Only a small fraction of people with disabilities, who are physically or sexually abused, report such abuse to the authorities, a conference in Dublin will hear today.
Ms Marita Iglesias, who is an international expert in violence against people with disabilities, said research showed that even when the author of abuse was identified, he or she was accused in only 22 per cent of cases.
Fear of retaliation or being expelled from an institution made victims "keep silent", said Ms Iglesias.
She added: "A person who is in a relationship with the perpetrator of violence and is dependent on others - this person can be bound to continue living in a violent relationship."
Ms Rosaleen McDonagh, of Pavee Point's Violence against Women Project, said there was an absence of reliable data in the area. However, one recent study in Ireland indicated people were 16 times more likely to experience sexual or physical violence if they suffered a disability.
"On a personal level I would say it's much higher," said Ms McDonagh, who is herself disabled.
"This type of violence is very common, and I'd suggest that any research in the area should be peer-led because disabled people are not going to trust researchers."
Asked why disabled people tended not to report abuse, she replied: "Firstly, you never bite the hand that feeds you. Secondly, there is the whole history of not being believed.
"Thirdly, if it is happening every day it becomes normal, it becomes part of your existence, and you can no longer differentiate between abuse and normal behaviour."
Ms Iglesias, of the Spanish Association for Social Studies and Initiatives, said international research suggested three times as many disabled people were affected by violence compared with able-bodied people.
"Violence against disabled people is not taken seriously," she added.
"This tolerance on the part of the society, and acceptance of the maltreatment on the part of disabled people, is very worrying. It is seen as something inherent to their condition of being disabled and this makes its identification much more difficult to detect."
Ms McDonagh, who will also speak at the conference, "Breaking the Silence", said people with disabilities were subjected to violence, not only by some carers but, by the State.
"This may seem like a broad and brash statement to make, but most disabled women will talk about being pressured to have medical treatments foisted on them, or having to struggle for basic support mechanisms to live an independent life.
"Having operations you don't need - surely that is a violation. Being told in a schematic way that you are genderless and that your sexuality or any expression of it needs to be controlled, monitored, infantilised and permitted is also a violation."
Calling for a particular focus on violence against disabled women, she said she was "shocked" to discover women in institutions were "encouraged to routinely take sedation".
She was further shocked to discover that male care workers assisted in the intimate care of disabled women. "I am talking about putting them on the toilet and lifting them into bed.
"For me Garda clearance is not enough without constant monitoring and supervision of care staff," she added.
Dr Angela Kerins, the chairwoman of the National Disability Authority, which is planning to initiate some research in the area next year, said: "It is time for violence against people with disabilities to be put on everyone's agenda."
