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	Feature Story - The Epidemic of Sexual Assault against People with Disabilities (8/23/04)
	Creating Secure Voting Systems that are Fully Accessible (10/11/04)
	Oregon Closes an Institution and Promotes Community Living (9/14/04)
	Trapped in a Nursing Home (9/3/04)
	WPAS Updates: What's happening at WPAS?  (Fall 2004)
	P&A Q&A:     (Fall 2004)
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The Epidemic of Sexual Assault against

People with Disabilities

by Phil Jordan

August 23, 2004

 

v     Between 68% and 83% of women with disabilities will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime.  (Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime Bulletin, September 1998.)

 

v     Between 15,000 and 19,000 people with developmental disabilities are raped each year in the United States.  (Sobsey, 1994.  Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities.)

 

v     Men with disabilities are twice as likely as men without disabilities to be sexually abused in their lifetime.  (Statistics Canada, Centre for Justice Statistics, 1995.)

 

v     When the victim/survivor of sexual abuse has a disability, between 88% and 98% of abusers are known by the victim.  (Sobsey and Mansell, 1994).   33% of abusers are family members, 33% are acquaintances, and 25% are caregivers or service providers.  (Sobsey, 1998). 

 

v     Only 3% of sexual abuse cases involving people with developmental disabilities are ever reported.  (Valenti-Hein and Schwartz, 1995). 

 

Sexual Assault and People with Disabilities

A friend of mine provided me with these statistics last year.  I have read them over and over as I try to understand the scope of the plague of sexual assaults that is endured (mostly in silence) by people with disabilities.  It has been difficult for me to understand what all those numbers and percentages really mean in the lives of the people I know.  Recently, however, I had an experience that drove home the reality of those statistics.

My agency, the Washington Protection & Advocacy System (WPAS) is working to pass a bill in the state legislature that will allow people with disabilities who are the victims of crimes – especially sexual assault – to have greater access to the criminal justice system.  I was sent to a meeting of the Self-Advocates in Leadership (SAIL) coalition to describe the bill and ask for their endorsement.  SAIL is a group of people with disabilities who have banded together to stand up for their rights and educate lawmakers about disability issues.  After giving a brief account of what the bill would do, I asked if there were any questions. 

A middle-aged man sitting in a wheelchair in the back of the room raised his hand.  In an impassive, matter-of-fact tone, he said, “Yeah, when I was raped I told people about it, but nobody did anything.” 

Another hand was raised, this time it was a woman about 60 years old.  “I used to live in an institution.  The staff was raping me all the time.  I fought back sometimes.  When I said I was going to report them, they said they would beat me up if I did.” 

A young man raised his hand.  “When I got raped, I got beat up too.  Nothing ever happened to the people who did it.” 

Another hand.  “I think this bill is a good thing.  Nobody ever helped me when I got raped.” 

I looked around the room and saw several others nodding and holding their secrets inside themselves. 

I was speechless.  In a room of about 30 people with disabilities, four had disclosed that they were the survivors of sexual assaults.  Many others were silently affirming those experiences.  What was most shocking was that I was the only person there who seemed surprised that so many of the people in this room had been raped.  It was astonishing to me the manner in which the assaults were revealed - it was a familiar occurrence to the people in that room.  Disclosures of rape were given matter-of-factly, with sadness and resignation.  People with disabilities expect rape to be a fact of life.  Nobody except me was surprised that this was a widespread, common experience. 

 

Sexual Assaults Rarely Reported

It is common that sexual assaults go unreported.  People who are the victims of these crimes are often besieged by emotions that make it difficult to go through the process of telling strangers what happened.  It can seem like adding insult to injury when a victim must relive the incident by describing it in agonizing detail to doctors, nurses, police and other criminal justice workers. 

In many circumstances, it can also be dangerous for a victim to report the assault.  Because most sexual assaults are made by a person that is known to the victim, there can be a very real threat of retaliation if the crime is reported. 

When people with disabilities are the victims of sexual assault, they must confront these barriers like everyone else who is sexually attacked.  However, having a disability can often create additional problems for a person who wants to seek justice after having been assaulted. 

Many of the supports and services that are available for people who have been sexually assaulted are not accessible to people with disabilities.  Sexual assault advocates have traditionally been unprepared to provide the accommodations needed for someone with a disability.  They have usually not been able to provide interpreters for people who are deaf or physical access for people who use wheelchairs.  They have traditionally not had experience listening and responding to people with communication difficulties or cognitive disabilities.

