Developmental Disabilities

Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities Online Training Toolkit

People with disabilities turn to a variety of support systems in the aftermath of victimization, from family and friends to victim services to their local disability service provider or to …
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Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities Online Training Toolkit

People with disabilities turn to a variety of support systems in the aftermath of victimization, from family and friends to victim services to their local disability service provider or to law enforcement. When those support systems are knowledgeable about the needs of people with disabilities, they can broaden the paths to healing available to victims with disabilities. The Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities toolkit was designed to provide comprehensive and culturally responsive informational and educational resources, tools, videos, and examples of best practices for law enforcement, forensic interviewers, victim advocates, and others to prepare them to effectively respond to victims of crime with disabilities across the lifespan. Leveraging the guidance and expertise of representatives from these fields, the toolkit embodies ideals of intersectionality, accessibility, and usability among others. The toolkit includes video testimonials from survivors with disabilities, recorded lectures from professionals across a variety of systems, and interactive activities. You can review the content from beginning to end or select specific topics of interest.

Video Introduction to the Online Toolkit
Innovations at the Intersection: Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault with a Survivor Support Packet

In our first Innovations at the Intersection webinar, we will highlight the Survivor Support Packet, a support guide for survivors of sexual assault with disabilities. If you are looking for …
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Innovations at the Intersection: Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault with a Survivor Support Packet

In our first Innovations at the Intersection webinar, we will highlight the Survivor Support Packet, a support guide for survivors of sexual assault with disabilities. If you are looking for a tool to help you serve survivors with disabilities, the Survivor Support Packet, developed by and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in collaboration with the rest of the Mass Rights for Change team, may be what you are looking for! The Survivor Support Packet includes a list of a survivor’s rights following sexual assault, a community resource list, scripts to help survivors reach out for help, self-care exercises, and tips for people supporting survivors with disabilities.

In this interactive discussion, we will talk about the need that led to the Survivor Support Packet, how it could be valuable in your community, and how you can create a similar, customized resource by partnering with self-advocates. You will also learn some of the strategies used in the Survivor Support Packet that could be helpful in working with survivors with disabilities you serve.
Serving Survivors of Sexual Assault with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Each April, we come together to pause, to reflect, and to uplift the experiences of sexual assault survivors. Please join us as we honor Sexual Assault Awareness Month with a …
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Serving Survivors of Sexual Assault with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Each April, we come together to pause, to reflect, and to uplift the experiences of sexual assault survivors. Please join us as we honor Sexual Assault Awareness Month with a conversation centering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who are more likely to experience sexual assault. In this webinar, you will learn about the unique risks they face, barriers they encounter when seeking services, and best practices that you can implement to serve survivors with I/DD effectively. Also, a self-advocate shares her experiences and provide tips for ways in which you can increase survivors’ comfort, be trauma-informed, and meet the needs of those most likely to experience sexual assault.

Vera Institute of Justice
One Year Later: Reflections on Sustaining Services for Survivors with Disabilities During COVID-19

The past year has brought unprecedented challenges and evolving landscapes for all of us. For those who were already underserved – such as survivors with disabilities – COVID-19 amplified the …
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One Year Later: Reflections on Sustaining Services for Survivors with Disabilities During COVID-19

The past year has brought unprecedented challenges and evolving landscapes for all of us. For those who were already underserved – such as survivors with disabilities – COVID-19 amplified the barriers that exist to have their healing and justice support needs met, and further increased their experiences of isolation. Providers have leveraged their creativity, flexibility and relationships to adapt and ensure that survivors with disabilities were able to sustain services during this difficult time.

In this panel discussion, participants will hear from providers on the strategies they used to sustain services to survivors with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will also explore the enduring challenges survivors with disabilities face as this health crisis continues, and their hopes for the future.

Vera Institute of Justice
Just Ask: A Toolkit to Help Advocates, Attorneys, and Law Enforcement Meet the Needs of Crime Victims with Disabilities

People with disabilities and Deaf people experience violent crime at three times the rate of people without disabilities, yet healing services and the legal system are often not accessible to …
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Just Ask: A Toolkit to Help Advocates, Attorneys, and Law Enforcement Meet the Needs of Crime Victims with Disabilities

People with disabilities and Deaf people experience violent crime at three times the rate of people without disabilities, yet healing services and the legal system are often not accessible to them. There are a number of steps agencies can take to make their services more accessible and welcoming for survivors with disabilities and Deaf victims, including asking every victim if they need accommodations to participate in services or the legal system.

