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3e Clients’ multiple health needs, additional vulnerabilities, and co-occurrent abuse
All clients faced additional vulnerabilities:
mental ill health; drug and alcohol use disorder; autism in addition to LD; repeated hospital admissions; financial vulnerability; disability related hate crime; and homelessness/temporary housing/being at risk of homelessness.
Most clients – 29/41 (70%) – had additional health needs.
Over half, 22/41 (53%) had mental health disorders, most commonly depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
An important caveat here is that these are
just the reported needs: many others will have experienced mental or physical ill health and not reported it to the LD ISVA.
Over half (17/31, 54%) reported to be experiencing concurrent abuse, often related to their LD (e.g. hate crime).
Most of the concurrent abuse was domestic violence/abuse (DVA) from a partner. Six experienced stalking and/or harassment,
e.g. threatening phone calls from perpetrators and those known to them.
Five were experiencing bullying/hate crime related to their disability. Two were experiencing online sexual exploitation through dating sites. Two were experiencing financial exploitation from friends. Such exploitation was a particular risk if the client had won Criminal Injuries Compensation relating to the sexual violence: the LD ISVA supported clients in safety-planning around managing money in such cases.
Table 10: co-occurring abuse
Type of abuse #
DVA Stalking, harassment, intimidation Bullying/disability hate crime Financial abuse Online sexual exploitation Cuckooing
Table 9: co-occurring mental health disorders
Anxiety 14.5%
Referral into LD ISVA
#
%
Depression
15
21.7%
PTSD
10
5
Self-harm
Bipolar disorder
Dissociative identity disorder Eating disorder
7.25%
5.8%
4.35%
2.9%
1.45%
1.45% 1.45% 1.45% 1.45%
4
Alcohol use disorder
3
2
Psychosis
1
1
Borderline personality disorder
1
1
Suicide ideation
1
9
6
6
2
2
1
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