Persons With Disabilities

Dependence on caregivers

Many people with disabilities depend on caregivers — paid or unpaid — for daily personal care, transportation, communication, and housing. When the abuser is also a caregiver, the survivor faces the prospect of losing essential support if they report. This dependency is one of the most powerful silencing mechanisms in disability-related abuse.

Communication barriers

Survivors who are nonverbal, use augmentative communication devices, or have significant cognitive disabilities may face profound barriers to disclosing abuse. Standard interview protocols and reporting systems are often inaccessible. Trained forensic interviewers and disability-competent advocates are essential — and often unavailable.

Credibility challenges

People with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities are frequently disbelieved when they report abuse. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and even family members may question whether a survivor with a cognitive disability can accurately perceive, remember, or report what happened to them. Research consistently shows that people with intellectual disabilities are reliable reporters of their own experiences — but this bias remains a serious obstacle.

Institutional settings

People with disabilities who live in group homes, residential facilities, or other institutional settings are at heightened risk. Abuse in these settings is often perpetrated by staff, concealed by institutional culture, and difficult to report through channels that are controlled by the same institution.

Lack of accessible information

Information about sexual abuse, consent, and reporting options is often not available in accessible formats — plain language, Braille, large print, American Sign Language, or augmentative communication. Survivors who have never received accessible information about their rights may not know that what happened to them was wrong, or that they have options.

Fear of losing independence

Reporting abuse may trigger investigations that result in a survivor being moved to a more restrictive setting, losing a housing placement, or having their legal decision-making capacity questioned. These fears — often well-founded — discourage reporting and keep survivors trapped in abusive situations.

Isolation

People with disabilities are more likely to be socially isolated than the general population. Isolation limits access to trusted people who might recognize abuse, provide support, or help a survivor navigate reporting. Abusers often deliberately cultivate isolation as a control tactic.

Contact a disability rights advocate first

Before contacting law enforcement or adult protective services, consider reaching out to your state's Protection & Advocacy (P&A) agency (find yours at ndrn.org) or a disability rights organization. A disability rights advocate can help you understand your options, navigate the reporting process, and ensure your communication needs are accommodated.

Request accessible accommodations

You have the right to request accommodations throughout the reporting and investigation process — including a sign language interpreter, a plain-language explanation of the process, the use of your augmentative communication device, or the presence of a support person. Make these requests explicitly and in writing if possible.

Contact Adult Protective Services (APS)

Every state has an Adult Protective Services agency that investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults with disabilities. APS can investigate abuse in both community and institutional settings. Find your state APS agency through the Eldercare Locator (eldercare.acl.gov) or your state's department of social services.

Report to law enforcement

Sexual abuse of a person with a disability is a crime. You can report to local law enforcement (police or sheriff's department) or, if the abuse occurred in a federally funded program, to the U.S. Department of Justice. Request a forensic interviewer trained in disability-competent interviewing techniques.

Report institutional abuse to the licensing authority

If the abuse occurred in a group home, residential facility, or other licensed setting, report to the state agency that licenses and oversees that facility — typically the state department of developmental services, mental health, or health. Facilities are required to investigate and report certain incidents.

Seek legal representation

A civil lawsuit may be available against the individual abuser and the institution that employed or supervised them. Disability rights legal organizations and plaintiff-side attorneys experienced in abuse cases can evaluate your options. See our Find an Attorney page for guidance.