Mate crime victimization against individuals with intellectual disability

Tharshini, N. K. (2025) Mate crime victimization against individuals with intellectual disability. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 19 (1). pp. 23-35. ISSN 2044-1282

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Abstract

Purpose – Mate crime is a recently coined term in which a perpetrator befriends a vulnerable person to exploit them. The present study aims to investigate this phenomenon by examining mate crime victimization against individuals with intellectual disability in Sarawak, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected quantitatively from 180 respondents from various governmental and non-government organizations located in Kuching, Kota Samarahan, and Asajaya that provide medical care, residential care, employment opportunities, basic education, rehabilitation, and training for individuals with intellectual disability. Findings – The results showed that majority of the respondents were females (69.4%) between 18 and 28 years old (52.8%). Additionally, most respondents were Malay (48.9%), single (94.4%), diagnosed with mild level of intellectual disability (91.67%), have been victimized by their friends (87.2%) and have known the perpetrators for over five years (68.3%). The result also indicated that a majority of females have experienced mate crime victimization, especially related to emotional abuse [(M ¼ 16.15, SD ¼ 8.16); t(34) ¼ 3.09, p ¼ 0.020] and sexual abuse [(M ¼ 14.01, SD ¼ 7.67); t(38) ¼ 3.29, p ¼ 0.040].

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