BY
PROF MIKE A.A. OZEKHOME, SAN, CON, OFR, FCIArb, LL.M, Ph. D, LL.D, D.Litt, D.Sc.
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
Disability: Definition
According to the World Health Organisation (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), ‘disabilities’ is “an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations”. The institution continues that: “Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives”.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), “Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”. This is echoed by the World Health Organization and the World Bank both of which posit that ‘disability is not an attribute of the person’.
According to Al Ju’beh “An impairment on its own would not lead to a disability should there be a completely inclusive and comprehensively accessible environment”. Such an environment, in the opinion of Shulze , would include addressing attitudinal barriers such as stereotypes, prejudices and other forms of paternalistic and patronising treatment.
Even though both the World Health Organization and the World Bank , defined disability as encompassing any impairments, activity, limitations and participation restrictions, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that disabilities are characterised by deafness, blindness, paraplegia, diabetes, autism, depression, epilepsy and HIV. It adds that disabilities embrace the following conditions:
CONDITIONS OF DISABILITY
I. Congenital absence or adventitious loss of a limb or a sensory function;
II. Progressive neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis;
III. Chronic diseases like arteriosclerosis;
IV. Inability or limited ability to perform such cognitive functions as remembering faces or calculating sums; and
V. Psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
DIMENSIONS OF DISABILITY
Disability has, atleast, two dimensions: medical and social. With regard to the former, it means a physical or mental impairment of a person which has social and personal consequences for him/her- those challenge being entirely or partly due to such shortcomings. Socially, disability is perceived, in the words of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy as “a relation between an individual and hi/her social environment: the exclusion of people with certain physical and mental characteristics from major domains of social life. Their exclusion is manifested not only in deliberate segregation, but in a built environment and organized social activity that precludes or restricts the participation of people seen or labeled as having disabilities.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN NIGERIA
The main statutes which pertain to persons living with disabilities in Nigeria
(PWDs) include:
I. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999;
II. The Nigerians with Disabilities Decree, 1993;
III. The National Policy on Disability in Nigeria, 2017;
IV. The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018
V. The Disability Protection Laws enacted by some states; and
VI. The United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007
THE 1999 CONSTITUTION
Reviewing them, seriatim, the 1999 Constitution is the grund norm (the supreme Law) makes no provision for protecting persons with disabilities. It’s anti-discriminatory provision (section 42) applies to all persons without distinction- including on the basis of disability. Section 42of the 1999 Constitution provides: (1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:-
(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions. (2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth. (3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law by reason only that the law imposes restrictions with respect to the appointment of any person to any office under the State or as a member of the armed forces of the Federation or member of the Nigeria Police Forces or to an office in the service of a body, corporate established directly by any law in force in Nigeria. The shortcomings of Nigerians with Disabilities Decree, 1993, led to the enactment of The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, which became law on the 23rd day of January, 2019. This law fills the gap which hitherto existed in the law, vis-avis such people (which according to the World Health Organisations’ World Disability Report, for 2011, constituted 25 million people or 15% of Nigeria’s population) . A detailed analysis of the law is contained in “Rights of Persons Living with Disability in Nigeria under the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019, by Mrs Folashade Alli,SAN, C.Arb, FCIArb we shall look at some of her concerns:
Education Rights
The Act guarantees free education to up to secondary school level for every person with disability. All public schools, whether primary, secondary or tertiary, are also required to have at least one personnel trained to cater for the educational development of persons with disabilities or special facilities for the effective education of persons with disabilities. Public schools are also required to include braille, sign language and other skills for communicating with persons with disabilities in their curricula. This will go a long way in fostering integration and communication with person living without disability. How many schools in Nigeria adhere to this?
Healthcare Rights
Government shall guarantee that persons with disabilities have unfettered access to adequate health care without discrimination on the basis of disability. Also, persons with mental disability are entitled to free medical and health service in all public institutions. The Act also requires public hospitals to ensure provision for special communication where a patient with communicational disabilities is being medically attended to. Really? In Nigeria?
Accessibility Rights
The Act provides for accessibility aids for disabled persons in public buildings, roads and sidewalks, and public transportation via roads, airports, seaports and railways. The law also prohibits government agencies involved in issuing building permits from approving any building plans that do not make accessibility accommodations for disabled persons. But, is this done in Nigeria?
