disabilities

Applying Trauma Informed Care and Disability Justice to Serving Survivors of Sex Trafficking with Disabilities

People with disabilities are more likely to experience sex trafficking than their peers. Traffickers deliberately target victims they think will be easily isolated and controlled, so conditions surrounding people with …
Continue reading "Applying Trauma Informed...

<< Back

Applying Trauma Informed Care and Disability Justice to Serving Survivors of Sex Trafficking with Disabilities

People with disabilities are more likely to experience sex trafficking than their peers. Traffickers deliberately target victims they think will be easily isolated and controlled, so conditions surrounding people with disabilities, including the fact that they are marginalized, devalued, and isolated, make people with disabilities more vulnerable to this type of abuse. A trauma-informed approach to supporting sex trafficking survivors with disabilities recognizes signs and symptoms of trauma, resists re-traumatizing survivors, and provides safe and accessible services and healing. This webinar describes the importance of using a trauma-informed approach to supporting survivors of sex trafficking with disabilities and provide attendees with skills to more effectively support these survivors.

Vera Institute of Justice
People with Disabilities COVID-19 Survivor Impact Brief

The Center on Victimization and Safety hosted three listening sessions on COVID-19 and its impact on survivors with disabilities. From these listening sessions, we created a COVID-19 Survivor Impact Brief …
Continue reading "People with Disabilities...

<< Back

People with Disabilities COVID-19 Survivor Impact Brief

The Center on Victimization and Safety hosted three listening sessions on COVID-19 and its impact on survivors with disabilities. From these listening sessions, we created a COVID-19 Survivor Impact Brief that summarize the issues and strategies that emerged.

Vera Institute of Justice
A Rural Perspective: Serving Survivors of DV/SA with Disabilities in Rural Communities

Survivors of domestic or sexual violence with disabilities face barriers in receiving services, but when they live in a rural community, they may have an even more difficult time receiving …
Continue reading "A Rural Perspective:...

<< Back

A Rural Perspective: Serving Survivors of DV/SA with Disabilities in Rural Communities

Survivors of domestic or sexual violence with disabilities face barriers in receiving services, but when they live in a rural community, they may have an even more difficult time receiving accessible services. Local culture around disability, limited accessible transportation options, a lack of confidentiality, and the fact that there are fewer available resources are all challenges that service providers for survivors with disabilities face in rural communities. In order to best serve these survivors and help them overcome barriers, agencies need to be creative in thinking about how they can provide the most accessible services. In this webinar, an overview of the challenges rural service providers face in helping survivors overcome barriers will be provided, followed by some best practices and solutions to the challenges faced. Register for the webinar by clicking the calendar icon or copying and pasting the following link: https://veracvs.adobeconnect.com/e5r949seb09t/event/registration.html

Vera Institute of Justice
Autonomy is Safety: Using Supported Decision-Making to Facilitate the Safety of People with Disabilities

People with disabilities are more likely to experience domestic and sexual violence than people without disabilities. Society has traditionally responded to this increased likelihood of violence by limiting the choices …
Continue reading "Autonomy is Safety:...

<< Back

Autonomy is Safety: Using Supported Decision-Making to Facilitate the Safety of People with Disabilities

People with disabilities are more likely to experience domestic and sexual violence than people without disabilities. Society has traditionally responded to this increased likelihood of violence by limiting the choices that people with disabilities can make, using strategies such as institutionalization, mandatory reporting, and guardianship. Limiting the amount of autonomy people with disabilities have, however, has actually increased their risk of victimization. Alternatively, providing people with disabilities with control over their own lives empowers them and better facilitates their safety. This webinar will outline the problems with historic responses to violence against people with disabilities and review supportive strategies that can be applied to help people with disabilities live safer, more autonomous lives.

