The Most Vulnerable

For years it's been known that people with developmental disabilities are much more likely to be victims of sexual predators than the general population.  National Public Radio's Joseph Shapiro is in the midst of a series on this topic that is important for families and loved ones of our vulnerable populations.  If you have a member of your family with a developmental disability, you will benefit by listening to it.  (Copy and paste this link to access the series https://www.npr.org/people/2101159/joseph-shapiro)

16% of  typically developing men and about 25% of  typically developing women are known to have been sexually abused as reported by Perez-Fuentes et al in a 2012 study.  Think of that for a second.  One of every four women and more than one of every 6 men you meet have been sexually abused.  That's folks without any disability.  It's an astonishing number, one that's been known for a long time.

Now think of people with developmental disabilities.  It's a broad term including people with autism, Down syndrome and other chromosomal anomalies, intellectual disabilities.  It's a population of about 56 million people in the US.  Out of  321 million, it's almost one of every 5 persons in our country.  People with developmental disabilities are sexually abused at a rate that's 7 times higher than the general population.  And the victims are often, as Shapiro noted yesterday, unable to testify against their assailants as they are non-verbal.  Shapiro's report involved the incredulous account of a staff member in a residential home caught in the midst of a rape by a co-worker.  He's pleading innocent in court.  Imagine. 

I have worked with families who  have taken the responsible, but tragically sad decision to petition the courts to have their adult daughters with significant DD's sterilized so they can avoid the trauma of pregnancy should their children be raped when in residential care.  The sadness of having to take such measures to protect one's developmentally disabled child is incalculable. 

Due to the level of needed care, some people with DD's need residential care.  Public policy has encouraged de-institutionalization, the merits of which can be debated.  What is not up for debate are policies that limit the proper staffing, training and supervision of staff to ensure proper levels of care. 

It is said that as a society, we will be judged on the basis of how we treat our weakest members, how we care for those who cannot care for themselves and how we protect the vulnerable.  Protecting children and the disabled isn't a mission that has its time.  It is the mission of society for all time.