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vaginapagina2006-08-10 10:12 pm
josiethefiend.livejournal.com) wrote in vaginapagina2006-08-10 10:12 pm
Incorrect approch to HPV in a news story? Or an over sensitive LJ user?
The news story behind caught my attention for several reasons, not least of all the horror inspired by the mere thought of someone sexually abusing a disabled person.
Second, the approach to HPV by state officials and the Seattle Times shocks me. What do they mean the other residents tested negative??? How exactly would they claim to have tested the men? And since when does a facility like this one have the money to do HPV screening on a whole group of people? A normal pap alone won't show that a woman doesn't have it, it just means the HPV hasn't caused dysplasia, right?
Asuming that I'm not completely off base here, the misconceptions here anger me greatly as someone with HPV, who strives to educate a few people about it every so often. Anyone else have any thoughts? I'm thinking I may pen a letter to the editor...
Who is disabled woman's rapist? Answer elusive
By Maureen O'Hagan
Seattle Times staff reporter
PREV 1 of 2 NEXT
Enlarge this photo
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE TIMES
Linda Gravelle holds a photo of her daughter, Jessica, 28, who has been in various types of care facilities since she was about 6.
Enlarge this photo
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Linda Gravelle: "I know it's not going to be the last time this happens to somebody."
Linda Gravelle got the news in January: Her severely disabled daughter, a 28-year-old with the mental capacity of a toddler, had tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease while living in a Snohomish County group home.
But nearly seven months later, no one knows how Jessica got the disease, and Gravelle isn't convinced anyone has really tried to find out. She says her daughter's apparent rape was brushed aside by nearly everyone she turned to for help.
Part of the problem is new state rules, which have resulted in a bureaucracy that's not geared toward holding perpetrators accountable in homes like Jessica's. It's also because police often see cases involving severely disabled people as unsolvable when the victims can't speak for themselves.
"It's an issue we've had numerous problems with," said Betty Schwieterman, a director of the Washington Protection and Advocacy System, an organization that works on behalf of disabled people.
Even without these problems, the system works slowly. Jessica, who does not share her mother's last name, remained for months in the Everett home where she may have been assaulted. State officials say the delay was because they were working on finding a place for her to live.
If they thought Jessica was at imminent risk of harm, they would have moved her "in a very timely manner," said Shaw Seaman, a manager for the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
But Gravelle wasn't satisfied with that explanation. "Nobody can guarantee me that the person that did this isn't watching her today. Or that he isn't watching someone else," she said.
She understands her daughter's case isn't easy. But she says the way it has been handled shows serious flaws in the system set up to protect the disabled.
"I know it's not going to be the last time this happens to somebody," she said. "I think there ought to be system changes so that people take this seriously."
And thus began Gravelle's mission.
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Evidence of a crime
From the beginning, one thing has been clear: Jessica was the victim of a crime. Because of her disabilities, she isn't considered able to consent to sex — therefore, any evidence of sexual activity is evidence of a crime.
As a baby, Gravelle said, Jessica began having uncontrollable seizures and suffered brain damage after her DPT vaccinations. Today, the seizures continue. Her vocabulary is barely 20 words and she can neither understand nor convey complex ideas. Her disabilities were so profound that Gravelle felt she had to give up caring for her when the girl was about 6, putting her in several different types of care facilities.
Since 1996, she's lived in homes run by Service Alternatives, a company that contracts with the state to care for people with disabilities. Gravelle visits at least weekly.
"She's my big 3-year-old," Gravelle said lovingly, adding that Jessica likes to take walks and go swimming.
In January, as part of a routine exam, she tested positive for HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause genital warts and lead to cervical cancer.
Studies indicate that women with mental or physical disabilities are three to 12 times more likely to be sexually abused than the general population, according to Richard Sobsey, a professor at the University of Alberta who's written numerous books and articles on the subject. In fact, Adult Protective Services (APS) investigates an average of 200 sex-abuse complaints each year in the state involving victims with developmental disabilities. About one of every six of those complaints is found to be substantiated, according to the Department of Social and Health Services.
