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Children with disabilities continue to bear the brunt of rights violations
National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH)
May 20, 2007

The experiences faced on a daily basis by children with disabilities the world over, despite the profoundly different social, economic, political and cultural contexts of the various countries, are remarkably similar. They can be summed up in one word - rejection! Rejection by the family, rejection by the other children, rejection by the community, and rejection by the wider society. It is, indeed, an all-encompassing rejection. Poverty, cultural traditions, ignorance, fear and social isolation all contribute towards their rejection and all these factors need to be addressed if real change is to be achieved.

In 1991 the historic World Summit for Children culminated in the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This Convention, ratified by every government in the world including Zimbabwe (Somalia and the United States are the only exceptions), serves as an international human rights treaty that calls for the development of national policies and programmes to ensure that all young people (defined as less than 18 years of age) get the chance to grow up in a protective, nurturing and stimulating environment, right from the beginning. Yet, despite this convention, and the shift to the human rights perspective on disability which has gained momentum worldwide, the rights of children with disabilities continue to be trampled upon with impunity.

The violations suffered by other disadvantaged people like street children, child soldiers, child prostitutes, trafficked children, and child labourers pale into insignificance when compared against the violations faced by children with disabilities. The discrimination and social exclusion they experience is comparable only to that of girls, and indigenous or ethnic minority children who face widespread discrimination on the basis of their very being. In Zimbabwean society, and indeed in most societies, a child with a disability is viewed as other, lesser, a burden, a punishment or a curse. The common feature of children with disabilities is that they face rejection within the family, the community, and their peers. They face exclusion from education, cultural activities, festivals, sports and social events and are especially vulnerable to poverty, physical and sexual violence, lack of access to health care, emotional abuse and neglect. Disabled children will often be refused access to friendships, to recognition of their worth, even to life itself. Their isolation can be extreme. In the developing countries especially, their very existence is often denied. In the majority of cases, their births are not registered, they are not recorded in census data, and some families go to the extent of hiding them away are in back rooms or abandoning them in institutions.

So, for many millions of disabled children, life is bleak, lonely and harsh, with poverty, ignorance, superstition, culture and prejudice combining to strip away the humanity of the disabled child. It is against this background that horrific rights abuses are legitimated; they are defined by and judged according to their difference, and found wanting, thus setting the stage for their social exclusion.

Studies have revealed that children with disabilities in all countries face overwhelming barriers to the realisation of their rights and are marginalised from the mainstream society despite differing cultural and religious attitudes toward disability, contrasting political histories and varying strengths of civil society and NGO communities. Despite efforts to tackle many of these abuses, violations of their social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights remain commonplace. The reality is that they face difficulties in every arena of their lives in Zimbabwe as in any other country.

An analysis of the UNCRC, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory, reveals the glaring fact that legislation must have effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and also be supported by a plan of action or strategy for implementation if the rights of children with disabilities are to be realised. Legislation alone will achieve very little if there is no strategy for implementation. A survey of a number of articles of this convention will serve to highlight this shortcoming:

Article 2 states that "Each girl and boy is born free and equal in dignity and rights: therefore, all forms of discrimination affecting children must end." However, this piece of non-discrimination legislation designed to protect against discrimination frequently excludes disability as a ground for protection, and even when it exists, is rarely enforced effectively. Disabled children are commonly treated with hostility, contempt and rejection. They face lack of legal protection, in that concessions are done to them more as a favour rather than because it is their right, an inability to enforce rights where they are violated, and, perhaps worst of all discrimination from, their families.

Although Article 3 stresses the necessity of always acting in the best interests of children, the best interests of children are widely defined in terms of a requirement to conform to the non-disabled environment, and to adjust for the convenience of non-disabled people.

Article 4 deals with the duty to implement rights. However, Governments widely fail to take the necessary measures to implement social, economic and cultural rights to the maximum extent of available resources with respect to children with disabilities. Laws to protect children with disabilities are there but there is no way of using these laws.

Article 5 spells out the need to respect and promote children's evolving capacities but, evidently, both the potential and actual capacities of disabled children are routinely under-estimated and they are widely denied opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Article 6 asserts the right to life but disabled children are allowed to die with relative impunity in many countries, as a lower value is attached to their lives or their death seen as 'merciful'.

Article 7 gives the right to name and identity but experience shows that in Zimbabwe and indeed worldwide, many disabled children are not registered at birth because parents deny their existence and are ashamed of the child.

