How to Prevent Violence against Children with Disability?

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Even though the discrimination, ill-treatment, and violence the children with disabilities have been exposed to don’t reflect in official figures, it stands as a serious issue awaiting to be solved.

104 cases in one year

According to Disability Rights Monitoring Report from Regulation to Practice Report 2014, 640 news reporting direct or indirect violation of rights of individuals with disability took place in media.

106 of these news are related to violence and ill-treatment to which people with disability were exposed.

A news including a footage displaying violence against a student with disability at Kocaeli Köseköy Youth Education and Rehabilitation Center operating under Ministry of Family and Social Policies today (December 17).

The footage shows the teacher named M.A. slapping the child says, “Bite it you donkey. I will break your jaw if you don’t!”.

The same footage shows the teacher taking a child to shower with the clothes on and the child says “It is too hot”.

Institutions don’t share data

President of Social Rights and Researches Association, which is among the ones that prepared the report, Süleyman Akbulut, said the issue is known as far as it is reflected in media but in reality, the problem is much bigger. Besides, they couldn’t receive any reply.

“We have been asking all concerned ministries and institutions for two years whether there is any ill-treatment with respect to disability. We haven’t received any data from any institutions, which means they don’t have any data or won’t share with us”.

Akbulut added that three main deficiencies which cause this problem are lack of qualified instructors and assistant staff, state supervision, not being open to inspection of NGOS and impunity. (YY/TK)