Pulled from NPR.com – Click here to read the full article
Earlier this year, NPR reported that people with intellectual disabilities are victims of some of the highest rates of sexual assault. NPR found previously undisclosed government numbers showing that they’re assaulted at seven times the rate of people without disabilities. Now states, communities and advocates, citing NPR’s reporting, are making reforms aimed at improving those statistics.
In Pennsylvania, legislation passed the state House of Representatives earlier this month that would make it easier for people with intellectual disabilities to testify in court. The proposed law, introduced by Republican Rep. Garth Everett, would set out circumstances in which a judge could allow a person’s testimony to be taken outside of a courtroom. [Read more…] about States Aim To Halt Sexual Abuse Of People With Intellectual Disabilities