A Sad Statistic

It is sad to realize that children who have intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses are much more frequently abused than are other children. A recent study by the World Health Organization reveals disturbing statistics and information: (as reported by Philstar.com)

Their results, recently published in the medical journal The Lancet, revealed that children with disabilities are 3.7 times more likelyto be the victims of any sort of violence as compared with children with no disabilities.

They are 3.6 times more likely to be victims of physical violence and 2.9 times more likely to be victims of sexual violence.

“Children with disability associated with mental illness or intellectual impairment appear to be among the most vulnerable, with 4.6 times the risk of sexual violence compared with their non-disabled peers,” the WHO said.

Dr. Etienne Krug, director of the WHO’s Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability said that the results showed that “children with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to violence, and their needs have been neglected for far too long.”

“We know that specific strategies exist to prevent violence and mitigate its consequences. We now need to determine if these also work for children with disabilities. An agenda needs to be set for action,” Krug said.

The WHO cited stigma, discrimination, ignorance about disability, and lack of social support for those who care for them as among the factors why children with disabilities are at higher risk of violence.

The studies were done in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is quite possible that if they had been done in countries which have more poverty and which do not have as many child abuse laws in place, that the statistics could be even worse.

Children in general may hold back information about abuse because they are afraid and/or have been threatened. But children with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses may also have difficulties in communicating. Some may be nonverbal or may have limited vocabularies or speech abilities. They also may not be aware that they are being led into a dangerous situation by an adult who offers them candy or toys. Therefore they are all the more vulnerable.

A medical journal, The Lancet, reports on this study:

The results of this systematic review confirm that children with disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence than are their peers who are not disabled. However, the continued scarcity of robust evidence, due to a lack of well designed research studies, poor standards of measurement of disability and violence, and insufficient assessment of whether violence precedes the development of disability, leaves gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed.

It is obvious that more work needs to be done, not only in research, but in finding ways to prevent abuse and to help victims.