•
a perceived lack of credibility. When disabled
people disclose, they are frequently not
taken seriously or are blamed for the abuse
•
Some people may also require support to
understand information and/or for decision
making.
•
that there are few trained services/
professionals who can respond
appropriately to violence, neglect and
abuse of disabled people. This situation is
particularly acute for people who are nonverbal and those who require support for
comprehension and decision making
•
The over or under use of medication can
impede people’s functioning, prevent
communication, or inhibit perceived
credibility.
•
that there are almost no accessible services/
houses/refuges
•
that the evaluation of a 2016 safeguarding
pilot project in Auckland, which included
providing training and resources for police,
identified that prior to the training, police
did not have the knowledge and skills to
follow up disclosures of care giver abuse,
refer abused people to support services, or
initiate prosecutions.117
Additionally, there is a lack of accessible
information about how to access help, and
a lack of resources, such as money and
social networks, to support leaving abusive
relationships.
Situational factors that increase risks of
violence
All of these situations can result in increased risk
of violence, exploitation and neglect.
An intersectional and participatory response
is required
Intersectionality recognises the multi-layered
identities of disabled people, identifying the
discrimination and advantages that various
combinations create. The intersecting of
disability, gender identity, ethnicity and other
identities are not cumulative or additive, but
create “substantively distinct experiences”118,
even within the same geographic space. This
can be understood by comparing different
experiences of family and sexual violence with
reference to a disabled Māori woman in contrast
to that of a non-disabled white woman, because
of the ethnic histories of violence, abuse,
colonisation, social responses, stigma, power
relationships and access to services.119
As well as the structural and institutional factors
identified above, there are some situations, that
create added risk and result in people being
unable to remove themselves from harm, which
are listed below.
Addressing the risks, overcoming these barriers
and providing safe and constructive prevention
and responses, requires disabled people’s
participation in all aspects of change (policy,
legislation and funding) and ongoing provision
and monitoring of services.
•
The changes required include that:
Victims are often reliant on family members
and/or carers (who may not be family
members) who are the abusers. This
relationship is acknowledged in the NZ
Family Violence Act (2018, section 14), but
there are no formalised policies to address
the need for additional support in these
circumstances.
•
There are very few options for people to
change carers (as above).
•
Some people have communication
difficulties, and the equipment or
interpreters required are not provided, not
available or are withheld by an abuser.
•
societal attitudes to disabled people become
inclusive and non-stigmatising
•
structural and institutional barriers are
overcome
•
the breadth of services that engage with
victims and perpetrators of violence are
facilitated and resourced to become
accessible and culturally responsive to the
diverse community of disabled people
•
specialised services are resourced,
developed and maintained.
Acting now for a violence and abuse free future
37