Vera Institute of Justice
Creating and Maintaining a Safety Net for Survivors with Disabilities

When serving survivors with disabilities, there are additional services that a survivor might need assistance accessing, such as federal disability benefits and supportive housing. This webinar provides information on how …
Continue reading "Creating and Maintaining...

<< Back

Creating and Maintaining a Safety Net for Survivors with Disabilities

When serving survivors with disabilities, there are additional services that a survivor might need assistance accessing, such as federal disability benefits and supportive housing. This webinar provides information on how to connect survivors with disabilities to these necessary resources.

Vera Institute of Justice
Compensation Considerations for Self-Advocates Receiving Government Benefits

Vera’s Center on Victimization and Safety believes that people with disabilities and Deaf people are experts in their own experiences. One way to ensure that the perspectives of people with …
Continue reading "Compensation Considerations for...

<< Back

Compensation Considerations for Self-Advocates Receiving Government Benefits

Vera’s Center on Victimization and Safety believes that people with disabilities and Deaf people are experts in their own experiences. One way to ensure that the perspectives of people with disabilities and Deaf people are incorporated into the movement to end violence against people with disabilities is to make sure that they are meaningfully involved in the work and valued for their expertise. However, there are specific considerations organizations should think about when compensating self-advocates. Vera developed this tip sheet to provide basic information on some government means-tested benefit programs for people with disabilities, and to explain the potential effects that receiving compensation may have on these benefits. The tip sheet also guides readers to additional resources for people with disabilities and their advocates.

Vera Institute of Justice
Designing Accessible Resources for People with Disabilities and Deaf People

The Designing Accessible Resources Tip Sheet Series for people with disabilities and Deaf people was created to help organizations plan print and digital resources that are accessible to people with …
Continue reading "Designing Accessible Resources...

<< Back

Designing Accessible Resources for People with Disabilities and Deaf People

The Designing Accessible Resources Tip Sheet Series for people with disabilities and Deaf people was created to help organizations plan print and digital resources that are accessible to people with disabilities and Deaf individuals. The series contains tip sheets on key aspects of materials and resources creation from beginning to end. Each tip sheet provides user-friendly information on creating accessible print materials, websites, webinars, and e-docs.

Vera Institute of Justice
Making PREA and Victim Services Accessible for Incarcerated People with Disabilities

The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) established a federal commission to draft national standards that address sexual abuse in confinement settings. PREA also required the U.S. Attorney General …
Continue reading "Making PREA and...

<< Back

Making PREA and Victim Services Accessible for Incarcerated People with Disabilities

The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) established a federal commission to draft national standards that address sexual abuse in confinement settings. PREA also required the U.S. Attorney General to promulgate regulations based on the standards that apply to all federal, state, and local confinement settings, including juvenile detention, lockups, and community confinement. The federal PREA standards require agencies to take a number of steps to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse. Among those steps are making sure that incarcerated people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate and benefit from all of the agency’s PREA efforts. Making PREA and Victim Services Accessible for Incarcerated People with Disabilities: An Implementation Guide for Practitioners on the Adult and Juvenile Standards provides strategies to correctional agencies that will aid their compliance with these PREA requirements. The strategies discussed in this guide draw on established practices used by victim service organizations—both community-based and those based in government agencies—to make their services more accessible for this population. By offering concrete recommendations on how to adapt these community practices to correctional settings, this guide aims to help adult and juvenile correctional facilities increase accessibility for people with disabilities.

Vera Institute of Justice
The ADA@25: Impact and Implications for People with Disabilities Involved in the Justice System

In conjuncture with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the American’s with Disabilities Act, the Center on Victimization released this factsheet that reflects on the impact this legislation had …
Continue reading "The ADA@25: Impact...

<< Back

The ADA@25: Impact and Implications for People with Disabilities Involved in the Justice System

In conjuncture with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the American’s with Disabilities Act, the Center on Victimization released this factsheet that reflects on the impact this legislation had on justice involved people with disabilities and Deaf people.

Vera Institute of Justice