At public parking lots, suitable spaces shall be properly marked and reserved for persons with disabilities. The Act provides for a five-year transitional period within which public buildings, structures or automobile are to be modified to be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. I am not aware this has been achieved.
Employment Rights
The Act requires all employers of labour in public organisation to as much as possible have person with disabilities constituting at least 5% of their employment. Persons with disabilities are also guaranteed the right to work, on an equal basis with others. This includes the right to opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open.
A person in breach shall be liable on conviction to nominal damages payable to the affected person with disability. Has anyone been convicted under this law?
The Act does not specifically impose any obligation on employers to make reasonable accommodations or changes to a position or workplace which will enable an employee to do his or her job despite having a disability. It however seems that if an employee living with disability can show that accommodations have been made for non-disabled employees, such disabled employee may have a case for discrimination.
Right to First Consideration in Queues and in Emergencies
The Act provides that in all situations of risk, including situations of violence, emergencies and the occurrences of natural disasters, government shall take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and protection of persons with disabilities taking cognizance of their peculiar vulnerability. Also, any general safety information shall be translated into the accessible format appropriate to any person with disability present. This is not known to be the case in Nigeria. This specie of persons are usually the first casualties in such emergency situations.
Prohibition of Segregation
One of the biggest misconceptions about disabilities in our society is that they represent punishment from God as a result of some sinsallegedly committed by the person living with the disability, or a close relation of theirs. This has led to the sadly common practice of families preventing relatives, especially children, with disabilities from being seen in public. The Act prevents such persons with disability from being isolated or segregated from the community, or compelled to live in a particular area. We do know however that this provision is more in theory, than in practice.
Prohibition of Use of Person with Disabilities in Soliciting for Alms
Another common practice in our society that is heart-rending is the exploitation of persons with disability for the solicitation of alms by displaying their disabilities to elicit public sympathy and empathy. Alms collected are rarely used to improve the standard of living of such persons with disability. The Act prohibits and criminalises the use of any person with disabilities in soliciting for alms. However, we often see persons with various degrees of disability, especially the visually impaired (blind), lame, hunch-backs and those with visible oozing wounds, being displayed on streets like mannequins in Shoprite.
Participation in Politics and Public Life
The Act encourages government to develop policies and strategies to promote participation of persons living with disability in public life and politics. Only very few of such persons has ever been known to have been accommodated in the political sphere.
Right to legal redress
The Act gives citizens with disabilities the right to file a lawsuit for damage against any defaulter. Really? How many lawyers, or even the Nigeria Legal Aid Council, have ever engaged in this?
Certificate of Disability
To access these aforementioned rights, persons living with disability will be required to obtain a certificate of disability from the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities. A Temporary Certificate of Disability may also be issued by a Doctor, upon approval of the Commission, where a disability is discovered in the course of the Doctor’s treatment of a patient. Any person who unlawfully issues or obtains a Certificate of Disability shall be liable to a fine of N200, 000, one-year imprisonment or both. This provision is observed more in breach than practice.
The Act also provides for the following:
I. Awareness programs for the promotion of the rights, respect and dignity of persons with disabilities, (PWDs);
II. Gives PWDs the right to access the physical environment and buildings on an equal basis;
III. Transport Services providers to provide accessibility aids for PWDs in public or road transportation, seaports, airports and train stations;
IV. The liberty, right to education, health, first consideration in queues, accommodation and in emergencies of PWDs;
V. Employment opportunities, political participation and public life of PWDs
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007
This Conventionhas been domesticated in Nigeria by the National Assembly . It is arguably, the first attempt to internationally recognize the rights of PWDs, as a binding legal obligation on state members of the United Nations . The UNCRPD is a unique platform for global social, economic, political and cultural development .
Under the Convention, ‘Persons with Disabilities’ include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others, and an equal basis with others, and ‘Discrimination on the basis of Disability’ means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation .
