Untold Stories: Sexual Violence and People with Disabilities

This report shares powerful first-hand accounts of sexual violence experienced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), their family members, and professionals who support them. Based on interviews and research, the project highlights how sexual violence is often hidden, underreported, and misunderstood — especially for people with I/DD — and illustrates the deep emotional, psychological, and long-term impacts of abuse. The stories underscore the importance of listening to survivors, increasing awareness, improving responses from caregivers and systems, and working together to reduce risk and support healing. The project was funded by the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council and led by Dr. Lynne Tomasa of the University of Arizona’s Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities.

We collaborate with disability advocates, survivor advocacy organizations, state agencies, self-advocates, families, educators, and policymakers to improve coordination and strengthen response systems. Our partners include:

• Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (ADDPC)
• Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (ACESDV)
• Arizona Sexual Violence and Disability Network
• Disability Rights Arizona
• The Arc of Arizona
• Southwest Institute for Families and Children (SWI)
• Encircle Families
• Special Olympics Arizona

The Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities offers ready-to-use lectures, curriculum modules, and training materials focused on:

• Sexual violence against individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD)
• Trauma-informed approaches to care and response
• Disability-informed and survivor-centered practices
• Prevention strategies and systems-level barriers

Materials may include recorded lectures, slide decks, curated readings, case studies, discussion guides, and applied learning activities. Content is designed for integration into courses in public health, medicine, nursing, social work, education, behavioral health, criminal justice, and related fields.

Faculty, academic programs, and community organizations may request:

• Guest lectures (virtual or in-person)
• Packaged educational units for course integration
• Adapted materials for professional or community training

All materials are developed using plain language principles and grounded in trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and disability justice frameworks.

To explore bringing this content to your classroom or training program, please contact our team.

The Sonoran Center is partnering with the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (ACESDV) to better understand what individuals experience during Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) investigations related to sexual assault and abuse of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Together, we are mapping these processes to identify where improvements are needed and where individuals may experience harm or re-traumatization.

ACESDV will help identify opportunities for changes in policy and practice that can make investigations more trauma-informed, effective, and accountable. This includes engaging a wide range of stakeholders and mapping relationships to support meaningful, long-term systems change.

Through its strong connections across state agencies and community partners, ACESDV is helping bring together voices from disability advocacy, victim services, law enforcement, education, and healthcare. This collaborative approach ensures that the work is informed by those most impacted and supported by a broad network of partners.

The Sonoran Center and ACESDV meet regularly to share updates, track progress, and move this work forward together.