Childfund International is a child-focused, non-government organization whose mission is to help deprived, excluded and vulnerable children have the capacity to improve their lives, and have the opportunity to become young adults, parents and leaders in their communities. ChildFund also exists to promote societies whose individuals and institutions participate in valuing, protecting and advancing the worth and rights of children.
The Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) works to improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children and youth displaced by crisis and conflict. WRC researches their needs, identifies solutions and advocates for programs and policies to strengthen their resilience and drive change in humanitarian practice.
ChildFund commissioned the development of this Toolkit, which was designed and piloted in partnership with the Women's Refugee Commission. This toolkit was researched and written by Emma Pearce, Senior Disability Program Officer at the WRC, with contributions and feedback from: Kathryn Paik, Adolescent Girls Program Officer, WRC; Danielle Roth, Technical Specialist, Gender and Youth, ChildFund; Jessica Izquierdo, Health Technical Advisor, ChildFund; Carmen Madrincin, Senior Child Protection Advisor, ChildFund; Tigist Tarekegn, Child and Women Development Program Officer, ChildFund Ethiopia; and Dale Buscher, Senior Director of Programs, WRC. The report was designed by Diana Quick and Joshua Julian.
Thank you to Childfund Ethiopia and their local partners for their participation in this project. Special thanks is extended to the staff of Sheger CFDCS who played a central role in the piloting of the child- and youth-led participatory tools, and to Elena Jenkin, Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization for sharing tools and resources that were adapted for this project. For more information about involving children with disabilities in research, please go to Voices of children with disability: Inclusive practice for research.
Richmond, Virginia 23294-3725 USA
Children with disabilities are 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,” 1 Studies suggest that children with disabilities are at a greater risk of experiencing physical and sexual violence than children without disabilities. 2 They may be hidden in communities due to stigma and discrimination, and excluded from school and other educational opportunities. Adolescent girls and boys with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual disabilities, may be excluded from activities that increase their knowledge about violence, sex and healthy relationships, as well as from peer networks that might protect them from violence. 3 Girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities have unique insights into critical issues that shape their daily lives and the obstacles they face. They also have a variety of skills and capacities to contribute to programming for children and youth, but are rarely consulted in program design and planning.
To address this gap, ChildFund International commissioned the development of this Toolkit, entitled Gender-based Violence against Children and Youth with Disabilities: A Toolkit for Child Protection Actors. ChildFund and Women's Refugee Commission worked together to design and pilot participatory tools primarily for use by ChildFund staff and partners. They may also be useful to a wide range of actors engaged in child protection, GBV prevention and response, and for youth engagement programs in both development and humanitarian contexts.This toolkit was developed in Ethiopia, where the tools were piloted, with input and participation of ChildFund staff and partners, as well as children and youth with and without disabilities.
This toolkit was designed to reflect on and address capacity development needs of staff on disability inclusion; identify gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response needs of children and youth 4 with disabilities; and foster their participation in both planning and implementation of activities to prevent and reduce the risks of violence. Please see Annex 1: Pilot Methodology 5 for a summary of the methodology used to design, pilot and evaluate the tools.
The toolkit consists of three parts:
ChildFund International has a particular interest in promoting the rights of the most deprived, excluded and vulnerable children, and this requires it to ensure that girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities are adequately represented in all programs and activities, including those addressing child protection and GBV. ChildFund's framework for development places child and youth agency as a key element throughout the program cycle, from assessment, design and implementation through monitoring and evaluation. Similarly, the Women's Refugee Commission puts children and youth with disabilities at the center of humanitarian programs and advocacy, working with them as partners to identify protection concerns and risks, as well as to explore their ideas for change. Operational and participatory research is used to build bridges between children and youth with and without disabilities, their communities and humanitarian actors, strengthening their capacity and creating space where the most marginalized have a voice on issues that affect them.
In GBV prevention and response programming for children and youth, it is critical to understand the gendered nature of violence against children. Gender norms and inequality, social structures and age all intersect with other sources of social disadvantage to influence the vulnerability of girls and boys to different forms of violence. When gender and age intersect with disability, it becomes even more critical for program staff to understand and adopt inclusive programming approaches in child protection and GBV programs and activities, fostering the participation of children and youth with disabilities, who are routinely exposed to multiple kinds of violence, abuse and exploitation.
