Silent Victims: An Examination Into Criminal Victimization of the Deaf

Download or read book Silent Victims: An Examination Into Criminal Victimization of the Deaf written by Lauren M. Barrow and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific research measuring the rate of criminal victimization of Deaf persons using a culturally and linguistically sensitive survey instrument is, as yet, non-existent. This research seeks to fill that research void while contributing valuable data to the Deaf community. Research staff surveyed 71 hearing students from Rochester Institute of Technology and 118 Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf regarding their experiences with criminal victimization during 2002. The findings include that the Deaf are significantly more likely to be victimized sexually and violently than their hearing counterparts. There are no significant differences with respect to property crime. Further, the D/HH are more likely to know their offenders; and the offenders are more likely to be members of the hearing community. Additional findings include that the Deaf are disenfranchised from mainstream pop-culture, and that is resulting in limited information acquisition regarding the general practices and policies of criminal justice personnel, including police, prosecutors and judges. That lack of knowledge works actively to perpetuate the barriers that exist between the Deaf community and the criminal justice system, which prevent equal access to justice for this silent population of victims.