Wellington, July 22 (TIWN) A new study from the University of Auckland released on Thursday highlighted the abuse of differently-abled people in New Zealand, showing rates of violence much higher than those experienced by the rest of the population.

Forty per cent of differently-abled women experience physical violence from an intimate partner over their lifetime, compared with 25 per cent of non-disabled women, University of Auckland associate professor Janet Fanslow said on Thursday.  Intimate partner violence includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological abuse, controlling behaviours and economic abuse.  "Information about the prevalence of violence has been sought by the disabled community for many years," said Fanslow.