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Who cares about disabled victims of crime? Barriers and facilitators for redress
- Author:
- LEWIN Barbro
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 4(3), September 2007, pp.170-176.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The author identified and discusses barriers and facilitators for public action after the occurrence of abuse against an adult with an intellectual disability (ID). Data were collected via a postal survey sent to guardians in one Swedish region with questions about suspected abuse against their wards (n = 978), of whom 392 had an ID (the remaining were affected by dementia or had another physical or mental disability). The rate of abuse was 4.8% (n = 19) among those wards with an ID. A range of abuses were reported, but there were no significant statistical differences attributed by sex of the wards. Facilitating examples for redress in the statutory framework were identified, but it was observed that implementation of redress was often flawed. Three alternative public actions were discussed: (1) victims' refusal to contact the public sector; (2) internal handling by the social services; and (3) reporting to police (but case closed). Findings showed that there were difficulties in understanding that passive respect for integrity and autonomy is not in line with the public ethos that demands actively caring for dependent wards, that offences in residential settings were sometimes handled internally and not reported in accord with the statutory framework, and that the ability of the criminal justice system to compensate for communicative disabilities seemed deficient.
Development of Pict-O-Stat: violence – focus on experiences of violence and a survey that can be completed by the individuals themselves
- Authors:
- KRISTENSEN Kerstin, MOLLER Anders
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Adult Protection, 19(3), 2017, pp.146-157.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find a method that makes it possible for people with intellectual disabilities to independently contribute to population-based research in areas that is sensitive. It is important to be able to answer questionnaires independently in research areas that are sensitive because the informant maybe does not want to ask for help to answer a questionnaire about sexual violence, domestic violence, etc. Maybe they not even have talked to anyone about their experiences and then have to tell a staff/relative that helps them to complete the survey is probably unthinkable. Design/methodology/approach: To participate in a survey about sensitive issues independently the questions and the methods have to be adapted to the informant’s skills and needs. The questions written in “difficult Swedish” were transcribed into simple language and then tested whether the target group understood the words that describe violent acts. After adjustments another small group tested the method, an Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI). After they had completed the survey informants were interviewed about what it was like to participate in the survey. Findings: Preliminary results show that it is possible to independently answer population-based questionnaires, even about sensitive issues, if the researcher offers the possibility to use a web-based ACASI. An ACASI can be used on accessible computers and tablets and can have the same questions that only have to be translated into both easy language and alternative format, such as questions with both text and images and listen to the questions read. Originality/value: Researchers can include people with intellectual disabilities, they just need to give them a chance. It is possible if they translate their questions into an easy language and include alternative format, i.e. using both text and images and be able to listen to the questions and answers, by, for example, using a web-based ACASI. (Publisher abstract)