Article 9 & 20 confers the right to family life or alternative quality care but, in reality, many disabled children are living in institutions where little effort is made to promote opportunities for rehabilitation with their families and where the standards of care are extremely poor - inadequate food, health care, access to education, protection from violence or opportunities for social inclusion are the norm.

Article 12 & 13 highlight the right to express views but disabled children are excluded from many initiatives to promote children's participation. They are also widely silenced in families where they have a lower status than other children. Children under study stressed the need for them to take a central role in challenging negative perceptions of disability.

Article 14 &15 provides for freedom of religion and association. However, it is extremely difficult for most children with disabilities in Zimbabwe to enjoy friendships and participate in social organisations because of physical, social or cultural barriers.

Article 16 provides for the right to privacy but many disabled children in institutions are denied any opportunity for privacy. Personal attacks from adults and children in their community are commonplace.

Article 18 highlights the responsibility of both parents for a child. In Zimbabwe, fathers commonly abandon a family when a disabled child is born - a disproportionate number of disabled children live in single parent families, and it is all too common for mothers to abandon their child as well.

Article 19 & 37 gives the right to protection from violence and inhuman and degrading treatment but studies indicate that disabled children are 3-4 times more vulnerable to both physical and sexual violence and abuse and there are rarely any child protection procedures which take account of the particular difficulties a child with disability will experience in reporting abuse. The abusive treatment and neglect of many children with disabilities both in institutions and in family life includes denial of food, tying them to beds, physical assaults, and refusing to let them out of the home.

Article 23 provides for the right to social inclusion: "We will take all measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including equal access to health, education and recreational services, by children with disabilities and children with special needs; to ensure the recognition of their dignity; to promote their self-reliance; and to facilitate their active participation in the community." Children with disabilities are, however, still widely excluded from many spheres of social, economic and cultural activity. Sending children with disabilities to special schools effectively means that these children can only socialise with other children with disabilities only and are discriminated against by other children.

Article 24 confers the right to best possible health and health care. However, people with disabilities are routinely sidelined even in the primary process of collection of data for national planning purposes. Without adequate data on the prevalence and nature of disabilities, many countries fail to provide adequate health assessment or care for children with disabilities. Physical barriers inhibit many children with disabilities from accessing health centres and surgeries and too many doctors lack the skills to communicate with disabled children.

Article 26 & 27 provide for the right to an adequate standard of living. These acts notwithstanding, disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty and children with disabilities in most countries in the world are disproportionately likely to be living in poverty. In Zimbabwe, it is estimated that more than 90% of children with disabilities live in extreme poverty, and often in inhospitable environments with poor access to health care. The majority of mothers of children with disabilities lives in the rural areas and is unemployed. According to a research carried out by NASCOH in 2003, only 2% of people working in the public sector are people with disabilities. The public sector, being the biggest employing sector in the country, if it employs just 2%, what can we expect from the private sector for instance?

Article 28 articulates the right to education. In reality, however, the vast majority of children with disabilities in developing countries remains out of primary, let alone secondary or higher, education, and is often excluded from statistics compiled to demonstrate achievements in enrolment and attainment in primary education. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that less than 2% of students with disabilities receive any formal education and UNICEF ascertains that only 1% of girls with disabilities attend any school at all. Exclusion from mainstream, high-quality education means fewer opportunities for employment, a higher vulnerability to abuse, and isolation from relationships that teach how to value, and be valued by others.

Article 31 provides for the right to play. However, children with disabilities are routinely excluded from opportunities for play, sport and recreation through rejection by other children, or by physical barriers impeding access. Arts institutions also widely fail to provide access to enable children with disabilities to enjoy theatre, film, art or dance.

Article 34 confers the right to protection from sexual exploitation, but there is widespread denial of the sexual abuse of children with disabilities despite a growing body of evidence of its prevalence. The denial prevents children from being informed about their rights and seeking help. It also provides impunity for the abuser.

Overcoming exclusion requires the elimination of physical, social, cultural and economic barriers that discriminate against children, especially children with disabilities. Tackling the deep-seated discrimination faced by people with disabilities requires changes in many areas and at all levels - through legislation, explicit policies, enforcement mechanisms, the establishment of consultative mechanisms, dedicated staff and budgets, community programmes, transparent and democratic decision-making processes, educational reform, public awareness campaigns. An integrated, comprehensive and enforceable approach is essential.

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