Abstract
Background150 million children live with disabilities globally, and a recent systematic review found 3 to 4 times the levels of violence versus non-disabled children in high income countries. However, almost nothing is known about violence against disabled children in lower income countries. We aim to explore the prevalence, patterns and risk factors for physical, sexual and emotional violence among disabled children attending primary school in Luwero District, Uganda.MethodsWe performed a secondary analysis of data from the baseline survey of the Good Schools Study. 3706 children and young adolescents aged 11-14 were randomly sampled from 42 primary schools. Descriptive statistics were computed and logistic regression models fitted.Results8.8% of boys and 7.6% of girls reported a disability. Levels of violence against both disabled and non-disabled children were extremely high. Disabled girls report slightly more physical (99.1% vs 94.6%, p = 0.010) and considerably more sexual violence (23.6% vs 12.3%, p = 0.002) than non-disabled girls; for disabled and non-disabled boys, levels are not statistically different. The school environment is one of the main venues at which violence is occurring, but patterns differ by sex. Risk factors for violence are similar between disabled and non-disabled students.ConclusionsIn Uganda, disabled girls are at particular risk of violence, notably sexual violence. Schools may be a promising venue for intervention delivery. Further research on the epidemiology and prevention of violence against disabled and non-disabled children in low income countries is urgently needed.
Highlights
150 million children live with disabilities globally, and a recent systematic review found 3 to 4 times the levels of violence versus non-disabled children in high income countries
Violence against the general population of Ugandan schoolchildren is common, and both demographic and mental health difficulties are associated with increased risk of experiencing violence [14]
We provide data on the epidemiology of violence against disabled children and young adolescents attending primary school in Luwero District
Summary
150 million children live with disabilities globally, and a recent systematic review found 3 to 4 times the levels of violence versus non-disabled children in high income countries. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, direct governments to ensure all children, irrespective of any disability, enjoy their rights without discrimination [2,3] Despite these commitments, a growing body of evidence indicates that disabled children are often amongst the most socially excluded and vulnerable [1]. Drawing on recent empirical findings around the multiplicative effects of multiple vulnerabilities on poor health outcomes [15], we hypothesised that there could be an interaction effect, where the presence of demographic and mental health risk factors in disabled children might confer even more risk of violence than they do in the general population
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