Intimate Partner Violence Against Women with Disabilities: Implications for Disability Service System Case Management Practice

Abstract

Violence against women is a top human rights issue for women with disabilities, a population that is more at risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Existing research on violence against women with disabilities has pointed to the need for population-based sampling, the inclusion of women of non-White descent, and the use of literature-based definitions of IPV, conditions all met by this study. Women with disabilities were less likely to report past-year IPV in the form of verbal abuse, but more likely to report threats and physical violence. Case management implications relate to the need for disability-sensitive IPV assessment training at all state disability offices and the need to facilitate the accessibility of traditional IPV systems.