The following article originally appeared in Accent On
Livingmagazine and is here used with permission.

                DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & THE DISABLED
                         By Robert Mauro

     There has been a lot in the news about domestic violence and
spousal abuse.  Usually it's the man battering the woman.  And
it's usually the non-disabled man battering the non-disabled
woman.  Fact is 95% of those who are victims of domestic violence
are women battered by men.  There are six million cases of men
battering women each year.  These are reported cases. 
According to the FBI, only 1 in 10 cases are actually reported,
so that means there are possibly sixty million cases of women
being battered annually.  In the U.S., 21% of married women
report physical abuse by their husbands, says Angela Browne in
her book WHEN BATTERED WOMEN KILL.  One British woman in 7 is
raped by her husband reports Ruth E. Hall in her book ASK ANY
WOMAN: A LONDON INQUIRY INTO RAPE AND ASSAULT.  But if you're
disabled and your mate is not disabled, or less disabled than
you, the battering can also occur with the non-disabled man, or
less disabled man or woman, sibling, parent or personal care
attendant battering the man or woman with the disability.
     The battering of disabled men is slightly higher than the
above 5% figure for non-disabled men, according to the director
of the Buffalo S.A.F.E. House for the Developmentally Disabled.
     According to the Health and Human Services Department,
children with disabilities are maltreated at 1.7 times the rate
of other children.  In nearly half of those cases of abuse or
neglect, the child's disability was at the root of the violence.
     The majority of those who are battered -- even among the
disabled -- are women, although the percentage of disabled men
being battered is slightly higher than the 5% of non-disabled men
who are battered, according to a shelter director for the
developmentally disabled and learning disabled of upper New York
State, as mentioned above.  Moreover, she estimates about 50% of
the incidences of domestic violence among these marginally
developmentally disabled persons involves some type of substance
abuse or mental illness, or both.  The drug and/or alcohol use
and mental illness can be in either the abuser or the abused. 
And the abusers can be a spouse, sibling, parent or same-sex
partner.
     Whoever is battered, it is a crime and must be stopped.  New
York State at the time of this writing is working to pass a
mandatory arrest law for perpetrators of domestic violence.  Some
states already have such laws.  But if you are disabled, what do
you do if you are a victim of domestic violence?  Where can you
run, especially if you are dependent on the batterer for care? 
Where can you get help?  Protection?
     Before we talk about those things, let's talk about just
what battering is.  It is physical abuse.  Sexual abuse. 
Hitting, pushing, shoving, hurting.  And besides the physical,
psychological, and emotion toll to the victim, according to
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, 3rd Edition,
Colorado Domestic Violence Coalition, 1991, the medical expenses
from domestic violence total as high as $5 billion a year.
     Under the law, most acts of family violence are crimes. 
This can include harassment, reckless endangerment, assault or
attempted assault, menacing or kidnaping.  According to the
Domestic Abuse Intervention Project of Duluth, domestic violence
is also about power and control.  The batterer uses economic
abuse, coercion, threats, intimidation, isolation, and emotional
abuse.  At the same time, the batterer can be denying or
minimizing the fact that he or she (namely, the batterer) is
committing this abuse -- claiming instead that the actual victim
is the batterer, not the one being battered! 
     Occasionally a couple might begin fighting verbally.  Name
calling.  Yelling.  Screaming.  As Mom always said, "Sticks and
stones can break your bones, but names can never hurt you." 
Nevertheless, verbal or emotional abuse can indeed hurt.  In
fact, verbal and emotional abuse can quickly escalate to pushing,
slapping, punching.  And this is the beginning of a very vicious
cycle.
     Now what are the things we can do to avoid being battered. 
The first thing we can do is never give a batterer a second
chance.  If someone pushes you, slaps you, hits you, he or she is
out of there.  The relationship is over.  If you have been cut,
bruised, or in any way hurt, get photographic evidence of these
injuries.  Get a doctor to look at them.  Report them to the
police.  Hopefully, the batterer will leave you alone after a
police warning or an arrest.  If you are lucky, the batterer will
never come back.  But if this is not the case, you must make it
perfectly clear that you do not wish to see this person ever
again.  Get an Order of Protection.  At least it will create a
paper trail of evidence if nothing else.  The National Women's
Law Center says Orders of Protection work in 40% of the cases,
successfully keeping the batterer away.
     Besides getting an Order of Protection, if you can, change
your phone number.  Move if at all possible.  But leaving is
seldom if ever something a woman or a disabled person can do. 
There are few if any accessible shelters which can help the
disabled.  Most shelters are already full.  There is little
funding to support the disabled victim of domestic violence or to
help him or her find a safe haven, a shelter, a new apartment. 
