NCJ Number
188027
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2001 Pages: 393-417
Date Published
April 2001
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the perceptions and experiences of women with physical and cognitive disabilities related to abuse by formal and informal personal assistance providers.
Abstract
Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 72 women to explore how women define personal-assistance abuse, the barriers they face in handling abuse, and strategies they recommend to prevent and/or stop abuse. Key themes that emerged included the role of social and personal boundary confusion and power dynamics within the personal assistance services relationship; expanded forms of abuse experienced by women with disabilities; the complexity of using family and friends as providers; personal, social, and systemic barriers that impede women's response to abuse; and the benefits of supports that validate women's experiences and bolster their capacities to prevent and manage abuse. This study shows that abuse has a distinctive meaning for disabled women who require personal assistance services. This meaning is integrally related to the experiences of dependence and interdependence in disability, and it encompasses the life experiences of disabled women, who may require substantial assistance with personal care, equipment, medication, finances, and auxiliary services. Because inappropriate withdrawal or restriction of access to these resources may constitute abuse, women with disabilities are at increased risk of abuse in their relationships with providers and institutions. Current definitions of domestic abuse must be expanded to include abuse in the provider-consumer relationship; the experience of women with disabilities should not be viewed as a special case but as a part of the continuum of women's issues. 19 references