VAWnet News Blog

Kecia Weller, a member of the Uniting to End Violence Against People with Disabilities Coalition, shares a blog detailing healing strategies that helped her overcome the trauma she experienced from a sexual assault.

"People think that intimate partner violence among adolescents is less serious than among adults," says University of Washington School Of Medicine epidemiologist Avanti Adhia. "It's important to highlight that this can really lead to death. It's not something to brush off as 'This is just an argument between kids.'"

Most states have loopholes on the books that make it more difficult to prosecute rape by an intimate partner. Jenny Teeson is fighting to change that in Minnesota.

"Domestic violence (DV) occurs across the socio-economic spectrum, but low-income survivors face unique challenges and barriers to ending an abusive relationship. Leaving an abusive partner may mean that a survivor loses access to their income, shared housing, employment, health care, and more.

More than four in 10 women in 51 countries surveyed feel they have no choice but to agree to their partner’s sexual demands according to a UN report released this week. The report also notes that they are also unable to make basic decisions about getting pregnant and accessing health care for themselves. 

Uniting to End Violence Against People with Disabilities embraces the theme of 2019 Sexual Assault Awareness Month, I Ask, and wants to ensure that people with disabilities are emphasized during this awareness campaign. While people with disabilities experience disproportionate rates of sexual violence, they are often forgotten in conversations about rape and sexual assault.