Descriptive Analysis of the Characteristics of Proven Cases of Sexual Abuse in Victims With Intellectual Disabilities and Children With Typical Development in Spain

Characteristics and Prevalence of Lifetime Sexual Victimization Among a Sample of Men and Women with Intellectual Disabilities

This study examines the prevalence and characteristics of sexual victimization experiences suffered by people with intellectual disabilities (ID). The sample consisted of 260 adults with an ID diagnosis (154 men and 106 women), ranging in age from 20 to 71 years (M = 41.69, SD = 12.05). The results showed that 35% of the sample had been sexually victimized at some point in their life. Being a woman, being declared legally incapable, and having comorbid mental health diagnoses were the most relevant characteristics of sexual victims with ID. Fondling was the most reported victimization, and rape showed the greatest gender differences, with a higher risk for women with ID of being raped compared to their male counterparts (odds ratio = 4.28, p < .05). The offender was generally a known male adult, and the percentage of incidents reported to the authorities was very low (7.4%). The psychological consequences of abuse were general distress, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology. Intervention and prevention programs targeting this population, as well as the training of professionals and caregivers, are essential to deal with sexual victimization and to protect and ensure the quality of life of people with ID.

Lifetime Victimization and Poly-Victimization in a Sample of Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

People with intellectual disabilities appear to be more vulnerable to victimization. However, few studies have assessed victimization in these groups and those that do exist are highly heterogeneous and tend to focus only on specific forms of violence. This study attempts to shed light on the phenomenon of victimization among adults with intellectual disabilities by assessing victimization and poly-victimization throughout their life course. The sample consisted of 260 adults (154 men and 106 women) with an intellectual disability diagnosis, recruited from the Catalan Federation for People with Intellectual Disabilities (DINCAT) in Spain. They ranged in age from 20 to 71 years (M = 41.69, SD = 12.05). Victimization experiences were assessed by means of an adaptation of the retrospective version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ). The results showed that 96.9% of the participants had suffered some kind of victimization throughout their lives. With respect to the types of victimization, the most frequent were common victimization (87.7%), witnessing and indirect victimization (67.3%), victimization by caregivers (59.2%), sexual victimization (35%), and electronic victimization (23.5%). Women and early adults tended to experience higher rates of victimization. The poly-victimized group experienced 13 or more incidents of victimization throughout their lives. This study highlights the elevated rates of lifetime victimization among people with intellectual disabilities. It adds to previous evidence that special protection programs are required to address this issue and emphasizes the need for prevention and intervention measures in this particularly vulnerable group.