The rate of violent victimization for persons with disabilities (36 per 1,000) was more than twice the age-adjusted rate for persons without disabilities (14 per 1,000) in 2013. Because persons with disabilities—hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, or independent living limitations—are generally older, the age adjustment standardizes the rate of violent crime to show what it would be if the age distribution was similar in the two populations.
Persons with disabilities experienced about 1.3 million violent victimizations in 2013. Rates of serious violent victimization—rape, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault—were more than three times higher for persons with disabilities (14 per 1,000) than the age-adjusted rate for persons without disabilities (4 per 1,000).
Among violent crime victims with disabilities, about a quarter (24 percent) believed they were targeted because of their disability—up from 13 percent in 2009. Persons with cognitive disabilities had the highest rate of violent victimization (67 per 1,000) and persons with hearing disabilities had the lowest rate of violent victimization (17 per 1,000). About half (51 percent) of violent crime against persons with disabilities involved persons with multiple disabilities in 2013.
According to the survey, whites (38 per 1,000) and blacks (31 per 1,000) had higher rates of violent victimization than persons of other races (15 per 1,000) in 2013. Males and females with disabilities were victimized at similar rates in 2013. The rate of violent victimization against males with disabilities was more than double that of males without disabilities, and the rate of victimization against females with disabilities was nearly triple that of females without disabilities.
Additionally, 41 percent of violent crime against persons with disabilities was committed by persons they knew well or by casual acquaintances, compared to 35 percent of violent crime against persons without disabilities in 2013. An estimated 58 percent of violent crime against persons with disabilities occurred during the daytime, compared to 53 percent of violent crime against persons without disabilities.
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