The Convention imposes a general obligation on states to adopt necessary measures(social, economic, cultural, political, developmental, judicial, statistic, public outreach, legislative, administrative or otherwise) to ensure full realisation of all rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities recognised under the Convention without discrimination of any sort on the basis of disability . It also reiterates the human rights and fundamental freedoms of PWDs and lays down basic principles to be observed by state signatories to the Convention which desire social integration of PWDs, namely: respect for inherent dignity; individual autonomy-including freedom of choice and independence; non-discrimination; full and effective participation and inclusion in society; respect for difference and acceptance of PWDs as part of human diversity and humanity; equality of opportunity; accessibility; equality between men and women; and respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and their right to preserve their identities .
SCOPE AND DIMENSION OF CHALLENGES FACED BY PWDS
According to Ewang , the WHO’s Report indicates that 5% of adults with disabilities were literate, while 98% of disabilities lacked access to preparatory and elementary education. They face discrimination in schools, within their families, in banks and other public places . Their needs are ignored and neglected to such an extent that they are vulnerable to adverse economic outcomes, manifesting in limited access to education, lower employment opportunities, higher poverty rates and greater health challenges . Ayub , quotes the World Bank as noting the PWDs are at a higher risk of various forms of abuse and neglect and easily become victims of exploitation and crime, making them more prone to being victimised by exploitation and crime, such as being abused, neglected and discriminated against . He notes further , that even though PWDs (Persons with Disabilities) are sympathised with, they encounter practical challenges in terms of access to basic amenities which will enable them to function independently. These challenges extend to inter-personal relationships such as marital or sexual partners, which, in turn, lowers desires for love, marriage or child-bearing .
Those that do get married are sometimes exposed to domestic violence . Some of them not allowed to marry, able-bodied persons . They are also overlooked during holy pilgrimage as well as school competitions . They are also discriminated against while seeking accommodation as well as participating in the political process . The cumulative effect of such practices on their quality of life is not hard to imagine. This includes access to education in equality with non-PWDs. Some of them (particularly children) are forced by their parents or guardians to engage in begging for alms-with those that resist being threatened with physical abuse, starvation or driven out of the home.
OTHER CHALLENGES FACED BY PWDs
These include :
I. Name-calling, negative beliefs and misconceptions.These surroundthe causes of disabilities (usually associated with religious or cultural norms and beliefs (“some people say the reason I am visually-impaired is because I committed a sin- reports a PWD in Jos, Plateau state). These negative attitudes manifest in rejection, neglect, loss of respect, denial of identity/self-worth and often result in low self-esteem, depression and isolation;
II. Structural limitations and challenges:These which reinforce barriers for PWDs in accessing basic services like education, health, public transport and social safety nets;
III. Accessing adequate health and other services: PWDs face difficulties in accessing adequate health services, being limited by the availability of accessible hospitals and personnel who are aware of and skilled in disability-inclusion and providing services for PWDs;
IV. Poor educational integration: this occurs on account of inadequate facilities including accessible infrastructure, learning materials and teachers trained in inclusive education (a man with albinism in Abuja once lamented that “first, there is the educational barrier….(PWDs) don’t lack access to quality education. Many parents cannot even afford getting them admitted to schools and then, as to continuing education, the system itself is not inclusive enough to cater to their needs”)
V. High unemployment rate: Owing to attitudinal, mobility-related, technological and physical barriers (lack of accessible workplaces) unemployment rates among PWDs are almost double that of the general population;
VI. Lack of Assistance Devices: Assistive devices are expensive and not easily available. This limits the mobility and access to technology for PWDs. many of them experience frequent denial of job opportunities, employers’ negative attitudes, inappropriate job placement, lower expectations at work, and a lack of reasonable accommodation.
EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE FAMILY
EXPLOITATION BY FAMILY
Exploitation and abuse of PWDs are perpetrated in the family by the parents down to the siblings including extended family members and family friends. PWDs are often isolated and dependent on a small circle of families and friends or caregivers for critical support. While some of them assist with basic physical needs, they also maltreat these PWDs. This creates a bad experience and psychologically burdens the victims who find themselves in the dilemma of choosing between glaring abuse and an uncertain future. Schulze , notes that physical disabilities result in psychological burden by socially depriving PWDs of economic survival. In either case, families with disabled members are often stigmatized and sometimes even ostracized by their communities. The family has failed to protect the interest and promote the wellbeing of PWDs via their action. PWDs are poorly cared for, mistreated, often ignored, neglected and discriminated against in the family and society.
