Prevalence and experience of violence against persons with disabilities in Bangladesh: findings from a nationwide mixed-method study

Current prevalence of disability in Bangladesh stands at 7.14%. Due to various misconceptions, stigma, and lack of policies, they are more vulnerable to violence and abuse from perpetrators. However, there is a paucity of research on the prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual violence in the country. To address this knowledge gap, the current study aims to estimate the prevalence and explore the experiences of emotional abuse, physical, and sexual violence of persons with disabilities with their coping strategies. This study adopted a mixed-method sequential design comprising qualitative and quantitative components. A total of 5000 persons with disabilities were interviewed during the survey, and mini-ethnographic case studies were conducted with 51 purposively selected persons with disabilities from all eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Descriptive and bivariate statistical analysis was performed for quantitative data. Qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis. The study concludes that the lifetime prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse is 68.9%, 26.6%, and 11.5%, respectively. Male participants were more prone to experience sexual abuse than females for both lifetimes (male: 12.7% & female: 10.3%) and within the last 12 months before the survey (male: 6.6% & female: 5.1%). Neighbours and close family members were found to be perpetrators of emotional and physical violence, whereas immediate family members were the perpetrators of sexual violence. Even though participants shared several coping mechanisms, equal to or less than 0.5% sought help from a counsellor to cope with the trauma. Results from the study correspond to the earlier studies with implications for future research and urgent policy reform. Although women are more vulnerable to experiencing different forms of violence, men with disabilities are no different. However, this remains unseen and unheard. To reduce the prevalence of violence against this marginalised group, a coordinated and collaborative approach is required targeting nationwide sensitisation, easy access to help-seeking centres, and adequate policy implementation.