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Sunderland Repository records the research produced by the University of Sunderland including practice-based research and theses.

Incredible Witnesses: Exploring barriers to justice for people with learning disabilities who have experienced sexual violence

Williams, Helen and Jobe, Alison (2021) Incredible Witnesses: Exploring barriers to justice for people with learning disabilities who have experienced sexual violence. In: BSC Annual Conference, 7-9 July 2021, Online. (Unpublished)

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

People with learning disabilities are at increased risk of sexual violence yet such cases rarely progress through the Criminal Justice System. Given that people with learning disabilities are disproportionately represented but not exclusively studied within the broader research literature on attrition, this project represents an opportunity to address a knowledge gap and to understand barriers to justice for people with learning disabilities who have experienced rape or sexual assault. This work combines expertise from academia, third sector organisations, police, social work and health services in order to explore the criminal justice system in practice.

This paper presents the results of this exploratory qualitative study with particular focus on the conceptualisation of a ‘credible witness’ and the implications of this for people with learning disabilities. We discuss the assumptions of uniformity in risk assessment, communication and understanding that renders the process inherently discriminatory to those with atypical frames of reference. We conclude that the current system heightens vulnerability to sexual violence for people with learning disabilities and consider strategies for future change.

Full text not available from this repository.

More Information

Depositing User: Helen Williams

Identifiers

Item ID: 13682
URI: http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/13682
Official URL: https://www.britsoccrim.org/conference/conference2...

Users with ORCIDS

ORCID for Helen Williams: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4980-0853

Catalogue record

Date Deposited: 14 Jul 2021 12:59
Last Modified: 14 Jul 2021 12:59

Contributors

Author: Helen Williams ORCID iD
Author: Alison Jobe

University Divisions

Faculty of Education and Society > School of Social Sciences

Subjects

Social Sciences > Criminology
Social Sciences

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