Annotated Bibliography on Child Protection for Children with Disabilities

This annotated bibliography explores the issue of child protection for children with disabilities, including the prevalence of violence and abuse, the need for specialized child protection policies, and the importance of sex education in preventing sexual abuse. The studies highlight the vulnerability of disabled children and the challenges they face in accessing justice and support. The findings emphasize the importance of community-based rehabilitation projects and increased awareness among child protection workers.

Running head: Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boersma, M., 2013. Protecting children with disabilities from violence in CBR projects:
why we need to work with a different form of child protection policy for children with
disabilities. Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 24(3), pp.112-122.
According to author Marieke Boersma, children with disabilities are more susceptible to
violence than their peers who do not suffer from disabilities. In the above article, the author
states that not only are children with disabilities more susceptible to violence, but they also have
trouble accessing justice when there is a violation of their rights. Since society feels that children
with disabilities will grow up to be unproductive adults, they do not deem it necessary to invest
in these children. Families of children suffering from disabilities do not receive any justice for
their wards and even teachers, police officers etc refuse to assist children suffering from
disabilities. According to a study conducted by African Child Policy Forum, around thirty
percent of children suffering from disabilities in Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon and Zambia tend
to face violence in their lives. The study further showed that violence against children with
disabilities occurs 1.7 times more than to children without any disabilities. According to the
author of this article, contact with these children suffering from disabilities who were subjected
to violence, was made by Community Based Rehabilitation projects. The Community Based
Rehabilitation Projects in Ethiopia and throughout the world strives to include and accept
children with disabilities into the community life. The limitations of this report includes the fact
that this research was conducted only in developing countries, and did not take into account the
scenario that is present in developed countries in the world. In addition, several Community
Based Rehabilitation Projects lack the expertise and the knowledge to safeguard and support
children with disabilities from violence.

2ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kucuk, S., Platin, N. and Erdem, E., 2017. Increasing awareness of protection from sexual
abuse in children with mild intellectual disabilities: An education study. Applied Nursing
Research, 38, pp.153-158.
Sexual abuse is a pertinent problem among children, particularly among those who suffer
from intellectual disabilities. According to writers, S. Kucuk, N. Platin and Erdem E, children
with intellectual disabilities should be taught about sex education according to the age of the
child. Children should be taught about their special body parts and know that he or she has a
right not to be touched by anyone. These are the basics of sex education and one way to combat
the problem of sexual abuse of children is to increase the awareness of sexual abuse and impart
sex education to children so that children suffering from intellectual disabilities can protect
themselves from the perpetrators of sexual abuse. Education can be imparted using the Stein and
Glen Story Map Method. The methodology of this research included conducting a study at a
child rehabilitation centre in a province in Central Anatolian region of Turkey, among fifteen
children who were between ten and fourteen years of age with mild intellectual disabilities.
After this study, the participants were able to identify the good touch and the bad touch and the
art of saying “no” to a possible perpetrator. The limitations of this study include the fact that only
children in a certain age group was included in this study and only those children who attended a
rehabilitation center or did mainstream schooling for one year and only among those children
whose parents allowed them to participate in this research voluntarily. Thus, the scope of this
research is limited and is not all-inclusive.

3ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, J., Stalker, K. and Stewart, A., 2016. Disabled children and the child protection
system: a cause for concern. Child abuse review, 25(1), pp.60-73.
According to J. Taylor, K. Stalker and A. Stewart, disabled children are more prone to
abuse than their peers who do not suffer from a disability. This study consisted of interviews that
were conducted with participants from six local authority areas, consisting of five groups with
Children Protection Committees. A Meta analysis of seventeen studies of violence against
children and young people who were disabled showed that this group of individuals were four
times more likely to experience violence than children who did not suffer from disability.
Neglect was the most prevalent form of maltreatment, although many children with disabilities
experienced multiple forms of abuse. It was found that female students who were physically
disabled were more prone to be victims of sexual abuse than those who were physically able.
Children with speech impairments, disorders in behaviour, sensory impairments and learning
disabilities were more likely to be neglected and be exposed to violence. The reasons behind why
disabled children are more vulnerable to abuse include communication impairments, mobility
difficulties and dependency on caregivers for personal care. The limitations of this report include
the fact that not many children were included in the study. Anxiety was cited as a reason why
researchers did not include too many children.

4ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Conclusion
To conclude one can say that the above studies reveal that children with disabilities are
more likely to be victims of violence and abuse. The philosophy and goal of Community Based
Rehabilitation Projects includes mainstreaming disability into all the services of the community
and ensuring legal steps are followed to attain justice for the disabled child along with providing
emotional and psychological help to the victims. Children suffering from intellectual disabilities
are more prone to abusive behaviour and sexual harassment than their peers who do not have a
disability. One way to combat this problem is to impart sex education and teach children the
ways to protect themselves from sexual abuse. Workers engaged in child protection need more
training about the ways to treat children with disabilities and children’s disability teams require
more training regarding child protection. One should ensure that all disabled children are
provided with support and the attention that they need within the child protection system.

5ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCES:
Boersma, M., 2013. Protecting children with disabilities from violence in CBR projects: why we
need to work with a different form of child protection policy for children with disabilities.
Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 24(3), pp.112-122.
Kucuk, S., Platin, N. and Erdem, E., 2017. Increasing awareness of protection from sexual abuse
in children with mild intellectual disabilities: An education study. Applied Nursing Research, 38,
pp.153-158.
Taylor, J., Stalker, K. and Stewart, A., 2016. Disabled children and the child protection system: a
cause for concern. Child abuse review, 25(1), pp.60-73.

6ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY