Women with disabilities experience abuse at similar or higher rates than women in the general population. In addition to experiencing emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, women with disabilities may also experience disability-specific forms of abuse for prolonged periods of time and from multiple perpetrators. To promote awareness of this serious problem, this article offers a brief overview of the general domestic violence literature and a critical review of existing research regarding the abuse of women with disabilities. Following these reviews, we offer an overview of practical implications and existing resources in this important area. buse is a significant health issue that many women with disabilities face (Berkeley Planning despite the seriousness of the problem, very limited information on the abuse experiences of women with disabilities is available. The risk for abuse that women with disabilities

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Several studies have documented disproportionately low sexual and body esteem in women with high degrees of physical impairment. Moreover, other studies have begun to examine the problem of intimate partner and other forms of abuse in women with physical disabilities. In this article we examine the link between low sexual and body esteem and intimate partner abuse in women with physical disabilities based on findings obtained from an in-depth qualitative study. Findings indicate that women with high degrees of physical impairment are more likely to perceive themselves as sexually inadequate and unattractive than women with mild impairment. These negative perceptions, when combined with a strong desire to be partnered, increased women's vulnerability to getting into and staying in abusive relationships over time. Major themes presented in the article include: societal devaluation, low sexual and body esteem, preference for non-disabled men, desire to be partnered, and relationship decision-making. We depict the relationships between each of these themes in a simple model to further aid the reader's understanding.KEY WORDS: intimate partner violence; sexual esteem; body esteem; women with physical disabilities.Sexual and body esteem in women with physical disabilities are important factors that affect self-esteem and mental health. Sexual esteem refers to one's sense of self as a sexual being, ranging from sexually

The importance of spirituality for individuals coping with and recovering from trauma has been widely recognized. Despite this recognition, little information is available addressing the influence of spirituality on the abuse experiences of women surviving intimate partner violence (IPV). This paper begins to amend this gap in knowledge by examining the influence of spirituality on the abuse experiences of American Muslim women, a large and growing population. Findings from this qualitative study indicate that spirituality provided participants with an important means of coping with ongoing violence while in many instances also creating barriers to safety. These findings underscore the complex role spirituality may play as a source of both strength and vulnerability in American Muslim women's response to IPV.

Recent qualitative studies indicate that maltreatment of women with disabilities by health care providers is a serious quality of care issue. To begin to address this problem, we conducted a secondary analysis of data derived from three qualitative studies of abuse of women with disabilities. Findings identified Invalidation as a central process underlying maltreatment. Invalidation was characterized by health care providers Taking Over care, Discounting, Objectifying, and Hurting women with disabilities during health care encounters. These findings highlight the need to educate health care providers about social and interpersonal aspects of disability and address the problem of Invalidation in health care settings.