Prevention of Sexual Assault Against
Children Who Are Visually Impaired
Gaylen Kapperman
(gkapperman@niu.edu), Tara Brown-
Ogilvie (tara.brownogilvie@gmail.com),
Jennifer Yesaitis
(z1555252@students.niu.edu), and
Anna Peskin (annieP94@gmail.com)
Northern Illinois University
Introduction
Sexual abuse can occur within any group of
children. No gender, age, ethnicity, or socioeco-
nomic class is immune. However, research has
shown that there is a higher incidence of sexual
abuse of children with disabilities compared to
non-disabled children (Westat, 1994). Because
there is a severe paucity of literature on the sex-
ual abuse of children with visual impairments, the
authors have chosen to review the literature that
pertains to children with disabilities in general,
with the assumption that this information may be
equally relevant for children with visual disabili-
ties.
What Do We Know About Sexual Abuse?
The vast majority of sexual predators are
individuals who already have a relationship with
the child. It is estimated that over 90% of sexual
predators are known to the child (Sobsey, 1994).
The stereotype of the "creepy" stranger leaping
out from the bushes to snatch a child holds little
credence. Unfortunately, the abuser can be a
family member including a father, brother, grand-
father, mother, sister, or any other member of the
inner family circle. Additionally, abusers can be a
friend of the family, such as a boyfriend, teacher,
coach, counselor, physician, babysitter, school
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