Women with disabilities abused in German institutions

A study says that thousands of women with disabilities are abused in Germany. These women live in homes and institutions. Inclusion Europe wants people with disabilities to live included in the community.

According to a study commissioned by German Federal Ministry for Families, several thousands of women with intellectual disabilities living in homes and residential institutions have been victims of sexual abuse, reported the German magazine Der Spiegel Online on 14 February.

The study called "Living Situation of Women with Impairments and Disabilities in Germany” has beencarried out by the University of Bielefeld. The results of a representative survey have been reported in advance by the ARD political magazine "Report Mainz".

The study denounces that 6% of women with intellectual disabilities have suffered some sort of sexual abuse in homes and institutions. According to the study, the perpetrators are mostly other patients but also staff members.

In an interview with "Report Mainz", the study manager Monika Schroettle said that these women cannot just go out which makes it harder for them to gain access to help and support, as well as access to enough means to make sure they get actually responsible care for ensuring that they are not abused in the first place.

If you want to read the article in German, please click here.

After the UK or Greece, the study findings add to the shocking revelations of human rights violations and abuse committed on people with disabilities living in residential institutions across Europe. These reports prove that maltreatment of people with disabilities in institutional environment is a serious problem all over the continent, not only in underresourced institutions of Eastern Europe.

Inclusion Europe continues to lobby the key decision-makers to end institutionalisation and promote development of community-based alternatives: read more.