July 12, 2012
Researchers from the UK recently completed a study which found that the risk of being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused is nearly four times higher for disabled children than for children who are not disabled.
The study was published in The Lancet online on July 11.
Examining 17 previous studies involving more than 18,000 children from the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Spain and Israel including children primarily between the ages of 2 and 18 years, the investigators found that nearly 27 percent of children with disabilities had suffered some form of abuse. They also determined that lifetime levels of abuse for disabled children were high – 20 percent for physical violence and 14 percent for sexual violence.
“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,” said Dr. Etienne Krug, director of the World Health Organization’s department of violence and injury prevention and disability, which contributed to the study.
According to Mark Bellis of Liverpool John Moores University in England, one of the study’s authors, we need to continue to investigate these issues so that we can become better informed in this area.
The link to retrieve the Lancet publication (for purchase) can be found here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/014067369390310D.