Key Challenges in the Field of Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women

OverviewOverarching ChallengesBarriers to Services Barriers to Criminal Justice SystemStrategies for Overcoming These Challenges

Overview

January – March 2005

Conducted informational interviews with a diverse group of key stakeholders

Convened a focus group with a subset of participants

Informational Interview Goals

To better understand the status of the field of violence against women with disabilities and Deaf women (VAWD/DW)

To identify critical issues within the field and practice

To identify barriers to serving victims with disabilities and Deaf victims effectively

Focus Group Goals

To further identify and explore key challenges and strengths in the field

To generate ideas to improve the OVW “Disability Grant” program

To generate ideas to improve the training and technical assistance provided to grantees

Overarching Challenges

New FieldNon-Existent or Ineffective CollaborationsCompeting Frameworks

New Field

Increased acknowledgement of VAWD/DW

Limited services exist to specifically serve victims with disabilities and Deaf women

Few long-term plans have been developed to address these needs

Real safety needs exist for women with disabilities and Deaf women in most communities

Non-Existent or Ineffective Collaborations

Few communities have developed collaborations to address VAWD/DW.

Communities that do develop collaborations typically face a number of challenges.

Limited in scope (i.e. not broad-based) Collaborative structure not equitable for all partners Tokenism of survivors and people with disabilities

Challenges with Existing Collaborations cont’d…

Difficulty reaching consensus and a unified vision

Competing frameworks emerge

Work of building a collaboration is not supported

Foundational Issues

Definitions of disability

Definitions of violence

Causes/contributing factors of violence

Target population

Foundational Issues…

Community-wide strategies for ensuring access to services

Individual-level intervention strategies for victims

Other philosophical differences

Barriers to Accessible Services for Survivors with Disabilities and Deaf Women

Barriers Within the Disability Field

Screening and response protocols lacking

Limited inter-agency collaboration and cross-referrals

No advocacy agenda around violence and abuse issues

Barriers Within the Deaf Field

Lack of information, education and attention to the issue

Limited collaborations with dv/sa and disability organizations

Limited capacity of programs specifically for Deaf victims

Barriers within the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Fields

Mental health and substance abuse agencies do not screen for abuse.

Treatment models do not appropriately address trauma and abuse.

Barriers Within the DV/SA Field

Lack of physical accessibility:

Shelters and rape crisis centers are not ADA compliant

Providers do not understand the resources required to become ADA compliant

Barriers Within the DV/SA Field

Lack of programmatic accessibility:

Women with mental health and addiction issues are screened out of shelter programs

Shelters restrict PCAs

Program and outreach materials are written in inaccessible language

Staff lack skills to communicate with a wide range of women

Little to no outreach to the disability community

Barriers Within the Stalking Field

The stalking field is just beginning to think about issues for women with disabilities and Deaf women, which include:

Limited ability for victims who rely on transportation to change travel routes

Limited ability for some victims with intellectual disabilities to maintain a stalking log

Assistive technologies can be intercepted by stalkers

Barriers within the Criminal Justice System

Challenges for Victims in the Criminal Justice System

Lack of understanding about disability presents challenges to:

Identifying abuse

Conducting proper investigations

Making appropriate accommodations

Elements Needed to Move the Work Ahead

Ways OVW Can Support Work

Provide funding for longer-periods of time

Support collaboration building and planning activities

Foster authentic collaborations

Encourage representation of people with disabilities in all aspects of work

Place greater emphasis on accessibility and include accountability measures to make sure improvements are made to services

Ways OVW Can Support cont’d…

Provide a team of experts as a resource to grantees Place a strong TA emphasis on:

Building multidisciplinary collaborations Strategic planning Needs assessment Sustainability Evaluation Accessibility Disability 101.5 Violence 101.5

Establish a shared knowledgebase