Sexual Assault among Students with Disabilities: The Hidden Victims

Cornerstone Ballroom

There has been a heightened effort to research the overwhelming prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses. Female undergraduates are the most common victims, with rates of one in five experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact during their college years. However, there is very little research that has examined sexual assault among students with disabilities. Students with intellectual disability are sexually assaulted at rates more than seven times higher than students with no disabilities. Thus, students with disabilities are hidden victims who experience sexual violence at extremely high rates. The current study used an online survey to assess the prevalence of sexual assault among students with disabilities at a large southern university. Findings may help inform future prevention efforts to help the high rates of sexual violence rates among students with disabilities on college campuses.