In the principles and guidelines below, particular attention is given to girls, who are disproportionately affected by GBV due to their intersecting identities as both young and female. The forms of GBV that they are exposed to may include, but are not limited to sex-selective abortion, child sexual abuse, 7 rape, trafficking, forced prostitution, child marriage, dowry-related violence and female genital mutilation. When disability is also part of girls' identity, they may also be exposed to differential forms of violence and human rights violations, which have both disability- and gender-related dimensions, such as forced or coerced sterilization, withholding of assistive devices for mobility and/or communication, and denial of assistance for personal hygiene and or daily tasks. 8
The following principles are proposed to foster the participation of children and youth with disabilities, and those affected by disability, in community-based child protection and GBV programs, strengthening their foundational assets 9 to in turn mitigate their risk of violence, abuse and exploitation across different life stages.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) requires states parties to ensure that persons with disabilities are protected in situations of risk, and “that protection services are age-, gender- and disability-sensitive,” 10 Exclusion of children and youth with disabilities from existing activities and programs, whether inadvertent or purposeful, is therefore a form of discrimination. Program staff and development actors must recognize the diversity of the populations they serve, including the different risks faced by girls and boys with different types of disabilities at different life stages, and by those living in households with persons with disabilities. The inclusion of children and youth with disabilities and those affected by disability in ongoing and new programming is critical to reducing their risk of GBV and should be a core dimension of programming — not something “special” or separate.
Children and youth with disabilities have life experiences, dreams and goals like other children and youth, and, when asked, may identify simply as friends, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers and so forth. They are exposed to the same stigma, discrimination and inequality based on age and gender as other girls, boys, young women and young men. Yet, these factors are often overlooked, as program staff, families and communities prioritize the disability-related needs of this group.
Program staff often make assumptions about what children and youth with disabilities can and cannot do, or what activities would be most suitable for them. Taking time to consult with them, exploring their interests and providing them with opportunities allows children and youth with disabilities to be recognized as the experts on their situations and enables them to provide insights into issues that shape their daily lives.
Participation will look different for every individual, and vary according to their personal preferences, the type of activity and how familiar they are with program staff and peers. Program staff should take the time to watch, listen, talk and interact with individuals to learn more about them, what their preferences are, and their skills and capacities. It is also important to avoid setting rigid standards for “participation.” Everyone has something to contribute — this may be a picture, a gesture or a detailed discussion — all of which should be valued and recognized in efforts to engage meaningfully with children and youth with disabilities.
Program staff should seek to understand the concerns, priorities and goals not only of girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities, but also of those who may be taking on caregiving roles for persons with disabilities, as they may also be excluded from community activities and opportunities. It is critically important to engage caregivers of children and youth with more profound disabilities, including parents and siblings. By engaging wider family units, the development community can both support and strengthen healthy relationships and balanced power dynamics among caregivers, children and youth with disabilities and other family members. This is particularly important when working with girls and young women with disabilities who are likely to have less power and status in society due to age, gender and disability norms.
5— Mother of a 14-year-old girl with intellectual disabilities living in a refugee camp in Ethiopia
Girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities should have the opportunity to participate in the same programs and activities as other children and young people. It is critical to identify and remove barriers to existing programs and activities, and avoid setting up separate programs and activities that may further marginalize children and youth with disabilities from their peers and communities.
Children and youth with disabilities are a diverse group, with varying needs, concerns and capacities. Program staff can better understand this diversity by collecting and analyzing population data that is disaggregated by sex, age and disability, and conducting assessments to identify the profiles of girls, boys, young women and young men in a community. This should include vulnerability factors, such as living with both parents, just one parent or alone; being in or out of school; and different types of disability, including of those who have multiple disabilities and are isolated in their homes. Assessments should also include infants with disabilities and their caregivers, so as to identify gaps in both service provision and parenting approaches, which may differ between girls and boys. Finally, pregnant women and mothers with disabilities may face a unique combination of GBV risk factors, making them a priority for activities which target parents and caregivers, and enabling them in turn to foster safe and caring environments for infants and children with disabilities.
