  Mood: SAD Playing: 3 DOORS DOWN: DUCK AND RUN As I told you, Domestic Violence and the Disabled is not something that you can cover in one article. I don't mean to seem harsh to the people who work for Domestic Violence Hotlines or Organizations but somewhere, along the line, they forgot about Abused & Disabled Spouses.
They also forgot that some Abuse Victims have Disabled or Special Needs Children and no one ever planned a safety net for either of us. Only 4 states have laws requiring assistance be given to what is the most vulnerable victims of Domestic Violence. Before I get to my story let me give you a bit of background on the situation. To my knowledge there are few reports on the subject- at best we are appended to a study helping 'Normal' Spouses. The most in depth of all the studies and reports on the subject was Federal Grant Project and the reason I know it is because I was PATIENT X. That was several years ago and I have contacted the following people or organizations and couldn't give me anything more recent than 1998. Contacted: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Electronic Network on Violence Against Women, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, The Spring, HELPU Fire & Life Safety At-Risk Populations and First Responders: At-risk Safety Training Project, George Anderson of the Domestic Violence Batterers Intervention Vacillator Training (he being THE George Anderson of the Anderson & Anderson Domestic Violence Curriculum.
This curriculum is currently in use throughout the United States, Canada, South Africa, Argentina, Russia, Korea, Mexico and Chile! ), the Seattle University School of Law's Hague Convention Project (which collects information on international domestic violence and on parental child abduction cases involving domestic violence and the Hague Convention), The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM evolved from the first Day of Unity observed in October, 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV).
The UC Davis Heath Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Violence Against Women (or VAW), and The Internal Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICAD). This is what the 'Experts' have to say on the subject: Excerpt From: The Prevalence of Abuse among Women with Disabilities: Interventions for Abused Women with Disabilities: There have been no studies that examine the existence, feasibility, or effectiveness of abuse interventions for women with disabilities. Women with disabilities face serious barriers to accessing existing programs to help women remove violence from their lives. In both the disability rights movement and the battered women's movement, it is generally acknowledged that programs to assist abused women are often architecturally inaccessible, lack interpreter services for deaf women, and are unable to assist women who need assistance with daily self care or medications.
In addition to the types of abuse experienced by all women, women with physical disabilities are sometimes abused by withholding needed orthotic equipment (wheelchairs, braces), medications, transportation, or essential assistance with personal tasks, such as dressing or getting out of bed. Excerpt From: Paper on Physical and Sexual Abuse of The Disabled: Physical and sexual abuse can happen to anyone, including people with disabilities. Disabled individuals may even be at a higher risk for abuse than others simply because they may not have the physical ability for self-defense.
However, it is generally non-disabled persons who report the majority of abuse cases. There are many reasons why an individual with a disability who is being abused might not report their case including the fact that the abuser may be the person that the disabled individual depends on for their care. Types of abuse include assault, neglect spousal abuse, sexual assault, and other forms of violence. Excerpt from: The Domestic Violence & The Disabled: But leaving is seldom if ever something a woman or a disabled person can do.
There are few if any shelters which can help the disabled. Most shelters are already full. There is little funding to support the disabled victim of domestic violence or to help him or her find a safe haven, a shelter, a new apartment. According to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings of 1990, there are three times as many animal shelters in the U.S. as there are shelters for battered women. When I called the local Woman's Shelter I was told that they could not help me. The reason was that they "...had no facilities to deal with your medications, seizures or personal care. " I could not stay with them. In other words, "There was no room at the Inn. " Tomorrow: Running the Gauntlet in a Wheelchair. Slan leat, Elaine AKA Cabin Fever 