THE FAMILY NO LONGER A HAVEN
Generally, adequate attention and provision for the needs of the PWDs throughout their lives bother families a lot and require a lot of sacrifice including financial, emotional, social and physical supports. The family should be a haven for these PWDs. However, the reverse has been the case as they sometimes get ostracized and their legal rights get infringed. Isiaka , notes that the capacity of PWDs to exercise their free will is declined by the family’s control on deciding when to go out and where to go, what to do and how to do things. These families control the activities of the PWDs by keeping them away from people to avoid being stigmatised or shamed without knowing that they are abusing and lowering their self-esteem.
DEAF CHILDREN
In the average Nigerian family, Isiaka argues that deaf children are seriously maltreated but the lucky ones end up being sent to institutions for care or adopted by teachers, probably due to lack of knowledge and information on taking care of them. Accordingly, deaf children who live with their families are side-lined and fail to learn the skills to communicate properly. The development and the choices of the children are limited by the poor treatment received from the families.
RETROGRESSIVE CULTURAL BELIEFS
The maltreatment of these special persons is worsened when their conditions are assumed to result from being witches or fiends. Isiaka avers that disabilities are religiously and culturally stigmatised with the beliefs that they are caused by a supernatural force of evil or witchcraft. In this case, disabled persons can be ostracized or exiled. They are then treated as unworthy persons and forced to live in hostility and sometimes rendered homeless for shaming and leading the family into poverty. Exposure to several maltreatments by the family results in the waste of talents and denial of opportunities of the PWDs, hence, the circle of poverty continues and the reach of the full potential of these PWDs becomes a difficult task. It is not surprising to see the PWDs constituting a significant proportion of the poorest of the poor in the country because the poor treatment from both the family and society creates inequalities which restrict their access to education, employment, asset accumulation, health care, and opportunities for participation in social and community development.
OBJECTS FIT FOR BEGGING
PWDs from poor families are sent out for begging as a means for medical and economic survival. Madukwe , critically assessed the increase of begging by PWDs in the streets for alms and reported that more than 80% of them resided in poor parts of the country. Accordingly, 30% and 20% of the PWDs were street youths and children respectively and were more vulnerable to abuse including violence, rape or sexual abuse. Madukwe (2012) expressed that governments most especially the Lagos State Government was forced to take steps in ensuring the safety and protection of the PWDs on disusing them for alms begging. The time for schooling is then diverted to begging for family survival and to the improvement of the condition of a disabled family member. Okakwu (2019) relates that the cost of educating one cognitively disabled child is capable of educating ten physically stable children in good schools. The PWDs in the family are poorly treated for being perceived as a source of stress or burden and creating difficulty while attending to their special needs.
PWDS SEEN AS A BURDEN
Okakwu (2019) establishes that children with cognitive disabilities are considered a weighty burden that often results in their neglect by families. Being visually disabled does not amount to a loss of consciousness but a child with a cognitive disability may not be conscious of anything. Depending on others for survival throughout life existence for everything is key to children with visual disability. But, the question and fear here are how will children with visual disabilities survive if their key caregivers eventually die? The poor treatment of persons living with cognitive disabilities is exacerbated by the demise of their welfare managers, although, may become better where inheritance is left behind. However, the inheritance can be exploited by family members, caregivers or people entrusted them with. They exploit them using their closeness and position of trust to access their financial resources or scam them through a fake lottery and home improvement.
Human Rights Watch ,reports that where widows become disabled after the demise of their spouses, they are kicked out of the inheritance left by their spouses by the families of the deceased.