Children and youth with disabilities, and often their siblings, may be isolated and hidden within their communities. They may lack confidence and social networks, and their mobility and access to public spaces may be restricted, particularly if they are female, due to a variety of attitudinal and environmental barriers, including security. Assessments and evaluations should therefore include an outreach component to engage children and youth with disabilities and their caregivers who are isolated in their homes. In some contexts it may be possible to support existing children and youth groups to undertake such outreach, so they themselves may provide information to children and youth with disabilities and their caregivers about available activities, establish communication preferences, build trust and develop strategies to address barriers to participation.
Involving children and youth with disabilities in GBV program design and evaluation is critical to accurately identifying barriers to their participation in programs, developing effective strategies to improve their participation, and understanding what changes matter most to them. Participatory approaches, such as ranking exercises, photo elicitation and story-telling are examples of ways, in addition to more traditional qualitative methods ( e.g. , focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews), to effectively explore the concerns and ideas of individuals who have different communication needs. Children and youth with and without disabilities can be encouraged to work together to identify their own goals and the foundational assets that they wish to develop. This gives them ownership over the programs and activities that affect them, fosters protective peer networks and supports the development of important life/leadership skills. 11
Establishing safe physical spaces where girls can meet separately from boys, connect with peer and social networks, learn skills and safely access information and services, is an effective method of reaching those who may be socially isolated, lack confidence and fear for their safety outside of their homes. Program staff managing safe spaces can support girls' groups to reflect on what makes that space “safe” for them. They can establish their own ground rules about keeping activities open and welcoming to girls with different types of disabilities, thereby reducing the risk of stigmatization and discrimination. Girls' groups can also play a critical role in defining whom should be included in future activities, and conducting outreach to groups of girls who are more isolated and excluded, such as those with intellectual disabilities.
Creating a network of strong, young female leaders with disabilities in a community will not only improve the status of women and girls and challenge social norms relating to gender, but also highlight the skills and capacities of persons with disabilities. Children and youth with disabilities want to be seen as leaders, friends, and community members; people who can make valuable contributions to their community. Program staff should recruit young women and men with disabilities as volunteers and staff in all types of programs, including GBV programs.
This section of the toolkit provides tools to strengthen the capacity of staff to include children and youth with disabilities in GBV programming. These tools seek not only to improve the knowledge of staff on GBV against children and youth with disabilities, but also to foster reflection on how attitudes might influence their work in this field. While child protection and GBV actors are particularly aware of age- and gender-based power dynamics in their work with children, they may require further support to reflect on their own attitudes, and the attitudes of others, relating to disability, and how these may compound inequality, discrimination and exclusion in relationships, households and the community. As disability inclusion is often an evolving area of work for many organizations, it is also critical to support staff in reflecting on progress, highlighting successes and exploring challenges, so that they can define their own capacity development goals. Hence, the tools in this section facilitate reflective and experiential learning processes.
It is recommended that the activities and content presented in these tools be integrated and mainstreamed throughout core child protection and GBV training packages, including through case studies and examples centered on children and youth with disabilities. Over time, staff will increasingly recognize that responding to the needs of children and youth with disabilities is a core part of their work and that they have the skills to do this effectively throughout their daily work.
There are three tools to support the capacity development of staff and partners:
This tool will help to identify areas for capacity development of staff on the inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in GBV programming. It is a self-assessment tool which will help staff to reflect individually, and then as a group, on their own knowledge and practices relating to children and youth with disabilities and GBV, and identify areas that they wish to strengthen in the future.
To supervisor or manager: Please share this form with each member of your team, so that each has time to reflect on their own individual competency. You can then have a meeting as a team to share everyone's reflections on the self-assessment, and to identify the common strengths and gaps across the team. As a supervisor or manager, you should complete one form that reflects the current competency and progress of your wider team as a whole. There is no need to identify individual staff members. You may also want to encourage your staff to keep their own forms, as they can use them to reflect on their own individual progress over time.
For each statement given in the questionnaire, you can evaluate your team's performance by giving scores according to the scale below. The written responses/reflections box are designed to provide examples, and to prompt reflection about where on the scale you and your staff are currently located.
