Individuals with Disabilities are Four Times More Likely to be a Victim
The Department of Justice recently released sobering new statistics for the disability community. According to a recent report from the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 2017 and 2019, individuals with disabilities accounted for 26% of victims of nonfatal violent crime despite only representing 12% of the American population. Sadly, in 2019 alone, the rate of violent crime against individuals with disabilities rose to 49.2 per 1,000 compared to only 12.4 per 1,000 for people without disabilities. Additionally, the report found that a third of robbery victims had disabilities.The rate of violent victimization (rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, or simple assault) was highest for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities at 83.3 per 1,000. The report also found that crimes against people with disabilities were more likely to occur at the hands of someone the victim knew. Twice as many of these crimes were committed by a parent, a child or other relative.
