Sexual abuse: children with intellectual disabilities are more at risk

Children who live with intellectual disabilities are not only more likely to be victims of sexual abuse, but the consequences of this assault affect them more severely.

According to a new study, these young people are 3.5 times more likely to be the subject of a report of substantiated sexual abuse than their peers without neurodevelopmental disorders and this abuse leads to a greater number of specialist consultations for problems physical and mental consequences that result. These children would thus have more health problems, both physically and mentally, than young people without intellectual disabilities who have been sexually assaulted and those with an intellectual disability but who have not suffered attacks. sexual.

“We already knew that young people with intellectual disabilities were over-represented in groups of children who had suffered sexual abuse, but until now we did not have longitudinal data,” says Isabelle Daigneault, principal investigator of the study and professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal.

Because this study crosses for the first time data from the Régie de l’assurance santé du Québec and the Ministry of Health and Social Services covering a period of 17 years with information over 10 years from the Protection Directorate of youth, all socio-economic factors controlled.

Specificities to take into account

For Isabelle Daigneault, this over-representation can be explained in particular by the social context in which children with intellectual disabilities evolve. Generally speaking, these young people are placed in the care of people outside the family earlier and more often. “And the absence of a guardian is a risk factor, since people tempted to abuse a child will take advantage of this vulnerable situation,” she notes.

Also, continues the researcher, these children could have more difficulty expressing themselves to get help and realizing that a situation is inadequate. Remember that sexual abuse is not always violent, it can take the form of blackmail and manipulation, more insidious manifestations.

“It is therefore less likely that the child will quickly report the situation,” emphasizes the psychologist. We can assume that the more serious after-effects may result precisely from the fact that the abuse lasts longer.”

What to do?

“Few or no means are put in place to deal with this reality,” Isabelle Daigneault immediately points out. Above all, we must support the development of children to ensure that they become adults and parents who do not abuse children while equipping them to seek help if they themselves experience a difficult situation. abuse, believes the professor.

Therefore, encourage sexuality education that addresses sexual violence head on. “But also adapted education for children with intellectual disabilities, since some do not receive any at all, due to lack of adapted programs,” specifies the researcher. Awareness should therefore be raised so that the child can identify risky contexts, then know how to recognize their needs and set their limits.

At the same time, Isabelle Daigneault adds that there is no appropriate intervention aimed at reducing the after-effects and avoiding recurrences for these vulnerable children. For example, she suggests creating prevention programs aimed at parents in order to better inform them about the risks and increase their supervision.

“We also need to set up programs for young victims that would make it possible to target the factors associated with re-victimization,” she concludes.