Disability abuse

Disability
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Disability portal Category: Disability Category: Disability lists

It has been noted that disabled people are disproportionately affected by disability abuse, and such activity has been cited as a hate crime. The abuse is not limited to those who are visibly disabled such as wheelchair-users or physically deformed such as those with a cleft lip but also those with learning disabilities such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, and other disabilites, including Asperger's syndrome, Down syndrome and dyspraxia. In the latter case, this is linked to a poor ability in physical education, and this behaviour can be encouraged by the unthinking physical education teacher. Abuse of the disabled is not limited to schools. There are many known cases in which the disabled have been abused by staff of a "care institution", such as the case revealed in a BBC Panorama programme on a Castlebeck care home (Winterbourne View) near Bristol which led to its closure and the suspension and sacking of some of the staff.

There is an additional problem that those with learning disabilities are often not as able to explain things to other people so are more likely to be disbelieved or ignored if they do complain.

See also

• Developmental disability abuse and vulnerability
• Disablism
• Disability hate crime
• Institutional abuse
• Sexual abuse of people with developmental disabilities

Further reading

• Baumhoefner, Arlen Financial Abuse of the Deaf And Hard of Hearing Exposed (2006)
• Fitzsimons, Nancy M. & Sobsey, Dick Combating Violence & Abuse of People With Disabilities: A Call to Action (2009)