The ‘Us Too’ Project: domestic abuse and women with learning disabilities, autism or both

The Us Too Project

Learning disabilities, autism and domestic abuse

The Us Too team is a group of women with learning disabilities, autism or both who have experienced domestic abuse. Between 2019 – 2021 they were funded by Comic Relief to develop learning based on their experiences for:

• Other women with learning disabilities, autism or both on how to stay safe.
• Professionals working with women with learning disabilities, autism or both on how to keep people safe.
• Domestic abuse and sexual violence services on how to make their services more accessible to women with learning disabilities, autism or both.

What we know about learning disabilities, autism and domestic abuse
People with learning disabilities, autism or both are thought to experience domestic abuse at about three times the rate of the general population.

In the year to 2020 this would mean that about 200,000 people with learning disabilities in the UK experienced domestic abuse in that year alone.

Public Health England (2015) tell us that disabled people experience:

• Higher rates of domestic abuse
• Over a longer period of time
• With greater severity and frequency
• More coercion and control
• And people living in particularly vulnerable circumstances
• . . . with more barriers to services.

Read the article by three of the Us Too team published on the Research in Practice website about co-producing a digit inclusion practice tool.

Feedback on the Us Too project from Lime Culture, the UK’s leading sexual violence training and consultancy organisation:

"Incredible project Rod!"

"Thank you Emma and Rod -  amazing."

"Great work! Thanks so much for sharing the resources."

"Fantastic project - and thank you for the resources!"