Report: Ukraine’s disabled destined for neglect
KIEV, Ukraine — An international rights group said in a report Thursday growing numbers of disabled children in Ukraine are being condemned to life in orphanages and institutions blighted by neglect and abuse.
Disability Rights International said its three-year investigation found Ukraine is expanding its pool of or- phanages and children’s homes, going against a trend toward aiding the disabled to integrate into society.
Children in institutions in Ukraine are exposed to physical and sexual violence and live in danger of being trafficked for sex, labor and pornography, the report said.
While there are no reliable figures for the number of Ukrainian children living in care, estimates vary between 82,000 and 200,000.
“When most countries are closing institutions and sup- porting children to live in communities and with families, Ukraine keeps rebuilding institutions and orphanages,” said Eric Mathews, who led the DRI research project. “We know they are dangerous on so many levels, and they violate children’s most basic human rights.”
DRI said its investigators heard many accounts of mistreatment.
“At the Rozdil orphanage in western Ukraine, DRI investigators were told that older residents are used to keep younger children in check. We observed a teenager watching over other children with a pair of brass knuckles...” the report said.
In some homes, poor staffing creates miserable conditions, the group said.
“DRI investigators found that many children with limited mobility spend almost their entire days lying in cribs with minimal staff interaction,” it said. “Such children only degenerate in cribs without consistent therapy.”