Maryland Woman with Disabilities Raped While in Community Care

A young woman with disabilities was sexually assaulted while in the care of Baltimore-based community service provider Dominion Resource Center, resulting in pregnancy in April 2024 and the subsequent birth of a child in December 2024.

The young woman’s significant developmental disabilities leave her incapable of consenting to sexual acts. The rapist is unknown, but her parents are suing state officials and the service providers at Dominion Resource Center for negligence and failing to ensure the survivor was “safe and protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

Unfortunately, this is not a unique case. Persons with disabilities experience increased vulnerability to sexual violence. They experience sexual assault at nearly three times the rate of people without disabilities, and 83% of women with disabilities will be sexually assaulted in their lives. Abusers often have a relationship to the survivor specifically related to their disability, like residential staff and personal care providers. Only 3% of sexual abuse cases involving persons with developmental disabilities are reported. (Disability Justice)

Sexual assault is an abuse of power that uses violence and coercion to control, silence, and deny people their autonomy and dignity. It thrives when people who have power in society use that power to commit violence against vulnerable individuals, including persons with disabilities. MCASA supports the delivery of culturally-responsive services that support the unique needs of all survivors. We must all work together to end these forms of violence.