Even when sexual assault services are accessible for people with disabilities, there are other barriers to gain access to them.  Because the person who is assaulted almost always knows the person who attacked them, it becomes extremely problematic (and often dangerous) to report the crime.  If the abuser is a family member or caregiver, the person with the disability often must rely on those very people for basic assistance – transportation, communication, interpretation, shelter, etc.  If the person with a disability does find a way to report the crime despite these barriers, retaliation by the abuser is a constant threat.

There is yet another barrier that can discourage people with disabilities from reporting sexual assaults.  It is a problem that everyone who has a disability is painfully and constantly aware of – they are often patronized, disbelieved and dismissed. 

People in wheelchairs are accustomed to having others talk to their companions as if they were incapable of understanding.  People with disabilities of all kinds are often treated as children or imbeciles.  People who have difficulty communicating are ignored.  People who are blind or deaf are patronized or disregarded.  People with psychiatric or behavioral issues are shunned.  Given this universal experience, why should a person with a disability expect a police officer or a medical professional to believe them?  Even if the police and doctors believe they were sexually assaulted, what about a prosecutor?

 

Prosecuting Sexual Assaults against People with Disabilities

Many people in the disability-rights community have criticized prosecutors for failing to aggressively pursue convictions against people who prey on people with disabilities.  It is certainly true that there have not been very many prosecutions of these crimes, as the statistics at the beginning of this article demonstrate.  Prosecutors would probably admit that there have been some cases that should have been pursued with more energy, but it is not fair to put the lion’s share of blame on prosecutors. 

Prosecuting any sexual assault is difficult.  Prosecutors often do not go forward with a case without a lot of physical evidence and witnesses who will be convincing to a jury.  Prosecutors also worry about how the victim will respond when the defense attorney begins to question the victim’s motives, past history or character.  It can be a horrible experience for a person who has already been sexually assaulted to be vilified by a lawyer for the perpetrator.  This makes prosecutors cautious when deciding to go forward with any prosecution. 

Additionally, courts have not always been places where people with disabilities are provided with the accommodations they need.  Without reasonable accommodations that allow individuals with disabilities to communicate effectively, prosecutors cannot be confident that a jury will be able to discover the truth.  That is why people in this state, and in several others, are attempting to give prosecutors and courts the tools they need to allow people with disabilities to effectively testify. 

 

Testimony Can Turn Victims into Survivors

Throughout this article, I have been referring to people who have been sexually assaulted as “victims.”  Following an assault, people experience many strong emotions, and one of the strongest of those emotions is the feeling of being victimized.  A person who feels like a victim feels powerless and weak - defenseless.   When a person feels this way, it is difficult to live life with any energy.  An important part of recovering from any assault is to stop feeling like a victim and find a way to take charge of your life again. 

One of the promises of our criminal justice system is that people who have been victimized can fight back in court.  They can hold the perpetrator accountable for his/her actions and, in so doing, can move beyond being a victim.  Someone who stands up for themselves usually stops feeling defenseless – they have found the strength in themselves to be powerful, alive and in charge of their own life once again.  A person who goes through this process is no longer a victim, but a survivor.

 

Tools for People with Disabilities to Communicate in Court

There are a variety of ways that other states have given tools to people with disabilities so that they can more effectively testify in court.  A group of disability advocates and criminal justice professionals are currently trying to create a law in Washington that will bring some of those innovations to our state.  For example:

v     In Colorado, there is a law that allows some victims with disabilities to make a statement (called a deposition) that is video taped.  The deposition is taken if it seems likely that the person will be unavailable to testify at the trial.  Courts are concerned with being fair to everybody in criminal trials, so it is required that the defense has an opportunity to ask the victim questions at this deposition.  Advocates in Colorado are enthusiastic about this law and the results that it has achieved. 

v     In California, the legislature is currently considering a bill that helps some people with disabilities communicate more effectively in a variety of ways.  For example:

o       Some victims/survivors with disabilities are allowed to have a support person with them when they testify.

o       Prosecutors are allowed to ask leading questions of a witness or victim/survivor with a cognitive disability.  This will help the person tell their story in a court environment that can often be intimidating.

o       The jury can be instructed that a person who has a cognitive or other mental disability is neither more nor less believable than any other witness.

o       The judge may limit how aggressively the defense cross-examines the victim/survivor.

o       The trial can be closed to the public if the victim’s reputation could be harmed.

o       Preliminary examinations can be postponed to ensure that appropriate accommodations are provided for the victim/survivor.

o       The victim/survivor could testify via closed-circuit television if testifying in the court room is likely to cause serious psychological harm. 

o       A judge may provide appropriate accommodations to a witness with a disability that will allow the person to more effectively testify.  Such accommodations could include more frequent breaks, or reducing the formality of the court room to make it less intimidating. 