This training module is designed to support staff working with children and youth to:
Develop strategies to foster disability inclusion in community-based protection mechanisms.
This training module is designed to strengthen the capacity of staff and partners to incorporate disability inclusion into their work. It assumes that participants already have a basic understanding of gender-based violence, as well as the standards and principles for working with children. It is meant to be used in conjunction with any wider training on child protection and GBV that your organization conducts.
Additional ChildFund International resources on GBV include:
The training module is built around participatory activities, and takes approximately 5 hours to complete. The objectives, activities and suggested time allocation are summarized in the table below. Some additional tools, including images and sample case studies, are provided to assist in the facilitation of activities. Facilitators are encouraged to adapt these according to local contexts and to integrate activities from this module into other trainings on GBV and child protection.
Table 1: Contents of the training module
Place four signs around the room — “Strongly agree,” “Agree,” “Disagree” and “Strongly disagree.” Read the statements, then ask participants to move to the sign that reflects their own perspective on each statement. Alternatively, people may stay seated, and hold up signs to indicate their answers. Ask participants to discuss their different positions around the room.
This activity will take approximately 30 minutes to conduct, depending on the level of discussion. The discussion is the most important part of this activity, but additional notes are provided in purple to help the facilitator to summarize or recap each statement. This activity may also be conducted at the end of training activities to reflect change in knowledge and attitudes.
Statement 1: It is OK to restrain a child with disabilities, if it is for their own safety.
Children with disabilities have a right to freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation. Families may sometimes resort to negative coping strategies, such as tying a child with disabilities up, locking them inside and even using medicine to keep them “calm.” There are many factors that may lead families to use restraint: perhaps they lack the skills to communicate effectively with their child; they may feel “shame” at having a child with disabilities; or have fears that the child will be harmed if they go outside the home. Often families will restrain adolescent girls with disabilities because of the risk of rape or sexual abuse that they face in the community. It is our job to work with families and the community to ensure a protective environment for girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities both inside and outside the home.
Young people with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities, have the same sexual desires as those without disabilities. Many will want to have relationships, marriage and children in the future. Stigma and discrimination mean that they do not have the same opportunity as other young people to learn about sex, relationships and violence, through both formal and informal information networks. GBV education is particularly important for children and young people with intellectual disabilities, as studies show that they are 3.6 times more likely to experience sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers. 12 It is therefore critical that we provide opportunities for them to acquire the knowledge and skills to engage in healthy relationships, and to recognize and report violence if it does occur.
Statement 3: Children and young people with disabilities cannot make their own decisions.
Children and young people with disabilities have a right to be involved in decisions that affect them. While it is important to engage with the parents and guardians of persons with disabilities under the age of 18 years, they should still be involved in decisions, so that their interests and evolving capacities are recognized and highlighted through our work with them and the wider community. Persons with disabilities over the age of 18 years are adults, and therefore have a right to make their own decisions. Individuals do not lose their legal capacity to make decisions simply because they have a disability, 13 and we should take measures to ensure that decisions are made in a way that reflects the rights, will and preferences of the individual, are tailored and appropriate to the person's circumstances, and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that all opportunities to participate in decisions are optimized. 14
14Statement 4: Children and youth with disabilities can contribute to GBV programs and activities.
Children and youth with disabilities are the best people to advise us on the barriers they experience, and to make suggestions for how we can address those barriers. We must include young women and girls with disabilities in our activities if we want to strengthen the agency of children in their communities, promote gender equality and end violence.
Attachment 1: Types of disabilities
Ask participants: “What is disability? Who are people with disabilities?”
Ask everyone to draw a picture representing the different types of disabilities they know exist in the community. Stick these on the wall. Alternatively, you can use your own pictures of persons with different types of disabilities [see Attachment 1: Types of disabilities, page 23.]
15If it is not raised, ask the group about persons who are isolated in their homes, or those with more “hidden” disabilities, like intellectual or mental disabilities. Highlight that today we are talking about the GBV concerns of persons with different types of disabilities and how they can access our programs.
Attachment 2: Quotes — Models of disability
There are many different ways in which society may view or interact with persons with disabilities that can result in their exclusion or inclusion in our society. Describe the four different models of disability:
Give a scenario (or show pictures) such as:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
How does each approach make the person with disabilities feel?
