A COMMUNITY-BASED MODEL PROVIDING SERVICES FOR DEAF AND DEAF-BLIND VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Deaf and Deaf-Blind women and children are at risk of being long term victims of sexual assault and domestic violence without culturally and linguistically relevant services. While Deaf and Deaf-Blind victim is sues do not differ significantly from the mainstream population, relev ant and accessible services have not traditionally been available to t he Deaf and Deaf-Blind communities. This article proposes a strategy f or providing such services based on a model developed by the only Deaf -run agency in the United States.