnerability for abuse. To eliminate these unacceptably high incidence rates we must first have an understanding of the types of abuse which occur, the barriers to reporting abuse and the unique factors which cause increased vulnerability to abuse within the disability community. When people with disabilities attempt to seek assistance, services are often inaccessible to those with varying disabilities, leaving these individuals to stay in abusive situations (Beck-Massey, 1999). Through education people can begin to work together to eliminate barriers to reporting and increase the likelihood that abuse is eradicated. The presentation will end with an open conversation concerning ways in which we can all work together to decrease the frequency of abuse within the disability community.

Restorative justice approaches to sexual assault and intimate partner violence move us away from a primarily punitive criminal justice model toward a more holistic focus on survivors, the community, and society. This structured discussion seeks to engage participants in conversations about the many ways that a restorative justice model could be applied to sexual assault and intimate partner violence in the US and abroad. Four guiding questions will be used to promote discussion: 1) What does restorative justice mean in the context of sexual assault and intimate partner violence?; 2) How do restorative justice approaches align with survivor-centric, trauma-informed models of intervention?; 3) What are the implications of a restorative justice approach for prevention efforts?; and 4) How can we ensure that prevention and intervention efforts are culturally informed and appropriate? Three speakers will lead the discussion by sharing lessons learned from their own work in the field. The first speaker will describe culturally responsive approaches to therapy and intervention for survivors of sexual assault and sex trafficking. The second speaker will consider the benefits of a public health perspective for framing prevention and intervention efforts for sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The third speaker will offer insights into community-based intervention, prevention, and research models to address sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Throughout the discussion, participants will be encouraged to address the root causes of violence; consider survivor-centric, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate models of prevention and intervention; and discuss the myriad ways that we, as feminists, can be involved in restoring justice for those affected by sexual assault and intimate partner violence both at home and abroad.