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This brief editorial published in the Lancet highlights the situation of disabled children in Africa with reference to the 2014 publication of The African Report on Children with Disabilities by The African Child Policy Forum

The Lancet, Vol 384, No. 9959

Sightsavers, HelpAge International, ADD International and Alzheimer’s Disease International worked together with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) to bring the perspectives of those who live in poverty or who are highly marginalised into post-2015 policy making. The aim of the research was to understand better the experiences of social, political and economic exclusion of persons with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh from their own perspectives. Two groups (community and NGO) of peer researchers collected 70 stories from poor and/or excluded persons with disabilities and older people from each of the two sites: Bhashantek, an urban slum in Dhaka; and Cox’s Bazar, a rural area in southeast Bangladesh. From the stories collected and analysed in workshops, the peer researchers identified 13 priority areas that affect persons with disabilities and older people: accidents and disasters; livelihoods; access to education; medical treatment; family support; exclusion and mistreatment; superstition; access to services; mobility; marriage; land; rape and sexual abuse; the role of grassroots community-based organisations. Recommendations from the researchers are made in each area. The peer research programme was evaluated and guidelines for its use are provided.

Although there are no national data and statistics regarding violence against disabled citizens in Brazil, findings from a number of small-scale research studies suggest that it is a problem of considerable magnitude. This article draws on the existing literature on violence and oppression, empirical studies on violence against disabled people in Brazil and interviews with a sample of disabled Brazilians to argue that the most prevalent forms of violence in the nation are subtle and concealed forms of oppression that reproduce discriminatory power structures in Brazilian society. Such power structures prevent the developing world in general and Brazil in particular from securing democratic and sustainable development in the post-2015 era, when disadvantaged people must be at the center. The analysis is organized in three parts. First, I outline briefly the main issues in defining impairment, disability and violence, since these represent political choices that shape policy decisions. Second, I analyze the forms of violence that affect disabled Brazilians and the relationships and institutions that create and sustain them. Third, I describe and evaluate the government's key current strategies aimed at addressing violence against disabled Brazilians. The purpose here is to suggest ways in which violence against disabled Brazilians can be addressed in public policies as a sustainable development issue and thus help close the "gap" between disabled and nondisabled populations to create truly sustainable democratic societies that honor human dignity.

This short video highlights the situation of disabled children in Russian orphanages. In conjunction with the report by Human Rights Watch, it calls for the better treatment of disabled children in institutions and increased de-institutionalisation

This report reveals that Africa’s children are still subjected to levels of physical and emotional violence despite more than a decade of efforts by governments. The report “constitutes the most comprehensive study to date of the phenomenon in Africa and lays down the priorities for action at various levels that will be required to achieve better protection of children.  The report’s findings are principally informed by large scale surveys undertaken in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and a review of more than 75 studies and reports. It reveals that a distinctive range of social, cultural and economic factors can combine to increase the risk of African children facing increased levels of physical and emotional violence in domestic settings, at schools, in institutions and in the workplace. These risks may be exacerbated in times of political upheaval and conflict, and girls are particularly vulnerable”

This report is an analysis of international and regional legal and policy provisions on the rights of victims of armed violence. This study highlights different themes related to the rights of victims of armed violence and notes the evolving trends or emerging (or existent) norms evident in international law and policy relating to that particular theme. It is aimed at scholars, advocates, activists and government representatives working to further the rights of victims of armed violence as an international policy agenda. The report concludes that much more needs to be done by states to ensure that the rights of all victims of armed violence are protected and that assistance is provided in a way that addresses victims’ particular circumstances and specific needs

This GADN position paper calls on world leaders committed to promoting gender equality to prioritise the inclusion of a strong standalone goal on gender equality and women’s rights in the forthcoming negotiations on the post-2015 framework”, alongside mainstreaming to ensure that gender equality is embedded across the framework. It identifies the need for targets that are transformative to promote changes in the power and choices women have over their own lives, focusing on five main areas: violence against women and girls; economic empowerment; political participation and influence in decision making; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and education 

This online toolkit is intended to help water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH) and associated practitioners better recognise the risks of violence linked to WASH and to encourage WASH practitioners to recognise their capacity to make WASH safer and more effective. It has been developed in response to an acknowledgement that although the lack of access to WASH is not the root cause of violence, it can lead to increased vulnerabilities to violence of varying forms.

The key toolkit documents are the four briefing notes and the associated checklists, however other materials in the toolsets, such as case studies, checklists, videos, training scenarios etc., are available and may be drawn on as required. This toolkit has been developed for use by WASH practitioners but will also be useful for gender based violence (GBV), gender, protection, health and education specialists working for organisations and governments that are providing access to these essential services, to help them better identify and acknowledge these risks and contribute to their reduction in practical ways.

Note: Documents in the toolkit can be opened or downloaded from the online links. The entire toolkit (except the videos) can be downloaded from the download options page. Once downloaded, hyperlinks will operate if the folders and documents remain in their existing positions.

This policy brief highlights the intersectionality between gender and disability and advocates that the unique situation of women and girls with disabilities be considered in the provision of protection for women and girls. It outlines the following five key issues for women and girls with disabilities: participation in political and public life, control over their own bodies and family planning, access to justice, education/employment and protection from gender based violence

These issues resonate with the current narrative for crosscutting goals on gender equality and the need for the post-2015 framework to be underpinned by human rights. The recommendations are both overarching (relating to gender equality and human rights) and are also specific to women and girls with disabilities

Post-2015 sustainable development goals : policy brief