How does each approach contribute to equality and non-discrimination?
Introduce the activity by asking participants if they have ever been told to “act like a man” or “act like a woman” based on their gender. This activity will encourage participants to look more closely at these two phrases, what is means to be a man or a woman in society and how this affects women, men, girls and boys with disabilities.
Separate participants into two groups. One group will focus on “Act like a man” and the other will focus on “Act like a woman.”
On one side of the flipchart paper the groups should write how society expects a man or a woman to act. This can include their behaviors and how they should look, as well as what they should feel and say. Some responses for Act Like A Man might include “physically strong” and “a protector,” whereas Act Like A Woman may include “homemaker” and “pretty or attractive.”
On the other side of the flip chart paper, ask participants to write down how society perceives a man or a woman with disabilities. Some responses for men with disabilities might include “weak” or “unproductive,” and responses for women with disabilities might include “undesirable” and “unfit as wives and mothers.”
Separate participants into four groups. Give each group a quote from the list below. They should discuss:
Ask each group to share their perspectives. The following notes in purple can assist in facilitating a large group reflection on each scenario.
In this scenario, the mother has the power. Sometimes parents, families and communities take actions based on the charitable model of disability. They believe that that they are acting in the best interest of the child, but instead this approach may reduce their access to the same opportunities as other children. We must engage with family members to explore the interests of the child, and at the same time as addressing their concerns about safety in the community. In this way we can foster more healthy power interactions between the mother and her daughter.
18— Group of deaf girls presenting at an NGO planning workshop
In this example, the Deaf girls — often considered a subordinate group — have power to express their opinions and contribute to decision-making. We often run activities with just girls or just boys, so that they have a safe space to explore gender-related concerns. This also provides them with an opportunity to collectively mobilize around an issue or a topic that is important to them — we call this child and youth agency. Agency is a form of collective power to change things, and is an important goal for much of our work with marginalized groups. We want the most marginalized and excluded to have a voice over issues that affect them, and the space to share these views with others. In this case, the NGOs created space for the girls to have a voice — they have shared some of their power with the girls.
“The females who have intellectual disability also need education, because they have relationships.”
The young deaf men have an opportunity to share their opinion and to have a voice — they have some power.They are using their power to advocate for the rights of others. This is a positive sign. They are, however, talking about women, rather than supporting women to speak for themselves, which might be the next step moving forward.
“We can't include him in other children activities. He will be teased and won't succeed like others”
Child protection and GBV actors also have power and are often in a dominant group when engaging with children and youth with disabilities. They may not realize that sometimes they are making decisions which further marginalize and subordinate someone with a disability. In these examples, the counsellor and facilitator are setting rules about what is considered “normal” behavior, defining standards about what type of participation is appropriate and even denying opportunities from the children and young people with disabilities.
To identify the factors that make children and youth with disabilities more vulnerable to GBV.
To identify the factors that protect children and youth with disabilities from GBV.
19Break into small groups. Give each group a case study to discuss [see Attachment 3: Case studies, p. 33]. Each case study represents a girl or boy with disabilities at different life stages. Each group should discuss the same questions:
Ask each group to present back the three factors that make the person with a disability vulnerable to GBV. Write these on a flip chart.
What factors increase vulnerability of children and youth with disabilities to GBV? Do these affect both girls and boys with disabilities in the same way? If not, how are they different?
What factors protect children and youth with disabilities from GBV? Do these affect girls and boys with disabilities in the same way? If not, how are they different?
Attachment 4: Power walk (page 26)
Two volunteers are each given a character — Abeba, a girl with a disability, and Aster, a girl without a disability. The rest of the group will read out different scenarios experienced by each character. The volunteers take steps forward or a step backwards according to how the scenario increases or decreases the risk of violence for the individual and their family members at different stages in their lives. Each girl may have both positive and negative things happening in a single scenario, and so they may take multiple steps forward or backwards accordingly. There may also be events that affect the other women and girls in the family, and this may have additional impact on the individual.