Just Ask: A Toolkit to Help Advocates, Attorneys, and Law Enforcement Meet the Needs of Crime Victims with Disabilities was created in response to conversations with professionals working with survivors, many of whom are open to asking about accommodations, but don’t know how and are worried about saying the wrong thing. The toolkit lays out four simple steps for providing accommodations to survivors with disabilities, and includes sample language you can use when talking to survivors. It also outlines what your agency needs to have in place for staff to be able to provide accommodations as soon as survivors request them.

What’s Available

Just Ask is comprised of three audience-specific toolkits:

Advocate Toolkit

Attorney and Prosecutor Toolkit

Law Enforcement Toolkit

Asking about Accommodations: An Introduction

Acknowledgements

This toolkit was shaped by people with disabilities and disability advocates. Vera would like to thank Max Barrows, Leigh Ann Davis, Jasmine D’Addario-Fobian, Roberta Eaton, Suzanne Hopkins, Jo Johnson, Keith Jones, Shell Schwartz, and Olga Trujillo for their insights and contributions as Expert Workgroup Members for the National Resource Center on Reaching Victims. Nancy Smith and Katie Allen with the Vera Institute of Justice were also instrumental in developing this toolkit.

A Note About Language

The terms victim and survivor are used interchangeably throughout this toolkit, based on the different ways in which people who have experienced crime identify. When working with people whose lives have been touched by crime, best practice is to reflect the language they use to identify themselves.

Vera Institute of Justice
A Conversation on Serving Survivors with Disabilities

Research has shown that people with disabilities experience increased risk of domestic and sexual violence compared to people without disabilities. They also experience unique challenges in receiving healing and support, …
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A Conversation on Serving Survivors with Disabilities

Research has shown that people with disabilities experience increased risk of domestic and sexual violence compared to people without disabilities. They also experience unique challenges in receiving healing and support, everything from receiving outreach for services through participating in programming. This conversation will help you begin to understand the unique dynamics of sexual and domestic violence in the lives of people with disabilities and the barriers they face when seeking services. You will also receive practical guidance for making your services safer and more accessible for all!

Vera Institute of Justice
Meeting the Needs of Autistic Survivors

Autistic people live in a society that was not designed for them: one in which they are often forced to conceal who they are and are unable to receive the …
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Meeting the Needs of Autistic Survivors

Autistic people live in a society that was not designed for them: one in which they are often forced to conceal who they are and are unable to receive the accommodations they need. When autistic people also experience victimization, they are more likely to experience barriers to accessing services, stigma, and a fundamental misunderstanding of their needs from the systems set up for justice and healing.

This webinar, featuring Max Barrows of Green Mountain Self-Advocates and Kaitlin Shetler of the Vera Institute of Justice, addresses the barriers autistic survivors face in seeking healing services following sexual and domestic violence and ways in which service providers can better meet their needs.

Vera Institute of Justice
Augmented Language: A Brief Introduction

In this video, we define Augmented Language. We explain simple language and augmented language, and why these communication methods matter for accessibility. Finally, we demonstrate how to use augmented language …
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Augmented Language: A Brief Introduction

In this video, we define Augmented Language. We explain simple language and augmented language, and why these communication methods matter for accessibility. Finally, we demonstrate how to use augmented language and images to communicate with survivors.

Vera Institute of Justice
Alternative Text: A Brief Introduction

In this video, we discuss Alternative Text: what it is, and why it matters for survivors with disabilities. We demonstrate how to add alternative text to images and other visual …
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Alternative Text: A Brief Introduction

In this video, we discuss Alternative Text: what it is, and why it matters for survivors with disabilities. We demonstrate how to add alternative text to images and other visual elements to make web-based and electronic materials accessible for survivors with disabilities.

Vera Institute of Justice
Plain Language: A Brief Introduction

In this video, we discuss plain language and why it matters for survivors with disabilities. We explain how we can communicate using plain language, and share some examples of plain …
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Plain Language: A Brief Introduction

In this video, we discuss plain language and why it matters for survivors with disabilities. We explain how we can communicate using plain language, and share some examples of plain language. Finally, we demonstrate how to use tools to determine if a written document is using plain language.

Vera Institute of Justice