Disabilities and domestic violence

The Health Resource Center for Women with Disabilities (HRCWD) of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is launching a comprehensive Domestic Violence Services Program that will include a 24-hour domestic violence hotline for people with disabilities living in Cook and surrounding counties. The new program will employ certified crisis counselors to handle the domestic violence hotline. Additionally, in an effort to expand reporting and detection of abuse among its patients, the Institute’s clinicians will begin screening for abuse among patients seen in its Women’s Clinic.
Evidence suggests that women with disabilities may experience domestic violence at rates higher than able-bodied women. Domestic Violence is denoted as a pattern of coercive behaviors designed to dominate an intimate partner or family member through fear or intimidation. Types of abuse against people with disabilities include physical restraint or confinement, sexual assault, emotional abandonment and rejection, and denial to access or misuse of financial resources. Many barriers prevent victims from getting help, such as inaccessible services, fear of caregiver retaliation, lack of appropriate resources, and discrimination by service providers.
Judy PankoReis, director of HRCWD, says that a domestic violence advocacy and support program run by women with disabilities is necessary considering that many people with disabilities, women in particular, are victims of abuse. “We will expand the Resource Center to provide outreach, peer counseling, support and the appropriate referrals to help relieve people of abusive situations. We know that people with disabilities are most often abused by someone they know and that this abuse occurs regularly; it’s time to provide a resource to empower victims of domestic violence by increasing access and awareness to necessary services,” PankoReis said. The Institute’s Resource Center also provides support groups, mentorship for teenagers, and a user-friendly medical clinic for women with disabilities.
The 24-hour Domestic Violence hotline is (312) 238-7238; for TTY users: (312) 238-7236.