A study published Online First in The Lancet, reveals that disabled adults are at significantly higher risk of violence, compared to those without disabilities. According to the researchers, adults with mental illness are are almost four times more likely to experience violence, compared with adults without a disability, with an estimated 1 in 4 having been the victim of violence in the past year.
Even though numerous studies have indicated that individuals with disabilities are more likely to experience violence, this is the first study to confirm the extent of this risk and the association with various types of disability.
Leader of study, Mark Bellis from Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK, said:
“About 3% of individuals with non-specific impairments [e.g. physical, mental, or emotional, or health problems that restrict activities] will have experienced violence within the past 12 months, rising to almost a quarter of people with mental illnesses. Lifetime exposure to violence, and the proportions of individuals with disability who are directly threatened with violence or otherwise live in fear of becoming a victim, are likely to be substantially higher than our estimate.”
The researchers revealed the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of research on violence against disabled adults within the past year. The team evaluated 26 studies involving more than 21,500 disabled people from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Taiwan.
Results from their evaluation revealed that the prevalence of any recent violence (physical, intimate partner, or sexual), was high in adult individuals with intellectual impairments (6.1%) and in those with mental illnesses (24.3%).
According to the researchers’ estimates, people with a mental illness are almost four times more likely to be the victim or violence compared with those without a disability, and disabled adults are 1.5 more likely to experience violence.
Globally, approximately 15% of adults are disabled. This figure is expected to increase, as a result of a global rise in chronic diseases, and the impact of an aging population.
Limitations of the study included gaps in the types of disability and violence analyzed and that the study was almost entirely restricted to high-income countries:
“Fundamental prevalence and risk data are absent for most regions of the world, particularly low-income and middle-income countries (where 80% of the world’s disabled live.”
The researchers conclude:
“Understanding the magnitude of violence against affected groups is the first step in the public health approach to violence prevention…Our review shows that the crucial precursor to worldwide action being taken to address violence against people with disability is largely absent. To begin to address these gaps in the evidence, high quality epidemiological research is needed that focuses specifically on low-income and middle-income countries and on all disability types.”
Esme Fuller-Thomson and Sarah Brennenstuhl from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, write in an accompanying comment:
“Although more research is clearly needed..[the] review underscores the severity of violence against adults with disabilities and suggests the importance of coordination of efforts to identify and respond to ‘the forgotten victims of violence’.”
The researchers request improved identification of victims through targeted screening of vulnerable disabled people, including those with a substance abuse problem or the homeless, as well as enhancing support services and care to better accommodate for a wide variety of disabilities.
Written by Grace Rattue