In Their Own Words: People With Intellectual Disabilities Talk About Rape
In the final piece of NPR's series on the sexual assault epidemic against people with intellectual disabilities, we hear from victims themselves about how these experiences shape their lives.
Editor's note: This report includes descriptions of sexual assault.
Somebody with an intellectual disability by definition has difficulty learning, reasoning or problem-solving.
But many often think deeply about the things that affect them — and the things that isolate them, like sexual assault.
As part of its investigation into the hidden epidemic of sexual violence faced by this group of Americans, NPR reached out to people with intellectual disabilities across the country to hear their voices, what they have to say about the sexual assaults they've survived, and how those experiences have affected their lives.
(NPR does not use the last names of survivors of sexual assault, unless they prefer their full name be used.)
