Understanding the context - protecting the rights of children with disabilities
Although there is no current data available for Liberia, a 1997 pilot survey sponsored by UNICEF and carried out by the CRID (Center for the Rehabilitation of the Injured and Disabled) found that more than 16% of the Liberian population lives with a disability. Of these, 61% are physically disabled, 23.9% are visually impaired, 6.8% are deaf and 8.3% are mentally handicapped.
Today, it is estimated that these numbers have increased due to the civil war. The vast majority of disabled Liberians are excluded from schools and opportunities to work, and the social stigma associated with disability results in marginalization and isolation.
According to the Liberian National Social Welfare Strategy Paper, prepared by the Ministry of Social Welfare in 2008, “the causes of disabilities are usually misunderstood by the general population and due to lack of awareness, traditional beliefs – reinforce discrimination and exclusion against persons with disabilities (PWDs). Largely, Liberians are not disability-sensitive, and therefore, the rights of persons with disabilities and equal opportunities for them are seldom forthcoming. PWDs lack access to inclusive education and experience an absence of regular and specialized health services. Physical barriers, employment discrimination, prejudice, and social stigma have greatly reduced the earnings and earning potential of persons with disabilities.”
A consequence of living in poverty with a disability is inadequate access to health services, resulting frequently in serious secondary conditions and general deterioration of quality of life. There are an estimated 150 million children with disabilities in the world - most of them live lives of exclusion. For the most part, children with disabilities in developing countries have no access to rehabilitative health care or support services, and many are unable to acquire a formal education. In Liberia, only 1% of people with disabilities have access to gainful employment. The National Social Welfare Strategy Paper notes that “furthermore, the National Health Policy and Plan is silent on provision of rehabilitation services and equal access to health care for PWDs. There is an internationally recognized vicious cycle of poverty and disability, with each mutually reinforcing the other.”
While the Government of Liberia is rebuilding public systems of education, social welfare and health care delivery, only a handful organizations cater to the needs of children with disabilities. There is, however, no existing support for families or communities caring for these children with specific needs.
Many disabled children end up institutionalized in orphanages. UNMIL’s Human Rights Division notes that “children living in orphanages are denied basic rights ranging from the right to development and health and the right to identity, family, education, leisure, and participation in cultural activities.”
The National Social Welfare Strategy Paper elaborates: “The preference for institutionalization has increased greatly as a result of the war and primarily for young children. This is so because there are limited or no community-based alternative care systems. Poor children and those living with disabilities are among some of the people placed in institutions. Within institutional care, discrimination persists against children with disabilities. This has forced many children living with disabilities to be placed in facilities that are exclusively for adults with disabilities fostering exclusion rather than inclusion [...] Currently, while there are minimum child care standards related to children in orphanages, there are no standards of practice relative to children placed in other institutions. Essentially, regulation of welfare institutions is inconsistent and irregular.”
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