MERCILESS FAMILY CAREGIVERS
The PWDs suffer in the hands of family caregivers who increasingly exploit and isolate them, and acquire costly items with their money without consent and desire. By implication, the cash of the disabled is lavishly spent and gifted to others unnecessarily. It is indicative that bills for essential services or utilities are unpaid and or terminated by the so-called family caregivers who extravagantly mismanage cash, valuables or financial resources for selfish and wicked interest. The assets or estate documents of a person who suddenly becomes disabled due to unforeseen circumstance and are handled by close relatives may be changed or transferred without genuine explanation or knowledge of the victim. Human Rights Watch , posits that guardians and conservators including family members or close friends who take care of the PWDs and manage their cash benefits on their behalf, are known to exploit them. Madukwe , argues that a man’s life and family are threatened when he becomes disabled through unnatural events e.g. accidents. On this note, the source of livelihood is often lost to disability in the forms of loss of limbs. Close associates e.g. wife can abandon the man to his fate, leave him with difficult tasks like writing and eating with no or little assistance from a few people around. This equally generates pity that may later result in repulsion. Human Rights Watch , reports the interviews of 140 Mexican people comprising of 38 adults with disabilities including the deaf, the blind and the autistic, that majority of them had experienced sexual, physical and emotional abuse as well as neglect and confinement to rooms or beds from their families since childhood. Accordingly, those with cerebral palsy were abused by parents and siblings by hitting, throwing them to the side of the wheelchair or berating and calling them all sort of name. This triggers an emotional imbalance of anger, cry and regrets. Living independently of their abusers is with no option because such a decision has been insurmountably inhibited by their poor health status and the sole dependence on their abusers for accessing daily needs. Governments and the laws reinforce the dependence of PWDs on families without recourse to independent lifestyles and by legally requiring the relatives to receive pension and resources on behalf of them.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The National Domestic Violence Hotline , asserts that PWDs are more likely to experience domestic violence in the family because of the power and control they possess over them. Domestic violence is globally perpetrated, however, it is often treated as a private matter in Nigeria. Therefore, victims of domestic violence, whether abled or disabled, hardly report their experience to authority unless detected through a report by a third party and investigation. In a situation where domestic violence is perpetrated against PWDs, they are very unlikely to leave the abusive home, probably the abusers are the carers or conservators. The seriousness of the domestic violence between couples can lead to a permanent disability in spouses with temporary disability. A husband can batter, sexually and physically abuse his wife for being disabled and burdensome to the family. This is when the condition of the wife affects the activities and financial status of the husband.
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE, ABUSIVE PARTNERS AT THE DOMESTIC FRONT
The fact remains that abuse is perpetrated against people of all backgrounds, gender and status but more committed against PWDs. A disabled wife and mother can be likened to bad parents, condemned for faking their disability even when it is real and shamed and humiliated for their condition. The husband can refuse a disabled wife from visiting the bathroom at will and to complete important recovery tasks. Sexual activity may be instigated by the spouse without respect to the partner’s consent and in some cases, assistive devices are ceased, damaged or broken. Abusive partners control, threaten and harm their spouses who are disabled with the justification that their disability demands it. The National Domestic Violence Hotline observes that the medications of PWDs are intentionally withheld by some wicked family members or sometimes overdose them in a dangerous and non-prescribed way and prevent their access to doctors for medical complaints.
Ojo established that PWDs in Nigeria, most especially women and girls, are three times likely to experience gender-based violence from male partners or relatives, more than other women without disabilities.
IMPACT OF SUSTAINED ABUSE
Similarly, Isiaka reports that research has shown the existence of a relationship between disability and abuse with emphasis that women with disabilities experience domestic violence abuse as well as sexual assault more than ‘healthy women’. The abuse has a long term physical and psychological impact on the lives of the PWDs. Continuous abuse of the PWDs makes them experience low self-esteem, and are deceived to believe that their abuse is somehow deserved and inherently exploited for their weakness, considered less human, less valuable with no developmental impact on the family and the community and less likely to report abuse to authorities.
INTELLECTUAL OR COGNITIVE DISABILITY
Reporting cases of abuse experienced from family relatives by people with cognitive disabilities to authority may not be given due consideration and training to understand their condition may be inadequate. Agency Report posits that intellectual or cognitive disability remains the worst form of disability because it stresses the sufferers, hence treated as kids. Also, the medical personnel who attend to them find it difficult to understand their health problem by their inability to say exactly the nature of their sickness when they fall sick. The living environments of PWDs are segregated in such a way that they are easily maltreated. Additionally, people with intellectual disabilities who are abused by a group of family members tend to have restricted access to police, medical or social services representatives, advocates and any other groups who can intervene and assist.
