Answered Questions is a monthly resource for the Spanish language Disability Community that fills an information need. This month’s question is My partner and I are having discussions with our teen with disabilities about partner violence and what to do in that situation. Where can we find research, resources, and information about partner violence related to people with disabilities that we can share with our teen? This edition of Answered Questions includes items that discuss advancing evidence-informed responses to intimate partner violence; partner violence, reproductive coercion, and unintended pregnancy; disability, partner violence, and mental health outcomes; and mediating the role of depressive symptoms in female survivors with disabilities; among other topics. More about Answered Questions.
NIDILRR-Funded Projects:
Women with disabilities face unique risk factors for intimate partner violence and experience higher rates of abuse than women without disabilities, yet research on this problem is limited and services tailored to their diverse needs are scarce. The project, Advancing Evidence-Informed Responses to Intimate Partner Violence Among Women with Disabilities (in English), refines and pilot tests The Empowerment Focused Intervention, an intervention for female survivors of intimate partner violence with disabilities. The goal of this project is to develop an evidence-informed intimate partner violence intervention that has the potential to reach many women with disabilities, is cost-efficient, and can be replicated at domestic violence agencies.
The Our Lives: Safe and Strong Program Toolkit (in English) is a set of two web-based tools for abuse awareness, support, and safety planning. One is specialized to the abuse experiences of people who identify as male and the other for people who identify as female and both feature people with diverse disabilities and identities speaking about their own abuse experiences. These tools may be used privately, in the company of a trusted person, and may be used as educational information for family, friends, or support providers of a person with disabilities who is or may be experiencing intimate partner violence.
From the NARIC Collection:
The article, Intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, and unintended pregnancy in women with disabilities (in English), explores the perspectives of women with disabilities who had experienced an unintended pregnancy as a result of reproductive coercion. The study revealed three broad themes related to the ways in which physical violence and reproductive coercion elevated women’s risk of unintended pregnancy: Inadequate healthcare provider or system response; disability-related risks for intimate partner violence; and resource needs to optimize safety. The findings of this study suggest that healthcare providers must screen for intimate partner violence and reproductive coercion and provide the necessary supports and resources for women with disabilities experiencing unintended pregnancy because of violence.
The article, Disability, sexual orientation, and the mental health outcomes of intimate partner violence: A comparative study of women in the US (in English), discusses a study that examined the impact of the intersection of disability and sexual orientation on women’s post-intimate partner violence mental health outcomes including: difficulty sleeping, missing school or work, or reporting some post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and a self-reported subjective measure of wellbeing. The study found that bisexual women are significantly more likely than straight women to have disabilities prior to experiencing all forms of intimate partner violence and that women with disabilities are significantly more likely than women without disabilities to experience the negative mental health consequences of that violence.
Mental Health:
The mental health consequences of surviving intimate partner violence include depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Violence Exposure and Disability in Colombian Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, the Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms discusses a study that looked at identifying the mediating role of depressive symptoms on the relationship between intimate partner violence and disability. The study found a complete mediating role of depressive symptoms on the relationship between the severity of partner violence and the level of disability for the female participants in this study. The authors suggest further research to define strategies to prevent and address partner violence, depressive symptoms, and disability in this population.
Women with Disabilities:
The report, Violence and Women with Disabilities, shares a general overview of violence towards women with disabilities, including intimate partner violence. The report’s objectives are to raise awareness about this topic to the general population and provide information to policymakers, researchers, service professionals, and other stakeholders. The report provides a series of recommendations of how to contribute to the social debate on intimate partner violence against women with disabilities and that promote research on this topic.
Resources:
- NARIC’s reSearch series shared research from across the community on Intimate Partner Violence, Domestic Violence, and People with Disabilities (in English). This issue of the series provides background information on intimate partner violence and people with disabilities, along with abstracts on research from the NIDILRR community and beyond on this topic.
- Disability affects more than 1 in 4 women and 1 in 5 men in the US and has been associated with a greater risk of experiencing violence in comparison to people without disabilities. Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Among People with Disabilities (in English), a fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), discusses the results of the National intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey which show that women and men with disabilities are at increased risk for experiencing sexual violence and intimate partner violence. The factsheet shares links to strategies and approaches that may help reduce violence against people with disabilities. Finally, the factsheet shares resources for people with disabilities who have experiences sexual or intimate partner violence.
- Partner Violence, an article from MedlinePlus, provides a definition of partner violence and discusses the different types of partner violence. It includes information on the signs of partner violence, what to do if you are experiencing it, and what to do if someone you know is experiencing partner violence. Finally, the article shares links to learn more about partner violence and links to research on this topic.
Further Research:
REHABDATA:
PubMed:
International:
About Answered Questions Each month, we look through the searches on our blog and through the information requests made by our patrons who speak Spanish and pick a topic that fills the largest need. Each resource mentioned above is associated with this month’s information need. We search the various Spanish language news sources and feeds throughout the month to bring you these articles. With the exception of the NIDILRR Projects, From the NARIC Collection, and Further Investigation, all the linked articles and resources are in Spanish – any that are in English will be clearly marked.
