Disability is not Inability

:: Violence against disabled children.

Article 23 in the United Nations Convention on the rights of the Child clearly states children with disabilities have the right to enjoy a full and decent life in conditions that ensure dignity, promote self reliance and facilitates the active participation of the child in community.

However, Violence is the most common method used to disable children living with various impairments. The causes and types of this violence differ but the expression is seen at all levels of the lives of these citizens. From family, community and institutional to workplace, the extent, form, and impact of this violence is disabling. Children born with various impairments including sensory, physical, mental and intellectual also have less recourse to escape from this violence, even with laws such as the children’s act and the disability act.

In is important to know that factors that put disabled children at increased risk for abuse are often related to social, cultural and economic issues, and not to the disability itself.

The government should not be seen to be treating disabled children with the same mind as the many ignorant parents who are showing open preference, love and care to their non-disabled children at the expense of those with disabilities.

Disabled children must be included in all programs intended to end violence towards and abuse of children. Disabled children cannot sit and wait until all issues of violence and abuse are fully addressed for non- disabled children.

Many if not all organizations including KAACR that work with children have neither capacity nor will to integrate disabled children issues in their running programmes. Take a case of a father who refused to take his deaf child to school. The mother having approached various organisations including CRADLE, and ACPAAN, it was eye opening to find there are no informed program officers on children with disabilities. They also did not know that various laws like the children’s ACT could be applied with equal vigor to children with disabilities.

Cases of discrimination of children with disabilities are related to factors other than the disability itself. While rape of a non-disabled child is increasingly considered a media issue, rape of a mentally ill child is not looked at the same way. Even if the neighbours know the disabled child next door is not going to school, they are more likely to ‘leave them alone’ than if it is a non disabled child. Children officers whose mandate is to “serve ALL children”, is more likely to ‘give reasons why s/he cannot do anything’ than if it were a non-disabled child. Provincial administration will not come or give reasons why it’s hard to solve such problems. Media people not see the story side of it, since the children officer will have given ‘reasons’ why they are ‘helpless with such cases’.

True their options are few. Not all community schools have a unit for children with disabilities. Many public or community schools see the disabled children in terms of the extra cost which is not catered for by the government allocations. Parents and community leaders do not see the education of disabled children as beneficial to the community’s future. The burden frustrations and pessimism that disabled children care-givers face would kill any soul. There is no extra incentive to those who provide this difficult service. Special education is not considered hardship job that requires extras allowances. Many a times, only unqualified people are available to “teach’ in these units.

:: Violence Against diasabld children contd.