THE STOLCHOM SYNDROME
Knowing that report of abuse by PWDs to law enforcement agencies is difficult, points to the reason for being continually targeted by those close to them for abuse. Similarly, the conditions of this set of individuals force them to heavily rely on their abusers without realising their victimisation and even where aware, they continue to live with the fate. Where a person is physically disabled, they are indisposed to bullying and incapacitated to protect themselves against all sorts of abuse from their friends and families. Also, a mentally disabled person is conditioned to trust people who would exploit their resources without their awareness.
DISCRIMINATION AND NEGLECT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AT SCHOOLS
It is no longer news that education remains the right of every child globally without prejudice to ethnicity, race, religion, culture, background or disability. Access to quality education by PWDs amounts to the exercise of fundamental human rights, guaranteed by both national and international laws. The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act provides that ‘a person with disability shall have an unfettered right to education without discrimination or segregation in any form’. It further stipulates that ‘all public educational establishments shall be run to be inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities’. This is to ensure that PWDs enjoy a full decent, dignified and self-reliant life and to facilitate their active participation in community development. However, education of the PWDs is seen as a mere charitable act in Nigeria. These children with disabilities remain excluded from the educational system and exposed to various forms of abuse and discrimination based on their disabilities.
ABUSE WITHIN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
The education of the PWDs has been threatened by the abuse experienced daily in Nigerian schools. The abuse as often perpetrated in schools ranges from sexual, physical, emotional to financial and includes people of all ages. Aransiola considers the abuse of PWDs as inhuman treatment while reporting the case of a deaf female child who was sexually abused in a school at Kuje, Federal Capital Territory and subsequently got withdrawn from school by the parents to ensure successful criminal investigation against the alleged and prevent further abuse. This situation led to the suspension of two teachers and also restricted the access of the victim to quality education. Aransiola also reports a case of rape against a female student in Kwara State School for Special Needs, Ilorin. These incidences corroborate that PWDs face discrimination, neglect and abuse in schools.
Aransiola expresses that PWDs most especially the children face multiple barriers including physical and psychological inaccessibility to mainstream schools, negative attitudes and stereotypes from teachers and peers and the high cost associated with meeting the special needs of these special children. Unavoidably, the barriers create persistent inequalities in the educational system of the country and make life difficult for PWDs to secure good employment to sustain themselves.
NO ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL
The fact remains that the vulnerable like the PWDs find it difficult to access education at will and that inhibits the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal on education for all without any barriers.
SCHOOL CURRICULUM LEADS CHILDREN’S SEGREGATION IN SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS APPROACH
The educational system of Nigeria is based on segregation between regular students in traditional classrooms and PWDs whose learning takes place at special schools. There is no doubt that the segregation contributes to an abuse of and discrimination against CWDs. Aransiola asserts that the segregation system excludes the CWDs from sufficient socialisation to actively, appropriately and morally relate with other members in the society. The segregation can also expose special children to several human rights cases of abuse. Sadly, PWDs in Nigerian schools are seen by teachers as a burden when they are enrolled in schools with other able children. Aransiolareveals that the problem is largely due to inadequate assistive devices and teaching materials which are lacked by many schools for both disabled and non-disabled children. It is indicative that the school curriculum was designed specifically for all children without much consideration for children with special care. Also, teachers who have not passed through any training on how to handle PWDs lack the methodology to successfully achieve the objectives of topics in subjects they teach.
PWDs especially those suffering from cerebral palsy are severally abused in schools including rude stares. Cerebral palsy is a condition or disorder that affects a person’s movement or ability to maintain balance and posture and is considered a motor disability in childhood. Children with cerebral palsy are challenged and stigmatised by their peers and teachers in schools. CWDs often find it embarrassing to ask questions in class because they are sometimes shunned by their tutors or consider their questions irrelevant. Where peers in schools claim to help female special children, they molest them by sexually touching their sensitive parts while being assisted to climb stairs or enter school buses. Abusive comments are also made on their hips and breasts.
Learning in schools for the CWDs is complicated by the lack of access to braillematerial and textbooks designed for the blind are costly for blind children whose parents are poor. In universities, blind students are known to depend on friends to dictate assignments, notes and even entire textbooks for comprehension and actively taking parts in school activities. Submission of assignments is quite worrisome for this category of students, although, they are sometimes assisted by lecturers who truly understand their condition and ask them to submit their works via CDs and flash drives. PWDs face huge challenges by being victims of casualties during school crises. Ojo notes that teachers sometimes refuse to train the PWDs, give them extra attention, and openly discourage them from acquiring knowledge by neglecting their nature of assimilation. Awareness of this kind of treatment could force some PWDs to either withdraw from schools or relocate to another to compete intellectually.
SEXUAL MOLESTATION IN SCHOOLS
The Agency Report affirms that the learning environments in Nigeria for PWDs are not conducive and lack the mechanisms to protect the children from being vulnerable to several forms of abuse in the schools. PWDs in schools are sexually molested by both academic and non-academic staff in schools, both elementary and tertiary institutions. National Bullying Prevention Centre , argues that students with disabilities are more bullied in schools than those without disabilities and it impacts their learning, school and education. Ultimately, the academic grades drop, class concentration becomes difficult, interest in education is lost, thus, school enrolment declines. Ojo posits that the rights of the PWDs are abused daily not only in the schools but outside the schools, influenced by the government, private sector and other citizens. The continuous abuse of the rights of these special beings cannot be dissociated from lack of access to information and awareness on their rights.
CONCLUSION
This paper concludes that disability is real and that majority of PWDs face Discrimination, Exploitation, Abuse and Neglect(DEAN) at one time or another in the family or at school. The family has not been a haven for the PWDs as they are preyed on by their guardians, parents, siblings and family friends consciously and unconsciously. It is important to note that couples with disabilities also experience DEAN through gender-based violence, although, it is mostly perpetrated against women and girls. Schooling has also been made difficult for the PWDs due to lack of assistive materials, physical and psychological inaccessibility to mainstream schools, negative attitudes and stereotypes from teachers and peers and the high cost associated with meeting the special needs of these special children. It is put forward in this paper that the environment and the society of the PWDs limit their functioning and create other disabilities through inaccessible physical environment, inadequate relevant assistive technology or rehabilitative devices, poor services, systems and policies that hinder the full participation of people with one health condition or the other in all areas of life.
The dependence on the significant members in the family and peers at schools for care and support due to disabilities make the sufferers vulnerable to poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment, social isolation in their place of residence. Although, the level of DEAN experienced by the PWDs depends on the type and nature of their disability. While there is perpetual abuse of the PWDs, the rate at which such abuse is detected and reported is low due to the nature of the disability, difficulty in communicating their concerns, the worry of being considered unserious by constituted authorities, unwillingness to relieve the abusers due to inevitable needs and a strong emotional connection, and intentional reluctance in informing others about family members’ or friends’ betrayal. The poor treatment and the horrible conditions of the PWDs are relatively known as they are kept away from the public eyes.
RECOMMENDATION
In line with the above, the paper recommends that:
I. Any actions or activities that will invade the personalities, dignity and life of PWDs should be severely denounced and discontinued.
II. Government should design policies to combat all forms of abuse and discriminatory practices against the PWDs by undertaking effective and appropriate measures aimed at raising awareness throughout the country.
III. Family members should develop a strong love for those with one disability or the other with the assumption that no one is free from health challenges which can render one dependent on others for survival. The suffers should be shown love and made feel belonged by responding to their needs as required.
IV. Both governments and Non-Governmental Organisationsshould help in the provision of assistive devices, skills and training needed by the PWDs in schools to enable them to participate actively and equally like every other student. Policies that will prioritise the education of the PWDs should be formulated and implemented. This will enable PWDs to learn, play and interact equally in a diverse environment.
V. Security personnel and other key stakeholders should be well trained to detect unreported exploitation and abuse of the PWDs in schools and at home. Where it is observed that the rights of the PWDs are infringed, individuals in their community should take it as a responsibility to report such cases to the appropriate authorities for swift action.
VI. Laws criminalizing discrimination and segregation against PWDs should be strictly enforced.
VII. Public and social institutions and organizations that fail to accord PWDs special treatment as provided for by laws should be severely sanctioned.
VIII. Laws should be amended to insist that at every public function, there must be a SIGN INTERPRETER, whether or not there is presence of people who are deaf or dumb.