Law Enforcement & Victims with Disabilities

Source: CROWD

Police have received little training in the special needs of women with disabilities.
Crime statistics make no record of disability. To do so would require police officers to be able to identify the wide variety of disabling conditions using only superficial information. This is an almost impossible challenge; however, some documentation is necessary before violence against women with disabilities will gain the attention it deserves. Standards for reporting should require some indication of functional limitations, such as mobility, sensory, or mental impairment.

Police officers, court justices, and other law enforcement staff should receive training in accommodations needed by persons with disabilities. Some progress has been made in increasing awareness of the needs of persons who have hearing impairments or developmental disabilities. Children should never be used as interpreters and nondisabled individuals should never be asked to speak in place of a disabled person who is capable of rendering the necessary information.

The courts have not proven friendly toward women with disabilities. There is a tendency to order mediation, which forces women to confront their abusers and risk the possibility that the abuser will twist the facts to make her appear to be an abuser or harasser. When children are involved, there is a long and unfortunate tradition in the courts of judgments that the woman is not competent to serve as a mother solely on the basis of her disability. Solutions to these problems will come about when judges acknowledge the civil rights of women with disabilities and understand the principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act.