As the activity is being conducted, write up the factors that make girls with and without disabilities more vulnerable to GBV, and the factors that protect them from GBV at different stages in their life. Write the factors for Abeba and Aster in different colors, as this will help to compare in the discussion later. The following table may be a useful way to record this information during the activity.
Summarize the activity by asking the group to reflect on:
Attachment 3: Case studies (page 25)
Give each group a case study [see Attachment 3: Case studies] and a community-based activity to discuss ( e.g. , Child protection committees; youth groups; safe spaces for adolescent girls; maternal and child health information sessions).
Ask them to write each “barrier” on a separate sticky note. They should present these barriers and place them on the wall under the sign that relates to that type of barrier.
Recap this activity using the following questions for discussion:
Allow other participants to comment and make suggestions. Leave the barriers on the wall for the next activity.
The photograph shows a young disabled lady seated on a wheel chair with her parents standing behind her. A visually challenged old lady is seated along with a young boy on the sofa. The boy can be seen reading a paper. A lady can be seen comforting a small girl child. Another man on the left side of the illustration is gesturing to a girl who is in rapt attention. There is another bespectacled fat lady seated beside them on a chair. All of these people are in a linear orientation.
Selam is a 17-year-old woman living in a village in Ethiopia. She lives with her mother, father, five sisters and three brothers. Salem is unable to speak and needs assistance with her daily care. Her mother, Beletu, and her two younger sisters assist her with feeding, washing and toileting. One of her younger sisters has dropped out from school, as her mother is feeling tired and needs more support to take care of Selam. Selam smiles when her two younger sisters stay with her and play games in front of her. She cries when she feels hungry or thirsty — this is how her family knows that she would like food or water. Selam started menstruating when she was 12 years old, but she can't change her sanitary napkin on her own. Her mother and younger sister have taken care of her menstrual hygiene needs for the last five years.They have expressed that this is the most difficult task as Selam has grown bigger. Beletu doesn't feel comfortable leaving Selam with other people and worries about her safety. When other women visit her at the house, they talk to her about the awareness-raising sessions being conducted in the community by different organizations. She would like to attend such sessions, but can't because the sessions are conducted far away from her home, and there is nobody who can look after Selam.
Sabeen is a 13-year-old Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan. She has an intellectual disability. Her mother says that she is “super active.” She likes to dance and draw, and is always going to visit her neighbors. She always wants to learn something new. Sabeen used to go to school in the camp, but now she can't find someone to walk with her. Sabeen likes to go out, even when it is dark. One night, she went to her neighbor's house and when she came back, her mother noticed that she looked different. Her mother asked Sabeen what happened, and she explained that some boys took off her underpants. The boys said that next time they were going to “play husband and wife.” Her mother has now stopped Sabeen from visiting neighbors where there are men and boys, because she feels Sabeen will do whatever these people say. Sabeen went to a group meeting with her mother where they talked about violence in the camp, but she didn't really pay any attention — she preferred to practice her drawing.
Assefa is a 9 year old boy who has difficulty moving and speaking. He lives with both his parents and his two older sisters in a city. They currently live in a house which is rented and of good standard, and his father is employed. He doesn't go to school. Instead, he spends most of his day inside the home, except when he goes to the “doctor” for therapy, and only plays with his older sisters. The family took Assefa to a children's group running near his home, but they said that they “don't have services for him.” You observe that Assefa is clean and well dressed. While the adults are speaking, he is engaging with his sisters and communicating with them in his own way. He is able to crawl around on the floor to get toys and other things which interest him. By the end of your visit, Assefa is following you and the parents. He is listening to everything you say and then waves goodbye from the door.
Ahmed, Inaam and their baby have been in Lebanon for one year. Inaam is 16 years old. She was shot in the back in Syria and is now unable to walk. They are living in good accommodation which is on the ground floor and rent free, but they are now being asked to move out so the owner can live there in the future. Inaam has been seen by a physiotherapist since leaving the hospital, and has a wheelchair, commode, air mattress and walking frame, but her husband still has to carry her around the house, and she rarely goes outside. Inaam says that when Ahmed is away, she has time to think about her situation and she feels very sad. Her own family are here and living nearby. Her brother's wives used to visit regularly, but they have stopped coming — she thinks this is because they always have to clean the house when they come to visit, as she can't do it herself. She is also insulted by other people because she can't walk — people make fun of her and take advantage of her. She thinks her daughter is affected by what has happened to her — by the violence in Syria. Her family are coming all the time and asking if her husband will leave her, because she is now disabled — this hurts her too much.