But for a variety of reasons, those who target vulnerable people such as Jessica are the toughest to hold accountable, experts say. For example, about 40 percent of APS sex-abuse investigations are closed as "inconclusive," meaning investigators are unable to determine whether abuse occurred, or who was responsible.
In Jessica's case, Gravelle is convinced the perpetrator is a staff member, since Jessica doesn't leave home except with her mother or caregivers. (Other residents at the home tested negative for the virus, according to a state investigator.)
Gravelle began her quest with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, but they told her they couldn't investigate.
According to Deputy Rich Niebusch, the public-information officer, "it's one of those cases where solvability is a factor" — the victim couldn't tell her story, and it had been three years prior to the January exam since Jessica had had an exam that could have turned up evidence of HPV.
Time, then, has destroyed any DNA evidence the perpetrator might have left behind. Authorities could try to determine whether any staff members at the home also had HPV, but they would need a search warrant to do tests. And that would be nearly impossible to get, given the circumstances, Niebusch said.
Megan Crouse, a social worker at the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault, agreed these investigations are tough. "But that doesn't mean do nothing," she said. "I've heard this before, in these cases of profound disabilities they ... basically throw their hands up."
But Niebusch says there wasn't much else to do. "There's really no leads here," he said.
The sheriff's office did, however, refer Jessica's case to Adult Protective Services, which investigates complaints involving vulnerable adults.
Gravelle quickly shifted her focus to APS, but said they, too, turned her away.
"They told me, 'We don't do this,' " she said. "They didn't say why or who does it instead."
Gravelle, in desperation, left a message on a hotline that takes complaints on behalf of nursing-home residents. Apparently, the complaint made its way to investigators with a state department called Residential Care Services.
RCS in February took over the responsibility of investigating alleged abuse or neglect of the developmentally disabled in homes like Jessica's, known as "supported living" arrangements. Even the sheriff's office didn't know this.
RCS has two full-time staff members to investigate complaints involving the 4,000 people in supported-living homes, Seaman said.
Sheldon Plumer, the RCS manager, said his agency opened a file on Jessica's case in February. They talked with caregivers and examined a variety of records.
A supervisor for Service Alternatives, Karina Briscoe, said they've cooperated. "We're doing everything we can to identify what happened," she said. "We take steps to protect all of our clients."
Gravelle was relieved that somebody finally looked into her daughter's case. But she soon learned that RCS focuses on licensing violations — such things as failing to keep proper medication logs or conduct background checks. So, she wondered, who's trying to find the perpetrator?
"A no-fault deal"?
The investigation has been only half the battle, Gravelle said. She's also frustrated by how long it took the state to find Jessica a new place to live. (Gravelle couldn't move Jessica on her own, because she has to be placed in a home approved to care for her special needs.)
"If this happened in my house, they would already have taken her," Gravelle said. "But since they're paying for the care, it's a no-fault deal."
Seaman, with the Division of Developmental Disabilities, said that if there had been a suspect who was still working with Jessica, he would have been transferred so there would be no contact between the two.
But since the suspect hadn't been identified, Gravelle wondered, how could she be sure Jessica was safe?
It took five months of effort, but on June 23, Jessica moved out of the Everett facility and into a home in King County. Gravelle said it seems like a good fit.
Meanwhile, Plumer's agency made more progress on the investigation, identifying two former workers at the Service Alternatives home who raised red flags. One, Plumer said, stood out because there was a previous finding of neglect against him — drinking on the job. The other, who was previously investigated for emotional abuse, once came back from a trip to the park with Jessica, and she was scraped and disheveled.
Plumer declined to provide their names, but said neither of them still work at the Everett home and that one of them has left the state.
RCS did, however, turn over the names to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
Once again, Gravelle asked them to investigate.
And once again, they said the case is officially closed.
By this point, Gravelle had had enough. It had been five months since her first rejection from them. She decided to pick up the phone one last time, and spoke with a woman at the sheriff's office.