 

It’s Not Justice if it’s Not Equal

In our country, justice has often been portrayed as a robed, blind-folded woman who carries a sword and a set of scales.  The symbolism of this figure promises that justice will be served equally and impartially.  Justice is supposed to be blind to the influence of the powerful, balanced to protect the rights of everyone and a powerful force that helps keep our society free.  For too long, this has not been true for people with disabilities who have been the victims of crime.  The promise of equal justice has been withheld. 

Sexual assault of people with disabilities is a wide-spread and pervasive problem.  Providing court accommodations for people with disabilities is only a part of the solution of providing justice.  Many people and organizations are working to change a system that has ignored people with disabilities when they are the victims of crimes.  Here are just a few of them.

v     The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (www.wcsap.org) is currently providing training to sexual assault advocates about how they can better serve victims and survivors with disabilities. 

 

v     The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (www.wscadv.org) is actively working with disability groups to find ways to better serve people with disabilities. 

 

v     A nationally recognized organization, Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (www.adwas.org) provides help and advocacy for women who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

 

v     The Washington Protection & Advocacy System (www.wpas-rights.org) is working with many different organizations to change public policy to better protect the rights of people with disabilities who are the victims of crimes.

 

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Creating Secure Voting Systems that are Fully Accessible

by Phil Jordan

October 11, 2004

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) requires that people with disabilities must enjoy the same voting rights as everyone else.  By 2006, every polling place is required to have at least one electronic voting machine (called a DRE) that allows all people to cast their ballot privately.  These machines are designed to allow people who are blind or have low-vision to cast their vote using headphones and touch-screens.  The DREs also allow people with physical disabilities that prevent them from using a paper ballot, to cast their vote in private. 

Buying new voting machines and installing them across the country leads to other problems.  People everywhere are voicing concern about the integrity of elections as the DREs are used more frequently.  Nobody has been willing to guarantee that the electronic votes tabulated by the machines are immune from manipulation.  Many people have raised concerns that elections could be controlled or stolen by people who could manipulate the electronics in the DREs and the results of elections could be changed.

In response to this fear, there has been a general move to providing a “voter verified paper ballot” on all of the DREs.  This means that each time a vote is cast on one of these machines – or any other electronic voting machine – that a piece of paper would be created that prints out how the person voted.  The voter would have an opportunity to look at the paper printout and would verify that their ballot was marked the way they intended.  The paper printout would then be stored in case there was a recount of the vote.  You might remember that there was a controversial recount of the votes in Florida in the 2000 election.  Having a voter verified paper ballot would ensure that if there is a recount, the actual ballots of each person would be counted. 

If every DRE has a paper ballot as well as the electronic vote, however, people who are blind are right back where they started!  They will be unable to read a paper ballot and verify how they have voted.  Consequently, it is important that all of the DREs have a way that everyone who uses one of the machines has the same right of verifying their vote as everyone else.  This is not impossible – in fact, the technology already exists that allow the DREs to read out the verified ballot over the voter's headphones, allowing them to verify their selections. 

Unfortunately, not all states are buying DREs that allow people with disabilities to independently verify their votes.  Some states don’t even require a voter verified paper ballot. 

Washington State has committed to having a voter verified paper ballot system, but have not yet promised that all voters who are blind will be able to verify their votes.  There are many organizations across the country that are interested in the accessibility and security of voting systems.  Try the links below to read more about HAVA and voting rights for people with disabilities:

VerifiedVoting.org - www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=1875

American Association of People with Disabilities - www.aapd-dc.org/dvpmain/votemachines/dvpvotemachines.html

League of Women Voters - www.lwv.org/where/promoting/votingrights_hava_recom.html

 

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Oregon Closes an Institution and Promotes Community Living

Money From Fairview Sale To Go To Individuals And Families

By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 14, 2004

Reprinted with permission from Inclusion Daily Express, http://www.InclusionDaily.com
Your quick, once-a-day look at disability rights, self-determination
and the movement toward full community inclusion around the world.

