The sexual and physical abuse of people with special needs has been an ongoing problem for many decades. The hope of this petition is to raise awareness about the need for programs focused on the education of special needs individuals and their care givers on both sexual and physical abuse.
A study published by D. Sosbey in 1994 titled, "Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities", states that nearly 15,000-19,000 special needs individuals are raped each year. In a report written by Dr. Jamie Morano in 2001, for the United States National Library of Medicine, he states that 76% of sexual abuse of special needs individuals are committed by people the victim knows and depends on.
In 2003 group homes and caregivers in Washington, D.C. were under investigation for fourteen patient deaths that were deemed preventable. The causes of death included starvation, anemia, gangrene of the stomach, and septic shock. All of which were caused by extreme neglect. They all could have been prevented if they had been treated promptly.
In 2007 a video was discovered from the cell phone of a care attendant who worked in a Los Angeles group home. The video showed that two care attendants took a 38 year old man, who had the mental and physical capabilities of a 2 year, into a bathroom and began slapping him in the face. To put this in prospective, we would have to imagine a two year old child being led into a bathroom and assaulted by two men the child relied on and trusted.
This petition seeks to stop such cases of abuse before they happen. This can be done by creating programs through schools and group homes that educates individuals about both sexual and physical abuse. Such programs would be able to give special needs individuals the power to stop abuse or give them the understanding to be able to come forward if the abuse has already occurred. Through education, the lives of many can be greatly improved and we will be able to create less victims of abuse.