Through much of the 1800s and into the 1900s, people with disabilities were seen as useless and dependent, hidden and excluded from society, first in private homes, then in institutions. This isolation eventually gave way, and now people with disabilities live and work in communities alongside their family and friends.
             But it has been a long and difficult road for those with disabilities – and it still is. They seem different to other people, because they might use a wheelchair or need a cane, because they might have uncontrollable seizures or have trouble communicating or understanding. These differences can evoke a range of emotions from others, like misunderstanding and apprehension, or even feelings of superiority and hatred. This can turn into anti-disability bias, which in turn can lead to disability-based biased crimes.
             There are several issues involving crimes of abuse of people with disabilities that I would like to address. The first is family violence against people with disabilities. In both disabled and non-disabled communities, a person known to the victim inflicts most abuse, and the incidence of abuse is 20% higher in the developmentally disabled and deaf community.
             In this case, family violence is the physical, psychological, or sexual maltreatment, abuse or neglect of a person with disabilities by a relative or caregiver. People with disabilities must often depend on a variety of people to provide them with assistance in carrying out their everyday lives. For this reason, their "family" can include not only parents, spouses, significant others and other relatives, but also friends, neighbors and caregivers (teachers, drivers, doctors, nurses, social workers, etc.)
             Family violence can take many forms and usually occur at the same time. It occurs not only as deliberate abuse, but also in the form of neglect:
             - Neglect: denial of food, lack of or inappropriate personal or m...