Abstract
Abuse and violence against people with disabilities is a well documented problem. However, the scholarly literature contains relatively few disability-specific abuse prevention programs. Furthermore, most of these programs involve multi-session training, potentially making them inaccessible for people in rural areas. The Stopping Abuse For Everyone (SAFE) curriculum is a one-session abuse psychoeducation program for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) delivered by trained facilitators. The content covers definitions of financial, sexual, physical and verbal abuse, neglect, victim-blaming, and reporting abuse. Our anecdotal experiences with the program have been positive; however, formal data on efficacy has yet to be collected. Particular challenges include the need for well-validated outcome measures for individuals with lower functional communication skills. The SAFE curriculum shows preliminary promise as a brief psychoeducation program for individuals with ID who live in rural areas, although it may be more useful for individuals with mild and moderate ID.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded through a grant from the Utah Developmental Disabilities Council and was a collaborative effort of the Utah Developmental Disabilities Council, the Center for Persons with Disabilities, and the Utah Disability Law Center. We are grateful to all our facilitators and trainers for their excellent assistance and to the groups, organizations, individuals that graciously hosted our trainings.
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Lund, E.M., Hammond, M. Single-Session Intervention for Abuse Awareness Among People with Developmental Disabilities. Sex Disabil 32, 99–105 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-013-9335-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-013-9335-3