Abeba is two years old and has a disability. She has not learned to sit or crawl, and is very small. You meet Abeba and her mother when they come to the health clinic to get vaccinations for her brothers. There are no records that Abeba had her own vaccinations. Her mother says that they were told Abeba would not survive because of her health problems, so she didn't think to bring her to the clinic. Abeba's father left the family one year ago to look for employment, but he has not been in contact with them since. The family recently moved to a new neighbourhood because they needed a home that would cost less to rent. Her mother doesn't have enough money to take Abeba to different service providers or early childhood activities, but she could bring her to the same activities as her brothers. She says this would work better for her and the family.
✂____________________________________________________________________________
Abeba was born with her disability — she has difficulty moving, and was slow to develop her speech. The doctors said that Abeba would never go to school, and so she spent most of her childhood inside the house.
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Abeba's mother helps her with daily care, like washing and going to the toilet. Her father recently left the family, and now Abeba's mother must find a way to get income for the family. Abeba's younger sister must stay at home to help her with things when their mother goes out for meetings.
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Abeba's mother now has a job. Abeba is home alone most of the day, but different relatives come throughout the day to help her go to the toilet or have lunch. Sometimes her cousin is late, and when Abeba complains, her cousin gets angry with her and refuses to take her outside. Abeba likes being outside in her wheelchair, and will talk to anyone who stops to say “hello.”
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Abeba's sister and another neighbor have started attending a group at the local women's center. They brought a social workers to the house to talk to Abeba. Abeba gets to know the staff, and then decides that she would like to go to the center. The staff organize transportation so the three girls can travel together to the center. Abeba looks forward to these days being around the other girls, and is hoping to learn more about computers.
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One day you meet with the girls to identify the activities they would like to do at the center. Abeba doesn't speak at this meeting and all the other girls want to do hairdressing. They all say that Abeba will enjoy this, as they can all do her hair for her — she can be the client, because she doesn't need to stand up to do that.
What power dynamics are happening here? How will you address these dynamics?
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27✂____________________________________________________________________________
When Aster was a baby, the doctor and nurses gave her mother information about development, and she had the opportunity to play with other children when her mother was visiting neighbors and friends. She finished her primary school education, but is now missing classes, as she has to undertake different chores in the home.
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As a teenager, Aster is still in touch with her friends that she met at school. They meet sometimes in the shops and talk a lot on the phone. Some of her friends are now going to a community center to learn about accounting, and Aster would like to join them. Her friends give her lots of information that she shares with her parents. They say it is OK for her to go, as long as she is able to continue her other housework.
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Aster has learned a lot in her accounting course and has made many new friends. Her brothers sometimes take away her phone to prevent her from talking to these friends, especially her friends who are boys. The other girls at the center sometimes have the same thing happen, and they discuss different ideas about how to talk to their families about this.
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Aster has passed her accounting course and wants to find work. The teachers at the center give her some ideas of places to look for work and how the recruitment processes work. Aster talks to her aunty — she also has a job and has a lot of experience. Aster's aunty supports Aster when she discusses this idea with her family.
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This tool is designed to support program staff to reflect on the process of disability inclusion that their GBV program has undertaken. It provides questions to guide a group discussion amongst staff to help them identify changes in their own knowledge, attitudes and practice that have allowed greater accessibility and participation for children and youth with disabilities. It also allows staff to identify persistent gaps, and further actions to be taken to strengthen these areas. This activity can be conducted as part of the monitoring and evaluation process of programs, including collection and analysis of Stories of Change from children and youth with disabilities and community workshops to share findings and plan next steps [see Part 3: Child- and youth-led Participatory Assessment on GBV and Disability — Tool 7: Stories of Change].
1. Ask each person to think of 2–3 things that describe their capacity related to disability inclusion “before” the project (purple paper) and “now” (blue paper). Provide time for people to think and write these down.