 

SALEM, OREGON--Here's a grand idea: Let's close institutions and move the people out into the community. Then we'll sell the old facility property, and give the money to people so they can live independently in their own homes.

Well, what do you know? That's exactly what is happening in Oregon, right now.  Fairview Training Center was closed and the last residents moved out into the community in February of 2000.  The closure happened, in part, to settle lawsuits filed in the 1980s by the Oregon Advocacy Center on behalf of The Arc of Oregon, and the U.S. Department of Justice, which claimed Fairview staff violated the residents' civil rights.

In 1999, Oregon lawmakers passed a law earmarking money generated from any sale of former institution property to go into a Fairview Community Housing Trust Fund. Interest from the trust fund and up to 5 percent of the principle are to be held for special grants so people with developmental disabilities can live as independently as possible in their homes. Those people and their families can then apply for the grants to purchase such things as wheelchair ramps, bathroom modifications, assistive technology and other equipment.

The 274-acre Fairview campus was sold over a year ago to a group of investors who wanted to develop a community with houses, industries, businesses and stores within a closed-loop economy.  The sale is expected to generate $15.1 million over six years, according to an Oregon Department of Human Services press statement.

So, this past Spring, $145,000 was awarded to 63 families around the state. Now $150,000 more is available in the form of individual grants of $5,000 or less.  None of the money can go to licensed facilities.

"This is a big deal," Gerald Stolp, manager of the Seniors and People with Disabilities housing section at DHS. "People with developmental disabilities living in their own homes or families with a child with a developmental disability have extremely limited housing resources available to them."

"What a great way to use money generated from the sale of an institution -- to help people stay in their own homes and live as independently as possible."

Fairview, which was opened in 1908 as the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded, at one time housed as many as 3,000 people with developmental disabilities.

Eastern Oregon Training Center, in Pendleton, still houses approximately 50 people with developmental disabilities.

Related:

"New round of grants from Fairview sale help Oregonians with developmental disabilities stay in their own homes" (Oregon Department of Human Services)
http://www.dhs.state.or.us/news/2004news/2004-0913a.html
"Fairview The Closing Chapter" (People First of Oregon)
http://www.open.org/~people1/Fairview/closingcontents.htm
"So Long Fairview: Oregon Institution Closes Its Doors For Good" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/institutions/ore/fairview.htm

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Trapped in a Nursing Home:
The Plight of People with Disabilities in the 21st Century

September 3, 2004

by Mary Obland

I am physically disabled with multiple chronic progressing medical conditions, being held prisoner in a nursing home—my name is Mary.  I have been unable to work since 1996, and prior to that spent my savings paying for attendant care so that I could continue to work.  Even with the new legislation stating in essence “if you require skilled nursing care” that money could be used to pay for you to live in your own place, attendant care is still out of reach.  I make just enough to not qualify for the programs currently available, but not enough to afford to pay rent, food, utilities, prescriptions, medical supplies and attendant care not otherwise covered by health insurance.  I have “made do” with what money I've had, which meant NO attendant care!  If I'd been below poverty instead of AT poverty I would have had the attendants I needed to maintain my health. Instead it has fallen to the hospitals to deal with this issue, and doctors quitting because I needed care they could not arrange, due to my limited finances.  As a result, my health is much worse than it should be. When you do not have the endurance to cook and then eat, to clean up after bowel movements, too tired to transfer to get in bed…what do you expect?

Now I am trapped in a nursing home, confined to my room, with a doctor who is here because it is an easy paycheck and who long ago burned out by the nursing home's demands of the bottom line. I constantly fight for activities to do, food I can eat, medications that are not available due to pharmacy errors, no air-conditioning, and getting bathed!  The only place outside my room, which I share with another female, is across the hall.  Being ventilator dependant, the equipment raises the room temperature by 10-15 degrees above outside temperatures. This is okay when it is cool, but when it's 90 degrees outside, my room is 100 degrees+.  There is no privacy. People are always coming in, waking you up at all hours and waits from 20 minutes to an hour to have your call-light answered because the nursing home is chronically understaffed.  Instead of the nursing home addressing these issues, all I ever get is, “they do not have the financial resources”, because the nursing home is too busy making a profit!  Their answer is to medicate the residents with anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication. Now I know that nursing homes can no longer sedate the elderly to minimize costs.  When will it be no longer legal to give these medications to people with disabilities?