And this time, they agreed to take another look at the case "to make sure everything they could have done was done," Niebusch said, adding, "The outcome, I believe, will be the same."
Second, the approach to HPV by state officials and the Seattle Times shocks me. What do they mean the other residents tested negative??? How exactly would they claim to have tested the men? And since when does a facility like this one have the money to do HPV screening on a whole group of people? A normal pap alone won't show that a woman doesn't have it, it just means the HPV hasn't caused dysplasia, right?
Asuming that I'm not completely off base here, the misconceptions here anger me greatly as someone with HPV, who strives to educate a few people about it every so often. Anyone else have any thoughts? I'm thinking I may pen a letter to the editor...
Who is disabled woman's rapist? Answer elusive
By Maureen O'Hagan
Seattle Times staff reporter
PREV 1 of 2 NEXT
Enlarge this photo
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE TIMES
Linda Gravelle holds a photo of her daughter, Jessica, 28, who has been in various types of care facilities since she was about 6.
Enlarge this photo
ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Linda Gravelle: "I know it's not going to be the last time this happens to somebody."
Linda Gravelle got the news in January: Her severely disabled daughter, a 28-year-old with the mental capacity of a toddler, had tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease while living in a Snohomish County group home.
But nearly seven months later, no one knows how Jessica got the disease, and Gravelle isn't convinced anyone has really tried to find out. She says her daughter's apparent rape was brushed aside by nearly everyone she turned to for help.
Part of the problem is new state rules, which have resulted in a bureaucracy that's not geared toward holding perpetrators accountable in homes like Jessica's. It's also because police often see cases involving severely disabled people as unsolvable when the victims can't speak for themselves.
"It's an issue we've had numerous problems with," said Betty Schwieterman, a director of the Washington Protection and Advocacy System, an organization that works on behalf of disabled people.
Even without these problems, the system works slowly. Jessica, who does not share her mother's last name, remained for months in the Everett home where she may have been assaulted. State officials say the delay was because they were working on finding a place for her to live.
If they thought Jessica was at imminent risk of harm, they would have moved her "in a very timely manner," said Shaw Seaman, a manager for the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
But Gravelle wasn't satisfied with that explanation. "Nobody can guarantee me that the person that did this isn't watching her today. Or that he isn't watching someone else," she said.
She understands her daughter's case isn't easy. But she says the way it has been handled shows serious flaws in the system set up to protect the disabled.
"I know it's not going to be the last time this happens to somebody," she said. "I think there ought to be system changes so that people take this seriously."
And thus began Gravelle's mission.
advertising
Evidence of a crime
From the beginning, one thing has been clear: Jessica was the victim of a crime. Because of her disabilities, she isn't considered able to consent to sex — therefore, any evidence of sexual activity is evidence of a crime.
As a baby, Gravelle said, Jessica began having uncontrollable seizures and suffered brain damage after her DPT vaccinations. Today, the seizures continue. Her vocabulary is barely 20 words and she can neither understand nor convey complex ideas. Her disabilities were so profound that Gravelle felt she had to give up caring for her when the girl was about 6, putting her in several different types of care facilities.
Since 1996, she's lived in homes run by Service Alternatives, a company that contracts with the state to care for people with disabilities. Gravelle visits at least weekly.
"She's my big 3-year-old," Gravelle said lovingly, adding that Jessica likes to take walks and go swimming.
In January, as part of a routine exam, she tested positive for HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause genital warts and lead to cervical cancer.
Studies indicate that women with mental or physical disabilities are three to 12 times more likely to be sexually abused than the general population, according to Richard Sobsey, a professor at the University of Alberta who's written numerous books and articles on the subject. In fact, Adult Protective Services (APS) investigates an average of 200 sex-abuse complaints each year in the state involving victims with developmental disabilities. About one of every six of those complaints is found to be substantiated, according to the Department of Social and Health Services.
But for a variety of reasons, those who target vulnerable people such as Jessica are the toughest to hold accountable, experts say. For example, about 40 percent of APS sex-abuse investigations are closed as "inconclusive," meaning investigators are unable to determine whether abuse occurred, or who was responsible.