According to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings of 1990,
there are three times as many animal shelters in the U.S. as
there are shelters for battered women.  As a result, up to 50% of
all homeless women and children in our country are fleeing from
domestic violence, says Elizabeth Schneider in LEGAL REFORM
EFFORTS FOR BATTERED WOMEN, 1990.  Therefore, it is clear to see
that what is needed is a support system.  More shelters.  More
accessible shelters!
     Every time a high profile case like the Nicole Brown Simpson
case or the Lorena Bobbit case is in the media, there is a great
public hew and cry to help those who are victims of domestic
violence.  But little is actually done as far as funding support
groups or building shelters.  So many victims of battering are
forced by circumstances and lack of support to stay right where
they are -- with the batterer.  In fact, 31% of abused women in
New York City return to their batterers primarily because they
could not locate longer-term housing (Dwyer & Tully, 1989).
     If you need help, call a domestic violence hotline, rape
hotline, the police, 911, or the National Coalition Against
Domestic Violence at 303-839-1852.  There is also an 800 number
for battered women.  It is 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673). It is
totally confidential and will put a woman in contact with a local
rape crisis center within about 20 seconds.  If you're in New
York State, call the New York State Domestic Violence Hotline at
1-800-942-6906.
     I want to say a few words here about disabled men and their
non-disabled partners.  Men with disabilities can be battered,
too.  This has been reported, but it is usually the wife
battering her elderly husband who has Alzheimers, parent
battering a disabled child or a sibling committing the violence. 
I haven't found much information about physically disabled men
being hit or in other ways physically abused by their non-
disabled mate or date.  We have all heard of the abuses that go
on in nursing homes and in the Willobrooks of this world,
however.  So we know such abuse happens.  Men must report it when
it does happens.  Never be ashamed.  Battering is battering no
matter who does it to whom.  And disabled men and women are more
vulnerable and less able to escape or protect themselves than the
non-disabled.
     According to "From Access to Equity," a report written by
Jane Thierfeld Brown and Grace Gibbons Brown of the Office for
Disabled Students, Barnard College, "When it comes to women with
disabilities, however, we do not hear the voices of victims [of
domestic violence].  We read studies on abuse and women with
disabilities.  Agencies serving abused women have usually
included provisions for women with disabilities as an
afterthought, if at all."  Fred Pelka says in the November 1993
issue of Mainstream, "Sexual abuse of persons with disabilities
is considered by some to be an epidemic, but few voices from our
community are raised in outrage.  Why?"  Good question!  Now what
is the answer?  Fear of retaliation?  Fear of loss of a care
giver?  Fear of loss of a place to live?  Fear of violence?
     There is too much violence in this world.  We must never
resort to physical abuse when we are angry.  Yell, scream, but 
never hit.  If you are someone who does hit, get help
immediately!  You need it.  If you are battered, report it.  You
must.  Your life may depend on it!  
     For a list of books and pamphlets on sexuality and abuse of
persons with disabilities, write to: SIECUS, 130 W. 42nd Street,
Suite 2400, NY NY 10036 or call 212-919-9770.  Copies of
"Sexuality and Disability, A SIECUS Annotated Bibliography of
Available Print Materials" are $2.50 each.
     The Roeher Institute is Canada's National Institute for
Education, Information and the Study of Public Policy Affecting
Persons with Intellectual Impairment.  You can get an excellent
catalogue of publications from The Roeher Institute.  One of
these publications is ANSWERING THE CALL: THE POLICE RESPONSE TO
FAMILY AND CARE-GIVER VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. 
Write The Roeher Institute, Kingsmen Bldg., York University, 4700
Keele St., North York, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.  Or call: 416-
661-9611.
     For information on domestic violence, write to Domestic
Abuse Intervention Project, 206 West Fourth Street, Duluth,
Minnesota 55806.  Or call them at 218-722-4134.  Ask for a copy
of THE POWER AND CONTROL WHEEL.
     A couple of good book to read are: GETTING FREE: A HANDBOOK
FOR WOMEN IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS by Ginny NiCarthy, published
by Seal Press.  And: DISABLED BATTERED WOMEN (Item #60), which is
available for $6 from the National Center on Women and Family
Law, 799 Broadway, Suite 402, NY NY 10003.  Call 212-674-8200.
     Victims of domestic violence who have disabilities can write
to: The Arc, P.O. BOX 300649, Arlington, TX 76010.  Call
817-261-6003.  Or: National Assault Prevention Center, P.O. BOX
02005, Columbus, OH 43202.  Call 614-291-2540.
     On February 21, 1996, President Clinton announced a new
hotline for victims of domestic violence.  by calling 1-800-799-
SAFE, you can speak with a counselor and get help immediately.
     Finally, all facilities providing shelter, medical,
psychological, or crisis counseling for victims of abuse or
domestic violence must be wheelchair accessible and have a TDD. 
A sign language interpreter should be available if needed.