People with Disabilities

What is sexual assault?

Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual behaviour.

If someone has sexual contact with you that you don’t want, that is sexual assault. If someone makes you do sexual things that you don’t want to do, that is sexual assault. And sexual assault also includes any sexual act that you are not able to consent to, for example if you are asleep or unconscious.

Sexual assault can take place in public or in private. It can be carried out by a stranger, but is more often done by someone you know - a friend, family member, or partner.

Sexual behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable or frightened is sexual assault. This can include:

• touching, grabbing or kissing your body, even through clothes
• rape (penetration of the anus, vagina or mouth with a finger, penis or object)
• being forced to watch or engage in pornography, including being made to pose for photographs or videos
• being made to perform sexual acts, including stimulating another person or masturbating
• another person showing you their genitals

Sexual assault can happen to anyone, but research shows that people with a disability are at greater risk, and may face different challenges to people without a disability.

Sexual assault is never, your fault.

Everyone has the right to feel safe, and to make decisions about their own body. Sexual violence is an abuse of power. No person deserves to be sexually assaulted. A person who commits sexual assault is responsible for their own behaviour.

How common is it for people with a disability to experience sexual assault?

A 2021 Report by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability found that women with disability were more than twice as likely to report sexual violence as women without disability.

The disproportionately high level of sexual violence against people with disabilities is confirmed by a report from the Australian Government’s Institute of Health and Welfare. They found that one third of Australian adults who have experienced sexual harassment have a disability.

They also note that an estimated 57% (or 1.7 million) of women with disability have experienced sexual harassment since age 15, compared with:

• 51% (or 3.3 million) of women without disability
• 28% (or 799,000) of men with disability
• 23% (or 1.4 million) of men without disability.

Adults with psychological disability are more likely than adults with other types of disability to experience sexual harassment.

What are some of the challenges for people with disabilities who experience sexual violence?

Every person’s disability is different, and the way their disability affects their life is different. Some people with disabilities are more vulnerable than others.

People with disabilities who have experienced sexual violence face many of the same challenges as non-disabled victim survivors - but there are also a widerange of additional issues that are unique to their experiences. These can include:

• challenges with reporting - how to report safely, not being believed or taken seriously
• relying on the abuser for day-to-day care and support
• abusers using a person’s disability to isolate, exert power or control
• abusers restricting access to support and communication channels, including phones, computers, interpreters, and hearing aids
• some people with disabilities may not have an understanding of healthy sexuality and what types of touching or contact are appropriate or inappropriate
• some disabilities may make it difficult to communicate consent•

When a person with a disability experiences sexual violence perpetrated by someone who is supposed to care for them, it can be especially difficult to speak out. They may be fearful of losing the support they need, or the abuser may make it hard for them to seek that support.

What is the impact of sexual assault on people with disabilities?

Each survivor reacts to sexual violence in their own unique way. It is important to respect each person’s choices and style of coping with this traumatic event.

There is no right or wrong way to feel after a sexual assault. But common responses include:

• Shock/disbelief – “I never thought this could happen to me”
• Fear – “Will the perpetrator hurt me again?”
• Anger – “How dare they do this to me?”
• Shame – “How can I show my face again?”
• Guilt/self-blame – “If only I hadn’t…”
• Betrayal – “But I trusted them”
• Numbness – “I feel so hollow”
• Worry/anxiety about the future – “Will my life ever be the same?”

Some common symptoms and effects of trauma are: flashbacks, nightmares, mood swings, insomnia, exhaustion, loss of appetite, over-eating, feeling numb or spaced out, avoidance of people and places, anxiety and panic attacks, depression, risk-taking behaviour, self-harming, or self-medicating through alcohol and/or drug use.