Awareness Month for Domestic Violence & Down syndrome

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).

October is also Down syndrome Awareness Month. In honor of this I have taken the 31 for 21 challenge. This is a challenge to post every day in October for Ds or Trisomy 21. Although 1 post per day is the challenge, each post does not necessarily have to be about Ds. Click on the Get it Down 31 for 21 button on the sidebar to find other bloggers taking the challenge.

Providing Awareness of both DV and Ds is of great importance to me both personally and professionally. Over the next month you'll be reading about all kinds of things. Some will be happy expressions of joy. Others will not.

In honor of both DV and Ds, my first post is about Domestic Violence and women with disabilities.

Taken from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) here are a few facts.

"Women with developmental disabilities have among the highest rates of physical, sexual, and emotional violence perpetrated by intimate partners and family members. Individuals with disabilities are at a greater risk of severe physical and sexual violence than people without disabilities. Many people with disabilities who are victims of violence experience multiple assaults. Domestic abuse victims with disabilities are often more dependent on their caretakers than victims without disabilities, and face many barriers to reporting abuse and seeking services. Victms who do report abuse or seek services often do not find adequate help, since many programs that serve DV victims are not equipped or trained to offer proper care to disabled victims."
Women with disabilities are three times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women without disabilities.

For more information or to get help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE. The National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE.