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Key Challenges in the Field of Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women

Key Challenges in the Field of Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women. Overview Overarching Challenges Barriers to Services Barriers to Criminal Justice System Strategies for Overcoming These Challenges. Overview. January – March 2005

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Key Challenges in the Field of Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women

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  1. Key Challenges in the Field of Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women Overview Overarching Challenges Barriers to Services Barriers to Criminal Justice System Strategies for Overcoming These Challenges

  2. Overview • January – March 2005 • Conducted informational interviews with a diverse group of key stakeholders • Convened a focus group with a subset of participants

  3. Informational Interview Goals • To better understand the status of the field of violence against women with disabilities and Deaf women (VAWD/DW) • To identify critical issues within the field and practice • To identify barriers to serving victims with disabilities and Deaf victims effectively

  4. Focus Group Goals • To further identify and explore key challenges and strengths in the field • To generate ideas to improve the OVW “Disability Grant” program • To generate ideas to improve the training and technical assistance provided to grantees

  5. Overarching Challenges New Field Non-Existent or Ineffective Collaborations Competing Frameworks

  6. New Field • Increased acknowledgement of VAWD/DW • Limited services exist to specifically serve victims with disabilities and Deaf women • Few long-term plans have been developed to address these needs • Real safety needs exist for women with disabilities and Deaf women in most communities

  7. Non-Existent or Ineffective Collaborations • Few communities have developed collaborations to address VAWD/DW. • Communities that do develop collaborations typically face a number of challenges. • Limited in scope (i.e. not broad-based) • Collaborative structure not equitable for all partners • Tokenism of survivors and people with disabilities

  8. Challenges with Existing Collaborations cont’d… • Difficulty reaching consensus and a unified vision • Competing frameworks emerge • Work of building a collaboration is not supported

  9. Foundational Issues • Definitions of disability • Definitions of violence • Causes/contributing factors of violence • Target population

  10. Foundational Issues… • Community-wide strategies for ensuring access to services • Individual-level intervention strategies for victims • Other philosophical differences

  11. Barriers to Accessible Services for Survivors with Disabilities and Deaf Women

  12. Barriers Within the Disability Field • Screening and response protocols lacking • Limited inter-agency collaboration and cross-referrals • No advocacy agenda around violence and abuse issues

  13. Barriers Within the Deaf Field • Lack of information, education and attention to the issue • Limited collaborations with dv/sa and disability organizations • Limited capacity of programs specifically for Deaf victims

  14. Barriers within the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Fields • Mental health and substance abuse agencies do not screen for abuse. • Treatment models do not appropriately address trauma and abuse.

  15. Barriers Within the DV/SA Field Lack of physical accessibility: • Shelters and rape crisis centers are not ADA compliant • Providers do not understand the resources required to become ADA compliant

  16. Barriers Within the DV/SA Field Lack of programmatic accessibility: • Women with mental health and addiction issues are screened out of shelter programs • Shelters restrict PCAs • Program and outreach materials are written in inaccessible language • Staff lack skills to communicate with a wide range of women • Little to no outreach to the disability community

  17. Barriers Within the Stalking Field The stalking field is just beginning to think about issues for women with disabilities and Deaf women, which include: • Limited ability for victims who rely on transportation to change travel routes • Limited ability for some victims with intellectual disabilities to maintain a stalking log • Assistive technologies can be intercepted by stalkers

  18. Barriers within the Criminal Justice System

  19. Challenges for Victims in the Criminal Justice System Lack of understanding about disability presents challenges to: • Identifying abuse • Conducting proper investigations • Making appropriate accommodations

  20. Elements Needed to Move the Work Ahead

  21. Ways OVW Can Support Work • Provide funding for longer-periods of time • Support collaboration building and planning activities • Foster authentic collaborations • Encourage representation of people with disabilities in all aspects of work • Place greater emphasis on accessibility and include accountability measures to make sure improvements are made to services

  22. Ways OVW Can Support cont’d… • Provide a team of experts as a resource to grantees • Place a strong TA emphasis on: • Building multidisciplinary collaborations • Strategic planning • Needs assessment • Sustainability • Evaluation • Accessibility • Disability 101.5 • Violence 101.5 • Establish a shared knowledgebase

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