Disturbing Numbers for Victims

Adults with physical challenges are attacked 1.5 times more frequently than able-bodied people.  Adults with mental challenges are four times more likely to be attacked than able-bodied people.  These findings are documented in the Lancet Journal.

“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,” said Mark Bellis of Liverpool John Moores University in England, who led the study.

People with mental challenges were also two times more likely to experience violent acts.  People with physical/mental challenges could be at increased risk even more than the report indicates according to researchers.  They also state more information should be collected on the subject highlighting poor and middle-waged countries.

Results of the report were collected from 21,000+ people with physical/mental challenges.  They were taken from seven countries.  Some of these countries included the US, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

Surprising victims: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/02/28/adults-disabilities-victim/15083/