It is estimated that 40% of women with disabilities will be sexual assaulted or physically abused in their lifetime; and more than 90% of all people with developmental disabilities will be sexually assaulted. Despite these staggering statistics, many survivors who have disabilities do not report or have trouble being believed. Our society often infantilizes people with disabilities and stereotypes them as inherently nonsexual. If our society can’t acknowledge the healthy, natural sexuality of people with disabilities, it also can’t acknowledge that people with disabilities also experience unwanted sexual contact. Thus, the people with disabilities who report sexual assault aren’t always believed. For those with disabilities, denim isn’t always denim; it’s the belief that sexuality and disability are mutually exclusive. For more information about survivors with disabilities, check out this resource: https://now.org/…/05/Disabled-Women-Sexual-Violence-4.pdf
