Project Description:
The Rural Institute at The University of Montana is collaborating with Portland State University on a new three-year research project designed to bring public awareness to the critical public health issue of violence against people with disabilities. Women and men with disabilities are at increased risk for violence, abuse, and criminal victimization. In the past decade or so, several research studies have responded to the problem of violence against women with disabilities. Our new project represents one of the first research initiatives aimed at eradicating violence against men who are living with disabilities. The project, which is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Disability Research and Rehabilitation (NIDRR), is being conducted at the Rural Institute by Rosemary Hughes and Michael Flaherty.
The purpose of The Development of a Safety-Planning Tool for Men with Disabilities project is to develop a gender-appropriate Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (A-CASI) to ensure that men with disabilities have the skills and information necessary for effective safety-planning. The project staff will conduct interviews and collaborate closely with men with disabilities in Montana and Oregon over the next three years to identify safety-planning options for dealing with abuse. Our research method is based on the assumptions that men with disabilities experience abuse that is different from men without disabilities, that only men with disabilities can describe the meaning and nature of abuse in their lives, and that men with disabilities have developed strategies for responding to abuse that must be identified and incorporated into policy and practice. The A-CASI Safety-Planning Tool, which will be universally accessible, builds upon the investigators? current research findings on the abuse experiences of men with disabilities and their development of a similar A-CASI program for women with disabilities. Project findings and technology will be comprehensively disseminated in partnership with disability, domestic violence, and criminal justice leaders and organizations. The project utilizes culturally-appropriate development and field-testing methodologies, involves individuals with disabilities in all phases, and focuses on the development of useful, practical, cost effective and accessible technology that will be designed to support men with disabilities to enhance their safety, health, independent living, and community integration.
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban
