Women who are disabled and experiencing domestic violence may find the following questions and answers relevant to their situation. Click on the questions below to view the answers.
- I have a blind friend who is experiencing domestic abuse. Where can she get help?
- My husband is extremely violent. I need to escape to somewhere with wheelchair access. How can I find places like this to go?
- My boyfriend is disabled and seems resentful towards me for this. He often beats me for no reason. I’m getting to the end of my tether – is there any support available for him?
- I am deaf and am experiencing abuse from my husband. How can I get help?
- I want to go into a women’s refuge but my son has disabilities. Will there be facilities to cater for this?
- I have learning difficulties. Is there a refuge that can offer me the support I need?
- I’m disabled and am completely reliant on my husband who is also my carer. He’s very abusive towards me. He hits me and sometimes leaves me without the help I need. Sometimes he doesn’t help me to the toilet when I need him to so that it’s too late and I’m humiliated. I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?
I have a blind friend who is experiencing domestic abuse. Where can she get help?
The National Domestic Violence Helpline* could organise her a place in a refuge which has specialist facilities for people with visual impairments or direct her to local organisations that produce information in Braille. She could also contact her local domestic violence service for support.
Also there are special programmes available for the visually impaired, one of which is called Window-eyes, which transfers text to speech via a software synthesiser. It allows people to surf the internet. A program such as this would allow your friend to visit the Survivor’s Handbook for more information about her options. Your friend can also listen to an abbreviated version of the Survivor's Handbook, and also listen to videos provided by Community Legal Advice.
My husband is extremely violent. I need to escape to somewhere with wheelchair access. How can I find places like this to go?
Many refuges provide accessible accommodation and offer other facilities for disabled women. The National Domestic Violence Helpline can usually find an accessible refuge that can provide for your needs.The fact that you need a refuge with specialist facilities does mean that it may be necessary for you to be a little bit more flexible about the location of the refuge.
My boyfriend is disabled and seems resentful towards me for this. He often beats me for no reason. I’m getting to the end of my tether – is there any support available for him?
There is support for abusive men but he will need to seek help for this himself. The fact that he’s disabled doesn’t make it ok for him to be abusive towards you. There is never any excuse for domestic violence. In order for him to get help and change his behaviour he will need to accept full responsibility for his actions and be willing to seek professional help to change.
If you decide that you no longer want to be in this abusive situation, there are things you can do to get away. You could seek some emergency accommodation, or contact your local domestic violence service. There may be legal steps you could take to have him removed from the property. Remember, it’s illegal for him to assault you so the police may also be able to help. You are in no way responsible for his violence and he’s the only person who can address his behaviour.
I’m deaf and am experiencing abuse from my husband. How can I get help?
You can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline via the typetalk service. Typetalk is the national telephone relay service for people with communication difficulties. Typetalk allows textphone users to communicate with hearing people and vice versa. Also, you can watch videos giving info about domestic abuse, provided by Community Legal Advice.
I want to go into a women’s refuge but my son is disabled. Will there be facilities to cater for this?
The National Domestic Violence Helpline will be able to look for a refuge with suitable facilities for you. The fact that you need a refuge with specialist facilities does mean that it may be necessary for you to be a little bit more flexible about the location of the refuge.
I have learning difficulties. Is there a refuge that can offer me the specialist support that I need?
The National Domestic Violence Helpline will help you find a refuge that offers the level of support that you need. You will need to discuss with the helpline worker what kind of support needs you have so that they can help you find the best support, and perhaps think about any other housing options that might be open to you. The fact that you may need a refuge with quite a high level of specialist support does mean that it may be necessary for you to be a little bit more flexible about the location of the refuge.
I’m disabled and am completely reliant on my husband who is also my carer. He’s very abusive towards me. He hits me and sometimes leaves me without the help that I need. Sometimes he doesn’t help me to the toilet when I need him to so that it’s too late and I’m humiliated. I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?
Your husband is being incredibly abusive towards you, both physically and emotionally. He has no right to treat you this way. You don’t have to put up with this abusive situation. In no way do you deserve this abuse and it’s nobody’s fault but your husband’s. There are steps that you can take to end this abuse. The National Domestic Violence Helpline can try to find you a refuge that could offer the support that you need. If there isn’t a refuge that can offer the level of support and facilities you require, you could approach Social Services for help.They would have a duty towards you because you are at risk of violence within your home and also because your impairments mean that you are classed as vulnerable. They would have to help you. If you would like some help in dealing with the local authority your local domestic violence service should be able to work as an advocate on your behalf.
It may be possible for you to take legal action in order to have him removed from the home by taking out an injunction. You would need to seek expert legal advice from a solicitor with experience of domestic violence. Contact your local domestic violence organisaton which should be able to put you in touch with a suitable solicitor.
*The National Domestic Violence Helpline is run in partnership between Women's Aid & Refuge.
