Disabled men face far greater odds of sexual abuse

Washington: Men with disabilities were found to be four times more likely to experience sexual assaults than other men, an Indian origin researcher in the US has found.

"Men with disabilities are at a heightened risk for lifetime and current sexual violence victimisation," said Monika Mitra, assistant professor in family medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the lead study investigator. "The most notable finding is that the prevalence of lifetime sexual violence, completed rape and attempted rape against men with disabilities was comparable to that against women without disabilities," she added. "Past-year rates (of sexual abuse) for men with disabilities exceeded those for women without disabilities," added Mitra, reports the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Investigators from the University of Massachusetts Medical School used data from close to 22,000 respondents collected as part of the 2005 Massachusetts Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, according to a varsity statement. Approximately 13.9 percent of men with disabilities reported lifetime sexual violence, compared to 3.7 percent of men without disabilities, 26.6 percent of women with disabilities and 12.4 percent of women without disabilities. Men with disabilities (5.3 percent) were more likely to report past-year sexual violence than men (1.5 percent) and women (2.4 percent) without disabilities and less likely than women with disabilities (6.3 percent). IANS