Disability Grant Program: Activities that Compromise Victim Safety

The list below is not exhaustive but rather provides examples of activities that can compromise the safety of individuals with disabilities and Deaf people:  

• Creating products and materials that are not accessible to the disability type the program is addressing.

• Hosting a training that is not accessible to people with disabilities and/or Deaf people (e.g. by choosing an inaccessible venue, not using audio-visual (AV) equipment, not providing sign language interpreters (online or in-person), and/or relying on automated captioning). 

• Requiring survivors who are Deaf and/or have disabilities to participate in programming activities that are not accessible to their specific needs (e.g. groups without providing in-person sign-language interpreters). 

• Proposing to address all persons with disabilities and Deaf people but not having the appropriate expertise, either as the entity or through partnerships. 

• Having policies and practices prohibiting the use of service animals, personal care attendants, service support persons, or other accommodations. 

• Using digital tools that are inaccessible to Blind/Low Vision or Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals such as chat/text features or websites, including quick escape buttons, to connect survivors with program resources and staff. 

• Assuming a person with a disability has a legal guardian.

• Sharing personal, confidential information with a personal care attendant or support person without explicit consent, or sharing such information with a guardian without having full knowledge about the parameters of the guardianship. 

• Safety planning without adapting program safety planning tools that take into account how disability and deafness may affect risk, access, communication, and autonomy. 

• Having policies and procedures that lack consideration for mandatory reporting and impacts on safety risks for survivors with disabilities.