General Facts About Sexual Abuse
and People with Cognitive Disabilities
1. Sexual abuse is only one type of abuse that is reported against people with cognitive disabilities. It
occurs far more often than is reported or is generally believed.
2. Most persons with cognitive disabilities who are sexually abused receive the abuse from someone they
know well, such as a family member, staff person, bus driver, personal attendant, or other caregiver. The
personal relationship may make it more difficult for the individual with a cognitive disability to assess
whether the act was wrong and to tell someone.
3. Many persons with a cognitive disability have a desire to be accepted and to please others as well as a
trusting nature, which increases the individual’s risk for sexual abuse.
4. Knowledge is the key to prevention. It is vital for people with disabilities to learn about sexuality and
self-protection from sexual abuse.
5. Discussing the subject of sexual abuse can be done in a supportive and comfortable environment, where
the information is not frightening, but empowering.
6. All residents of the State of Texas are required by law to report suspected abuse against persons with any
type of disability. Often there is no medical evidence to verify sexual abuse, but this does not mean that
no abuse has occurred. The telephone number to report suspected abuse in Texas is 1.800.252.5400.
7. Many people with a cognitive disability and other disabilities are unable to articulate to a trusted adult
that abuse has occurred. Furthermore, even when they do so, the individual is often not believed and has
difficulty establishing credibility.
8. Special education and residential settings rarely provide adequate education for persons with disabilities
about sexual abuse prevention and sexuality education.
9. Persons with disabilities traditionally have lived in or spent their days in settings where they are
dependent upon many different caregivers, and in these settings they learn to do as they are told, thereby
increasing the risk of sexual abuse.
Permission is granted for duplication of these materials for educational purposes with proper acknowledgment
of the Disability Services ASAP of SafePlace, Austin, Texas.
SafePlace | Disability Services ASAP | P.O. Box 19454 | Austin, TX 78760
24-hr Hotline: 512.267.SAFE (7233) | For Deaf/HH/Deaf-Blind community, please use relay/VRS | www.SafePlace.org/DisabilityServices
© Disability Services ASAP (A Safety Awareness Program) of SafePlace, 2012