Why are special needs children so often victims of abuse?

The review indicated that children with disabilities are 3.7 times more likely than non-disabled children to be victims of any sort of violence, 3.6 times more likely to be victims of physical violence, and 2.9 times more likely to be victims of sexual violence. read more

Children with any type of disability are 3.44 times more likely to be a victim of some type of abuse compared to children without disabilities. (Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). Looking specifically at individuals with intellectual disability, they are 4 to 10 more times as likely to be victims of crime than others without disabilities (Sobsey, et al., 1995). read more

Abuse of Children With Intellectual Disabilities (PDF - 62 KB) Davis (2009) Discusses the physical and behavioral signs of abuse in children with intellectual disabilities, strategies for preventing abuse, and the consequences of being abused. read more