Resources

Working with Deaf Survivors

This webinar provides information on violence against Deaf people as well as strategies for ensuring language access for Deaf survivors seeking services.

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Working with Deaf Survivors

This webinar provides information on violence against Deaf people as well as strategies for ensuring language access for Deaf survivors seeking services.

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 …
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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 …
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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 Events for People with Disabilities and Deaf People

The Designing Accessible Events Tip Sheet Series was created to help organizations plan events that are accessible to people with disabilities and Deaf individuals. The series contains tip sheets on …
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Designing Accessible Events for People with Disabilities and Deaf People

The Designing Accessible Events Tip Sheet Series was created to help organizations plan events that are accessible to people with disabilities and Deaf individuals. The series contains tip sheets on key aspects of event planning from budgeting to registration to meeting set-up. Each tip sheet provides user-friendly information on access considerations, practical tips to maximize access, and resources for more information.

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 …
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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
Raising the Bar: Best Practices for Legal Advocacy for People with Disabilities

Navigating the legal system can be challenging in the best of circumstances. When you also have a disability, additional barriers will arise. This webinar explores best practices for legal advocates …
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Raising the Bar: Best Practices for Legal Advocacy for People with Disabilities

Navigating the legal system can be challenging in the best of circumstances. When you also have a disability, additional barriers will arise. This webinar explores best practices for legal advocates as well as innovative ideas to help survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors navigate the legal system.

Vera Institute of Justice
One Size Does Not Fit All: Serving Culturally Diverse Survivors with Disabilities

Victims of sexual or domestic violence come from every race, ethnicity, and background imaginable. One of the most challenging aspects of serving survivors is ensuring that you are providing culturally …
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One Size Does Not Fit All: Serving Culturally Diverse Survivors with Disabilities

Victims of sexual or domestic violence come from every race, ethnicity, and background imaginable. One of the most challenging aspects of serving survivors is ensuring that you are providing culturally competent services to all, no matter what their background. This webinar explores the complicated goal of providing culturally specific services to survivors with disabilities.

Vera Institute of Justice
You Report? Everyone Reports? Mandated Reporting Obligations When a Survivor Has a Disability

This webinar provides an overview of mandatory reporting in the context of sexual and domestic violence and some of the unique dynamics that arise when a survivor of sexual or …
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You Report? Everyone Reports? Mandated Reporting Obligations When a Survivor Has a Disability

This webinar provides an overview of mandatory reporting in the context of sexual and domestic violence and some of the unique dynamics that arise when a survivor of sexual or domestic violence has a disability.

Vera Institute of Justice
Who Decides? The Unique Dynamics of Serving Survivors with Guardians

This webinar is a primer on the how to best serve a survivor who has a guardian – including issues of confidentiality and information on how to approach the situation …
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Who Decides? The Unique Dynamics of Serving Survivors with Guardians

This webinar is a primer on the how to best serve a survivor who has a guardian – including issues of confidentiality and information on how to approach the situation when the guardian is the perpetrator of violence. Practical tips will be provided on how to maintain a survivor-centered approach when the survivor has a guardian and how to approach survivors who seem to have difficulty understanding but don’t have a guardian.

Vera Institute of Justice
Sexual Victimization of Men with Disabilities and Deaf Men: A National Snapshot

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines disability as any “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.”1 Major life activities include seeing, hearing, reading, …
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Sexual Victimization of Men with Disabilities and Deaf Men: A National Snapshot

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines disability as any “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.”1 Major life activities include seeing, hearing, reading, walking, and eating. Based on this definition, approximately 20 percent of Americans have a disability.2 Unfortunately, research suggests that having a disability may increase a person’s risk for experiencing victimization. Based on the most recent national estimates, the rate of violent victimization against people with disabilities was more than twice the rate for those without disabilities.3 The rate of serious violent victimization (including sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) was more than three times higher than the rate for people without disabilities. Studies also show that people with disabilities have a higher probability of repeat victimization, and by multiple perpetrators.4

Since 2005, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) has been working within communities to address victimization of people with disabilities. In those communities, we have heard a common refrain: At the intersection of violence and disability, men with disabilities experience domestic and sexual violence at rates higher than their counterparts without disabilities. Because so much of the narrative surrounding domestic and sexual violence has assumed that the primary victims are female, Vera sought to better understand the victimization experiences of male survivors with disabilities and those who are Deaf and delineate the challenges they face when accessing victim services. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), Vera’s Center on Victimization and Safety launched a project to explore these issues in depth. The goal was to raise awareness of these underserved survivors, build consensus about the barriers to services, and begin identifying potential solutions.

Vera Institute of Justice