Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities, UNICEF

summarized above. Others are in the process ofdoing so, not only for children but also for youngerand older adults with disabilities. As described morefully below, in addition to creating alternatives toinstitutional care, effective mechanisms of socialprotection need to be put in place that reach themost vulnerable families and caregivers.They includeeducational and health care support, including feewaivers, provision of day-care facilities and homebasedcare, material support to families living withdisability (tax breaks, cash transfers, in-kind support),counselling and social work services.In the meantime there is much that can be doneto create better conditions within the institutions.Accommodation can be altered to enable childrento live in small family groups and to be looked afterby staff who act as consistent surrogate parentsin environments that resemble an ordinary hometo the greatest possible extent. National standardsof care can also be established and rigorouslymonitored through an independent inspectorate, asrecommended by international standards, includingthe CRPD.The training and support of residential care staffis of paramount importance in this process. It isnot surprising that totally inadequate numbers ofuntrained and unsupported staff working in very poorconditions will resort to institutional methods of blocktreatment that leave children without toys, stimulationor personal attention. Given additional resources andtraining, however, staff can adopt more humane andchild-centred approaches to caring for children.The provision of high quality and well-staffededucational facilities in all remaining institutionsshould be a high priority, so that children are givenan effective opportunity to enjoy their rights toeducation, regardless of where they are living.Protection from violence, exploitation and abuseChildren are entitled to protection from violence,exploitation and abuse, including from economicexploitation, sexual exploitation and abuse, sale,trafficking and any similar practices prejudicial to thechild’s welfare. Children and young persons withdisabilities have been reported as being significantlymore likely to be the victims of physical, sexualand psychological abuse than their peers withoutdisabilities. The powerlessness, social isolation andstigma faced by children with disabilities make themhighly vulnerable to violence and exploitation in theirown homes, as well as in care centres, institutions oron the street. 58 A child who requires assistance withwashing, dressing and other intimate care activitiesmay be particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse.Perpetrators can include caretakers, attendants,family members, peers or anyone who enjoys aposition of trust and power. School bullying is also aform of abuse.As observed by the World Report on Violenceagainst Children, commissioned by the UN Secretary-General, “children with disabilities are at heightenedrisk of violence for a variety of reasons, ranging fromdeeply ingrained cultural prejudices to the higheremotional, physical, economic, and social demandsthat a child’s disability can place on his or herfamily.” 59 Impairments often make children appearas ’easy victims’, not only because they may havedifficulty in defending themselves or in reportingthe abuse, but also because their accounts are oftendismissed. 60 Violence against a child with a disabilitymay be perceived as somehow less serious and thechild’s testimony may be regarded as less reliablethan that of a person without disabilities. Sometimesthere is a reluctance to report rape or other formsof sexual abuse for fear of bringing more shameupon an already stigmatized family. 61 The problem iscompounded because initiatives to protect childrenfrom abuse rarely include children with disabilitiesin their remit. 62 Similarly, although article 39 of theCRC calls for recovery and reintegration support forchildren who have suffered abuse, this is far lessoften provided for children with a disability.In addition, as a review carried out for the UNSecretary-General’s Study on Violence againstChildren notes, “disabled children are alsodisproportionately represented in the criminaljustice system. Furthermore, once in the system,they often fare far worse than their non-disabledpeers.” 63 The review considered the often inadequateunderstanding of disability concerns by officials in thelegal, law enforcement and correctional systems. Inconsequence they may not recognize problems orconditions, or know how to protect and support thesechildren. For example, deaf children will not be able touse telephone hotlines to report abuse. There is a clearneed for staff development and support in this area.Disability in conflict and emergency situationsConflict, civil unrest and natural disaster representsignificant causes of childhood impairments –as well as barriers to supporting children withdisabilities in these situations, for example amongrefugees and internally displaced populations.Children with disabilities are especially vulnerablein emergency situations. They are often the firstto be abandoned by families and usually the last toreceive emergency relief and support. 64 A disabilityperspective is rarely present in assessmentsfrom the early stages of an emergency, and it isalso possible that, under pressure, humanitariancare workers revert to segregating persons withdisabilities and even accommodating them only byimpairment category, as happened in the Freetownamputee camp in Sierra Leone.Children and adolescents may be separated fromtheir families for long periods, with devastating19 Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities Innocenti Digest No. 13