In Jessica's case, Gravelle is convinced the perpetrator is a staff member, since Jessica doesn't leave home except with her mother or caregivers. (Other residents at the home tested negative for the virus, according to a state investigator.)
Gravelle began her quest with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, but they told her they couldn't investigate.
According to Deputy Rich Niebusch, the public-information officer, "it's one of those cases where solvability is a factor" — the victim couldn't tell her story, and it had been three years prior to the January exam since Jessica had had an exam that could have turned up evidence of HPV.
Time, then, has destroyed any DNA evidence the perpetrator might have left behind. Authorities could try to determine whether any staff members at the home also had HPV, but they would need a search warrant to do tests. And that would be nearly impossible to get, given the circumstances, Niebusch said.
Megan Crouse, a social worker at the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault, agreed these investigations are tough. "But that doesn't mean do nothing," she said. "I've heard this before, in these cases of profound disabilities they ... basically throw their hands up."
But Niebusch says there wasn't much else to do. "There's really no leads here," he said.
The sheriff's office did, however, refer Jessica's case to Adult Protective Services, which investigates complaints involving vulnerable adults.
Gravelle quickly shifted her focus to APS, but said they, too, turned her away.
"They told me, 'We don't do this,' " she said. "They didn't say why or who does it instead."
Gravelle, in desperation, left a message on a hotline that takes complaints on behalf of nursing-home residents. Apparently, the complaint made its way to investigators with a state department called Residential Care Services.
RCS in February took over the responsibility of investigating alleged abuse or neglect of the developmentally disabled in homes like Jessica's, known as "supported living" arrangements. Even the sheriff's office didn't know this.
RCS has two full-time staff members to investigate complaints involving the 4,000 people in supported-living homes, Seaman said.
Sheldon Plumer, the RCS manager, said his agency opened a file on Jessica's case in February. They talked with caregivers and examined a variety of records.
A supervisor for Service Alternatives, Karina Briscoe, said they've cooperated. "We're doing everything we can to identify what happened," she said. "We take steps to protect all of our clients."
Gravelle was relieved that somebody finally looked into her daughter's case. But she soon learned that RCS focuses on licensing violations — such things as failing to keep proper medication logs or conduct background checks. So, she wondered, who's trying to find the perpetrator?
"A no-fault deal"?
The investigation has been only half the battle, Gravelle said. She's also frustrated by how long it took the state to find Jessica a new place to live. (Gravelle couldn't move Jessica on her own, because she has to be placed in a home approved to care for her special needs.)
"If this happened in my house, they would already have taken her," Gravelle said. "But since they're paying for the care, it's a no-fault deal."
Seaman, with the Division of Developmental Disabilities, said that if there had been a suspect who was still working with Jessica, he would have been transferred so there would be no contact between the two.
But since the suspect hadn't been identified, Gravelle wondered, how could she be sure Jessica was safe?
It took five months of effort, but on June 23, Jessica moved out of the Everett facility and into a home in King County. Gravelle said it seems like a good fit.
Meanwhile, Plumer's agency made more progress on the investigation, identifying two former workers at the Service Alternatives home who raised red flags. One, Plumer said, stood out because there was a previous finding of neglect against him — drinking on the job. The other, who was previously investigated for emotional abuse, once came back from a trip to the park with Jessica, and she was scraped and disheveled.
Plumer declined to provide their names, but said neither of them still work at the Everett home and that one of them has left the state.
RCS did, however, turn over the names to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
Once again, Gravelle asked them to investigate.
And once again, they said the case is officially closed.
By this point, Gravelle had had enough. It had been five months since her first rejection from them. She decided to pick up the phone one last time, and spoke with a woman at the sheriff's office.
And this time, they agreed to take another look at the case "to make sure everything they could have done was done," Niebusch said, adding, "The outcome, I believe, will be the same."
no subject
In former jobs, I've seen reports of both happen. I certainly don't know enough about this case to make a judgment call here.
no subject