Survey of sexual harassment and abuse of special education students in schools

3.15.10 - Mary Lou Bensy - The sexual abuse of individuals with disabilities is an extreme form of the dehumanization and humiliation to which individuals with disabilities are subjected.

Student Sex Abuse Survey

My name is Mary Lou Bensy, and I am a Doctoral Student and researcher at Hofstra University, located in New York.  As part of my Doctoral Dissertation, I have developed a survey to gather vital information to learn more about the sexual harassment and abuse of special education students in schools. The sexual abuse of individuals with disabilities is an extreme form of the dehumanization and humiliation to which individuals with disabilities are subjected.  Through this research, I hope to gather vital information, never before systematically collected, that will expose the extent of the abuse in educational settings, and enable us to protect this victimized population.

The survey is designed primarily to gather information on individuals with disabilities who have ever been sexually abused in the school setting.  Parents, guardians, advocates and caregivers of students with disabilities are asked to respond to my web-based survey, on behalf of the victimized student.  If an individual chooses to respond on behalf of more than one student, he/she can feel free to take the survey more than once.  Adult survivors are asked to complete the survey for themselves.  The survey is anonymous.  When the research results are reported, it will be done with no identifiable information from individual participants.            

I ask that you would consider including this link to my survey, on your website, to facilitate the collection of this vital information:    https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/abuse_studentswithdisabilities 

Enhancing the knowledge-base regarding the sexual abuse of children with disabilities in not without risks.  However,oH the failure to expose the full extent of this problem can only result in the perpetuation of the abuse and the exploitation of students with disabilities. 

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Please respond to this email to acknowledge your receipt and willingness to participate.   

Regards,

Mary Lou Bensy

Mary Lou Bensy, Adjunct Professor

Hofstra University

Counseling, Research, Special Education and Rehabilitation

Hofstra University

Hempstead, New York 11549

MaryLou.Bensy@hofstra.edu

(516)250-7609