This article reports on a national survey of 161 visually impaired women's and men's perceptions of their vulnerability to and experiences with actual or attempted sexual or physical assaults and their experience with and desire for training in self-defense. Although the women perceived themselves to be at significantly more risk for assault than did the men, 1 in 3 of all the respondents had been targets of either attempted or actual assault at some point in their lives.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CohenJ., & CohenP. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
2.
GordonM.T., & RigerS. (1989). The female fear.New York: Free Press.
3.
GrothN., & BurgessW. (1980). Male rape: Offenders and victims. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 806–810.
4.
KilpatrickD.G., EdmundsC.N., & SeymourA. (1992, April 23). Rape in America: A report to the nation. (National Women's Study). Arlington, VA: National Victim Center.
5.
KossM.P. (1985). The hidden rape victim: Personality, attitudinal, and situational characteristics. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 9, 193–212.
6.
PaigeC.S., WrightS., & SchaeferM. (1991). The Project Action curriculum: Sexual assault awareness for people with disabilities.Seattle, WA: Seattle Rape Relief.
7.
PavaW.S. (1989). Visually impaired women's perceptions of and experiences with vulnerability to physical assault and their knowledge of and desires for training in the area of self-defense. Unpublished manuscript.
8.
PavaW.S., BatemanP., AppletonM.K., & GlascockJ. (1991). Self-defense training for visually impaired women. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 85(10), 397–401.
RigerS., & GordonM.T. (1981). The fear of rape: A study in social control. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 71–92.
11.
RussellD.E.H. (1984). Sexual exploitation: Rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
12.
Seattle Rape Relief. (1991). Project Action: Addressing sexual assault and people with disabilities. (Available from Seattle Rape Relief, 1905 South Jackson, Seattle, WA 98144).
13.
U.S. Department of Justice. (1992, February). Criminal victimization in the United States, 1990 (Bureau of Justice Statistics Publication No. NCJ-134126). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
