Hammer Residences, law firm seek to increase awareness of sexual assault against people with intellectual disabilities

In an effort to increase awareness and ultimately help lower this statistic, which comes from Department of Justice data that was reported earlier this year by NPR, Minneapolis-based Noaker Law Firm has partnered with Wayzata-based nonprofit Hammer Residences, which provides housing and services to more than 1,500 adults and children with developmental disabilities and runs 37 residential care homes and 10 apartment programs around the metro.

“I’ve handled a number of these cases and I’m frustrated by the fact that the number isn’t going down,” said attorney Patrick Noaker.

For 27 years, Noaker has fought in courtrooms across the country for the rights of survivors of sexual abuse. Inspired by a family member and clients with intellectual disabilities, he created an online campaign with educational videos and now serves as a resource to Hammer. He and his law firm also developed a picture book to guide clients with intellectual disabilities through the legal process.

Together, Hammer and Noaker will work to become resources for families, friends, social workers and caregivers. According to Hammer, the goal for the partnership is to increase protection, detection and reporting in pursuit of justice and healing for sexual assault survivors through training, speaking out and presenting online videos that educate and present the correct way to talk about assault with people with intellectual disabilities.

Noaker has already worked to produce several informational videos which are available on the law firm’s website noakerlaw.com. The videos – with names like “Tell Someone,” “What Should I Do?,” “Report It” and “Signs of Abuse” – are all meant to serve as guides for people with intellectual disabilities.

Noaker said he chose to work with Hammer because of the organization’s track record and commitment to protecting people with intellectual disabilities. 

Noaker said he’ll be involved in an upcoming training event with employees of the organization. The event will cover prevention and what care workers should do if they suspect someone in their care has been sexually assaulted.

“And that is an area that’s a very difficult topic when you’re talking about persons with intellectual disabilities because, often times, there are communication problems,” Noaker said. “But the best people to intervene often are the group home worker or the day treatment worker – the people that really know each one of the clients.”

A 2011 report published by The Arc, an organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, explores why sexual violence is so common among this demographic.

The report, written by Leigh Ann Davis, director of criminal justice initiatives at The Arc, explains that people with severe intellectual disabilities may not understand what is happening or have a way to communicate the assault to a trusted person.

“Others with a less severe disability may realize they are being assaulted, but don’t know that it’s illegal and that they have a right to say no,” the report reads. “Due to threats to their well-being or that of their loved ones by the abuser, they may never tell anyone about the abuse, especially if committed by an authority figure whom they learn not to question. In addition, they are rarely educated about sexuality issues or provided assertiveness training. Even when a report is attempted, they face barriers when making statements to police because they may not be viewed as credible due to having a disability.”

To read the full report online, visit goo.gl/sq5Jmk.

Cate Saracen-Peters, director of training and education at Hammer, said the organization uses person-centered practices in its training and in working to prevent and report cases of abuse.

“Our training is constant. For all of our employees, if a specific individual needed more support in this area and they were more vulnerable, that team, along with the family members unless they happen to be involved, would be a part of the training,” Saracen-Peters said. “We also bring in experts who deal with sexual assault and if anyone is bumping into any type of toxic environment in the bigger picture of their life, we make sure that a healing environment is restored.”

Empowering those supported by Hammer is another important tool in prevention, Saracen-Peters said.

“We empower the people we support to have self-determination, to be a part of directing the course of their lives and when there are problems, to speak up,” she said.

And for those who have difficulty communicating verbally, she said, staff members are encouraged to make connections and build relationships so that they can use empathetic communication to help recognize problems.

“If they’re seeing any kind of changes or precipitating factors that concern them, staff can take action as mandated reporters. ... We’re constantly paying attention and trying to be vigilante toward that in a proactive way.”

Hammer’s employees are all mandated reporters under state and federal law, meaning they are legally required to ensure a report is made if abuse is observed or suspected.

Hammer also ensures that staff meet licensing requirements by completing background checks and fingerprinting staff members. Staff is also taught the ethics and boundaries of direct support professionals, which are provided by The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals.

“We try very hard at Hammer to create an empowered workforce,” said CEO John Estrem. “We believe everybody exercises leadership – not just people in certain positions.”

One of the key reasons for the new partnership, Estrem said, is for the topic of sexual abuse against people with intellectual disabilities to become one that is discussed out in the open.

“It’s a difficult conversation, and we get that,” Estrem said. “Nobody really wants to talk about it, but as a community, I think we need to talk about it and we need to address it head on. The more that we kind of hide it, the more likelihood that it happens in the dark and nobody knows about it and people don’t feel safe, and that doesn’t really help anybody. We want to bring it out, respectfully, into the light.”

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