Intellectually Disabled Victims of Sexual Abuse in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

People with intellectual disabilities face an exceptionally high risk of being victims of sexual abuse and thereby becoming involved in the criminal justice system. Coping effectively with this system is enough of a challenge for those without disability, but it is far more difficult for the intellectually disabled. As a result, greater attention needs to be paid to their needs. From the opposite perspective, dealing with people with intellectual disabilities is a challenge for experts in forensic and criminal law practice. This short report presents the background, design, and preliminary findings of a study examining how far the police, judges, prosecutors, forensic-psychiatric experts, forensic-psychological experts, and social workers are able to ensure that victims with intellectual disabilities experience procedural fairness by taking their particular needs into account in everyday criminal proceedings.

Sexual Crime Against Schoolchildren With Disabilities: A Nationwide Prospective Birth Cohort Study

“…Surveys of offenders revealed that they select victims according to their lack of confidence as an easy target (Conte et al, 1989; Elliott et al, 1995; Niehaus et al, 2013).…”

“…Children with intellectual disabilities can have difficulties in communication both in routine, adverse and emergency situations. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are more vulnerable due to personal and family risk factors, which leads to an imbalance of power between them and their environment that increase their probability of becoming a victim of sexual abuse (Niehaus et al, 2013). Their limited cognitive capacity reduces the ability to appropriately interpret danger signals, for example, when they are intoxicated (Tyler et al, 1998) and their low self-esteem makes it harder to set limits and successfully fending off violence (Niehaus et al, 2013).…”

“…People with intellectual disabilities have higher risk of sexual victimization due to their limitations that lower the risk of the offender being reported, charged, and prosecuted for an offense. The child’s disability may be a challenge to the willingness of the system to adjust to an otherness to compensate the disadvantages that this otherness may entail (Niehaus et al, 2013).…”

“…Some children with physical and mental disabilities have low self-esteem related to their disability and may feel that they somehow deserve maltreatment (Lightfoot, 2014). Negative feedback from their social environment contributes to low self-esteem (Niehaus et al, 2013). The broader society’s response to disability, including discrimination, lack of support, and lack of opportunities, could increase the risk (Lightfoot, 2014).…”