Disability and Some Ugly Statistics

Minorities and the issues they face are criticized and written off by statements like, "just get a job," "just don't break the law," "they just don't want to work," "they're being too sensitive," "they're just a bunch of snowflakes," "if they want ____, they need to work hard like the rest of us," the list goes on. Does acquiring money, independence, and an overall "good" life require hard work? Of course. But many of the issues minorities face stem from systems that historically and continually oppress, creating obstacles and making moving up in the world that much harder. While I would say that the disability community receives less of this type of backlash, mainly due to the narrative of pity that has dominated disability and media, I am hoping that the statistics I'll be sharing here will speak for themselves and prove a point.

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Statistics on disability and abuse:

http://www.mass.gov/dppc/abuse-recognize/prevalence-of-violence.html

• According to one study in 2000, approximately five (5) million crimes were committed against persons with developmental disabilities in comparison to 1.4 million child abuse cases and one (1) million elder abuse cases. (From Joan Petersilia, Ph.D., When Justice Sleeps: Violence and Abuse Against the Developmentally Disabled.)

• More than ninety percent (90%) of people (both male and female) with developmental disabilities will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Forty-nine percent (49%) will experience ten or more abuse incidents. (Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995). The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. James Stanfield Company. Santa Barbara: California)

• A study of psychiatric inpatients found that eighty-one percent (81%) had been physically or sexually assaulted. (From Jacobson & Richardson, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1987)

• Sixty-two percent (62%) of women with physical disabilities reported experiencing emotional, physical or sexual abuse. (From Nosek & Howland, 1998)

• Only three percent (3%) of sexual abuse cases involving people with developmental disabilities will ever be reported. (From Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995), The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. California: James Stanfield Company.)

• Adults with developmental disabilities are at risk of being physically or sexually assaulted at rates four to ten times greater than other adults. (From Sobsey, Dick (1994). Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities The End of Silent Acceptance? Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.)

• Sixty-eight (68) to eighty-three (83) percent of women with developmental disabilities will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, which represents a 50 percent higher rate than the rest of the population (Pease & Franz 1994, Warick, Jason (1997).

• The violence that women with disabilities experience includes verbal abuse, forced segregation, intimidation, abandonment and neglect, withholding of medications, transportation, equipment and personal assistance services and physical and sexual violence (Matsuda, 1996).

• Women with disabilities are raped, assaulted and abused at rates more than two times greater than women without disabilities.

Statistics on disability and employment and education:

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/disabl.nr0.htm

https://kesslerfoundation.org/content/education-and-employment-outcomes-people-disabilities-glass-half-full-or-half-empty

The employment-population ratio for persons with a disability, at 17.5%, edged up in 2015, essentially returning to the 2013 level. The ratio for those with no disability increased to 65.0%... across all age groups, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed than those with no disability.

Persons with a disability are less likely to have completed a bachelor's degree or higher than those with no disability. Among both groups, those who had attained higher levels of education were more likely to be employed than those with less education... In 2015, across all levels of education, persons with a disability were much less likely to be employed than were their counterparts with no disability.

Despite educational attainment and systematic increases in employment and earnings, significant disparities remain in employment and earnings between people with and without disabilities.

African Americans with disabilities experience the most severe underemployment, unemployment, and under education compared to other disability groups.

Alston, Reginald J.; Russo, Charles J.; Miles, Albert S. (1994). "Brown v. Board of Education and the American with Disabilities Act: Vistas of equal educational opportunities for African Americans". Journal of Negro Education. 63 (3).

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Anyone that knows me knows that I am a very diligent, dedicated person. I work as hard as I can to avoid being a part of any of these statistics, but there are barriers. The correlation between disability and high levels of abuse and low levels of employment and education demonstrates the general stigmatization and negative attitudes towards those who exhibit differences from normative standards. As far as barriers in employment and education, an example: Due to income limits set by the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and Medicaid, many people with disabilities have to choose between receiving the care they need and partaking in "normal" prosperous activities such as a rewarding career, marriage, and other things that would financially disqualify them from these programs. However, the disabled would require less government help and would be even better contributors to the economy if they could financially provide for themselves without the fear of losing, or the actual loss of, healthcare and other services. Systems like this are oppressive to those with disabilities. When I am experiencing or witnessing physical and/or societal barriers, I often recall one of our country's foundational quotes: "We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness." Hhmmm.....

Notice how the statistics become worse as disability intersects with other marginalized traits (being a woman, being African-American). Oppressive systems exist for other minority groups that I won't get into discussing here, but I use examples from my own experience to make the point that oppressive systems are cyclical and hard to break out of. Unless large groups of people unite to improve or alter these systems, outcomes will continue to be the same. My wish would be for those that are unaffected by these types of hardships to keep an open mind, to withhold judgemental stereotypes, to be more compassionate, to be part of a solution.

#disability #minorities #perspective #healthcare