After all, who wouldn't be anxious or depressed when forced to stay in a room 24/7—confinement more stringent than being in prison.  And we didn't do anything wrong.  We simply got too sick to live alone!  Keeping people with disabilities confined to nursing homes because it's easier to pay a nursing home than to administer outside even though it costs much more, two to five times as much, and if you are ventilator-dependent, confined to your room you share with a stranger should not be allowed!  You do not get to choose your roommate, your doctor, your caregivers, your pharmacy, the food, when to eat—NOTHING!  And on top of all this, the state allows you to keep $41.62 a month, which has not changed in decades. Even Medicare and Social Security allow for inflation!  The nursing home does not provide clothing, TVs, radios, telephones or computers and you have to fight every night to even get a snack!  All 3 meals are served between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM .  Again it's cheaper—that bottom line!

I do not know of anyone who would willingly choose to live this way!  Even when you “know the ropes,” information on choices is not easily available.  There is one portable phone here that is shared by 90 to 120 residents and restricted to the area code you reside in, so calls to resources for information in Seattle or Olympia are “out” unless by happenstance you luck out and get an 800 number!  People with disabilities desperately need reforms, information on our rights and choices available.  Nursing homes should have to “prove” we need to be here and not in a more independent living situation instead of the other way around!  Nursing homes should not be allocated the “lions share” of Medicare & Medicaid dollars—no one should be kept long-term for life!

We need more options for independent living—affordable, accessible housing mixed into the general population, not segregated or relegated to squeeze into existing senior housing.  It's not fair to seniors or the younger disabled populations.  Now especially, we save people who, even 5 years ago would have died from traumatic injuries, and the statistical rise in chronic disabling medical conditions, housing for people with disabilities is needed now more than ever!

We should not be forced to make decisions like “making do” with not enough attendant care.  We need compassion and common sense built into existing regulations.  We need reforms, legislative reforms to reallocate resources into a community setting and out of nursing homes.  There is no reason disabled cannot have the same privileges as the rest of the population.  We need Freedom.  Freedom to make choices; have choices available, irrespective of the disabling medical condition(s).  After all, there are very nice places for Alzheimer's patients.  How about a nice place for the rest of us?  A place where there are social activities, things to do, a garden geared to the young/younger disabled!  Right now we are “left out” completely with no activities for our age group and no choices at all!  We need funding to inform people with disabilities of choices and resources available in the area we want to live, and not shipped to wherever a bed is that are available far away from family and close friends.  Transportation so we can be able to go places, funding available to pay for attendant care and not keeping nursing homes in business so we can live safely in the community!  No one, disabled or not, seem to know that we, people with disabilities, can go to stores, participate in society.  Information is the key to set us all free. America is supposed to be free for all—how about making it true?  Life, liberty and the pursuit for happiness is the American way!

 

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A woman who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI ) checks called WPAS asking about the "Ticket to Work Program."  The caller was participating in the program, and was using her "ticket" to work with an agency who was supposed to be providing her with assistance in getting a job.  Her ticket allowed her to use the agency's services for free.  Unfortunately, the caller was not satisfied with the agency because they referred her to jobs that were not suited to her abilities.  She had decided to not work with the agency anymore, and wanted her ticket to no longer be assigned to this agency.  She wrote to the Program Manager of the Ticket to Work Program, asking them to "unassign" her ticket.  The Program Manager is not a single person with a job, but a huge corporation named "Maximus"  that runs the Ticket to Work Program for the Social Security Administration.  Unfortunately, nobody at Maximus had written back to the woman.

The mother of a person who is a client of the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) contacted WPAS.  She was upset  because DDD had notified her that one of the services her daughter was receiving was about to be stopped.  The Resource Advocate provided the mother with  information about how to appeal termination of services, fair hearings, DDD policies, and suggestions on how to advocate for daughter.

	all public or common areas are readily accessible;
	all doors are designed wide enough to allow passage for persons using wheelchairs;
	there is an accessible route into and through the premises;
	all light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls are accessible;
	bathroom walls are reinforced in case grab bars need to be installed; and
	kitchens and bathrooms are accessible and allow for maneuverability for persons with physical disabilities.