ERIC Number: EJ880207
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jan
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1357-5279
EISSN: N/A
Disabled Children: The Right to Feel Safe
Mepham, Sarah
Child Care in Practice, v16 n1 p19-34 Jan 2010
This article explores the fundamental right of disabled children to feel safe and be free from bullying, harassment and abuse. The article proposes that, 20 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, disabled children are still facing barriers to securing this right. The article focuses on recent Mencap research that shows a very high incidence of bullying of children and young people with a learning disability; and also how measures to prevent and tackle bullying are hindered by a lack of compliance around new legal duties on schools to eliminate the discrimination and harassment of disabled people. The article links the high incidence of bullying with the similarly high incidence of abuse of disabled children, and proposes that these should be considered within the context of a safeguarding continuum. It is argued that the UK government and devolved administrations should respond to the 2008 report of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and ensure the legislation providing protection for persons with disabilities is effectively implemented. Furthermore, increased priority must be given to the inclusion of disabled children in society in order to reduce their marginalisation and consequent vulnerability to bullying, harassment and abuse.
Descriptors: At Risk Persons, Safety, Educational Environment, Barriers, Special Needs Students, Disabilities, Foreign Countries, Bullying, Incidence, Mental Retardation, Childrens Rights, Social Attitudes, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Federal Legislation, Public Policy
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A