Children with disabilities twice as likely to experience any form of violence (physical, emotional, sexual, neglect) than children without disabilities.
Children with disabilities experience a high burden of all forms of violence, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published online March 17 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Zuyi Fang, Ph.D., from the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Beijing Normal University, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to estimate violence against children with disabilities. Ninety-eight studies (involving 16.8 million children) were included in the analysis.
The researchers found that the overall prevalence of violence against children with disabilities was 31.7 percent, and the overall odds of children with disabilities experiencing violence was higher than for children without disabilities (odds ratio, 2.08). The estimates varied by the type of violence, disability, and perpetrator.
While there was a high degree of heterogeneity across most estimates, sensitivity analysis suggested a high degree of certainty for these estimates. The included studies were, on average, of medium quality. There was particular vulnerability to experiencing violence among children in economically disadvantaged contexts.
“Our findings reveal unacceptable and alarming rates of violence against children with disabilities that cannot be ignored,” a coauthor said in a statement. “We must urgently invest in services and support that address the factors that place children with disabilities at heightened risk of violence and abuse, including caregiver stress, social isolation, and poverty.”
By: Physician’s Briefing Staff
Source: https://consumer.healthday.com
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An estimated 291 million children and adolescents have epilepsy, intellectual disability, vision impairment, or hearing loss – representing about 11 percent of the total child and adolescent population globally. Many more have other physical and mental disabilities. The vast majority of children with disabilities – more than 94 percent – live in low-middle-income countries (LMICs) where multiple risks converge.
Inadequate systems of social protection and access to support, stigma, discrimination, and a lack of information about disability contribute to the higher levels of violence experienced by children with disabilities. This situation can be further exacerbated by poverty and social isolation. The unique challenges faced by children with disabilities, such as the inability to verbalize or defend themselves, can also make them a target of violence.
In 2012, a systematic review published in The Lancet estimated that more than a quarter of children with disabilities in high-income countries experienced violence and that their odds of experiencing violence were more than three times higher than their non-disabled peers.
This new analysis includes a larger number of studies from a wider geographical area, more types of violence (e.g. peer bullying, intimate partner violence), and a wider range of disabilities (physical limitations, mental disorders, cognitive or learning disabilities, sensory impairments, chronic diseases), as well as using updated methods. It provides current global estimates of violence against children with disabilities up to September 2020.
In general, children with disabilities living in low-income countries experienced higher rates of violence than those in high-income countries – possibly as a result of limited access to prevention and support services, lower levels of legal protection, and attitudes and norms that stigmatize people with disabilities and lead to greater social tolerance for violence.
A further challenge is that we continue to face gaps in information on low-income and middle-income countries, especially in Southeast and Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
“Violence against children with disabilities is preventable. These children must be given the right life chances now,” said co-lead author Zuyi Fang from Beijing Normal University in China. “The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to end all forms of violence against children by 2030.
Achieving this will require political leaders, practitioners, and researchers to work together to implement what we already know works to prevent violence such as evidence-based parenting interventions while developing and evaluating effective community, school-based, and online interventions that target specific forms of violence.”
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