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Abstract: 

This article opens with a scathing quote from Alice Vachss, Special Prosecutor for Sex Crimes in Lincoln County, OR, introducing the newly released report “Abuse of People With Disabilities: Victims and Their Families Speak Out.” The findings from the 2012 National Survey on Abuse of People With Disabilities are an indictment of our entire criminal justice system. While these documented failures are not shocking—those of us in the field are all too familiar with them—the pervasiveness of our incompetence is. This country is supposed to stand for the proposition that justice is a fundamental right. These findings instead represent fundamental wrongs.

Keywords: violent victimization prevalent; polyvictimization; improving reporting and prosecution of abuse; increasing referrals to therapists; increasing victim compensation

Affiliations:  1: FORGE Transgender Sexual Violence Project.