Children with developmental disabilities are three times more likely to be sexually abused.
— P.M. Sullivan, J.F. Knutson, Maltreatment and disabilities: a population-based epidemiological study
Research indicates that 1 in 10 children will be victims of sexual abuse by the age of 18.
Statistics about children with disabilities vary due to challenges and limitations in collecting accurate data. However, researchers solidly agree that children with intellectual disabilities are at greater risk of experiencing sexual abuse. In 2000, a study of maltreated children found that children with cognitive disabilities are 3.14 times more likely to be sexually abused than their non-disabled peers. Other studies suggest up to 10 times increased prevalence of abuse.
Children with Down syndrome are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse due to:
Limited verbal communication and vocabulary
Reliance on helpers for personal and physical needs
Lack of education in body awareness and boundaries
Conditioned compliance due to the need for interventions
Frequent separation from typical peers
Increased exposure to multiple adults and caregivers
Strong desire for attention = vulnerability to manipulation
Societal expectation that children with Down syndrome are friendly to all people, even strangers
Despite the increased awareness in our culture, sexual abuse remains a very difficult topic to discuss. We want to believe it only happens to other people or in other places. But abuse knows no boundaries and is present in every demographic and socioeconomic class.