2. If the group is small and participants know each other well known, you can invite people to read out their own statements and stick them on the wall under the signs “Before” and “Now.” For larger groups or those that are less comfortable with each other, you can collect statements and read them out anonymously, again sticking them on the wall under the signs “Before” and “Now,”
Note: This activity is more likely to elicit discussion on facilitators than barriers. If participants raise barriers, gaps or challenges in this discussion, then these can be documented on red paper and referred to in the next discussion.
2. Now ask participants to think of 2–3 things that they wish to feel more confident about regarding disability inclusion (yellow paper). Provide time for people to think and write these down.
3. If the group is small and well known to each other, then you can invite people to read out their own statements and stick them on the wall under the signs “The Future.” For larger groups or those that are less comfortable with each other, you can collect statements and read them out anonymously, again sticking them on the wall under the signs “The Future.”
This section of the toolkit includes guidance and activities to facilitate child- and youth-led participatory assessments on gender-based violence (GBV) and disability. These tools will help staff and partners to gather information about the GBV-related needs of girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities, as well as to identify community-led strategies to prevent or reduce the risk of violence. The tools seek to foster the participation of children and youth with and without disabilities in the design of protection and empowerment activities, and to foster protective peer networks through child- and youth-led activities.
The following table summarizes the participatory process and accompanying tools for each step:
Table 1: Summary of participatory process and accompanying tools
This document provides an overview of the process and tools to use when including children and youth with disabilities and their caregivers in GBV assessments in communities. Engaging children and young people of different ages and abilities in discussions about how they experience exclusion and vulnerability, identifying risks and protective factors in the community and developing strategies that promote both protection and empowerment is a central component of ChildFund International's development practice. 2 Participatory approaches are critical when learning about GBV against children, as it can promote the mobilization of families and communities in prevention efforts, strengthen coordinated service delivery involving multiple stakeholders and foster protective identity, social networking and leadership among children and youth, giving them a greater voice and agency in the community. 3
— Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)
ChildFund International is especially interested in learning about the ideas of poor and/or other marginalized groups of children who are not normally heard and whose voices are important to building a strong community development and community-based GBV prevention program. 4 Children with disabilities are a diverse group — they come from a variety of backgrounds, all with different life experiences, skills and capacities. We are interested in the perspectives of girls and boys of different ages and with different types of disabilities, including:
In GBV program assessments, it is particularly important to consult with women and girls, including those with disabilities and those who are caregivers, to understand their needs, perspectives and priorities. Women and girls often take on the role of caregiver for family members with disabilities, in addition to their other roles and responsibilities. In some situations, adolescent girls with disabilities may be unable to access education and other opportunities, because they are caring for a person with disabilities in their household. As such, caregivers may be isolated and at greater risk of violence, both inside and outside the home.
All children — those with and without disabilities — have different needs, interests and capacities. Most “child-friendly” activities will be easily adapted to the different needs children with different types of disabilities. When listening” to children with communication difficulties, it is critical to look at body language, gestures and facial expressions, all of which help us to understand what the child likes and doesn't like, their preferences and opinions. 6 Take time, watch and listen. This is a process, not a one-time event. Each time you meet the child you will learn something new about them and understand better how they communicate and what they mean.
32Wherever possible, children and youth with disabilities should participate directly in our assessments. If an individual does not feel comfortable communicating with you on her or his own, or you cannot find an appropriate method of communication, you can also involve parents, caregivers and even siblings or friends. In these situations, it is important to still include the child with disabilities in discussions, so they can listen and communicate in any way possible whether they agree or disagree with the statements being made. Parents, caregivers and siblings or friends can also help you to identify different communication approaches with the child with disabilities. An important question to ask is:
A note about sign language: Like spoken languages, sign languages are different between countries and regions. Some children and young people may use unofficial sign language, and in these cases a family member or friend may need to do the interpretation. Ask them to teach you some simple signs ( e.g. , good, bad and thank you) and try to include these in your discussion with a child who is deaf or hearing impaired.
ChildFund International uses a participatory action research approach to program planning, promoting the development of community-driven and community-owned actions, and the strengthening of child and youth agency. 7 This approach is particularly important when working with communities that are not used to engaging children and youth with disabilities in community development processes and activities. In these settings, many children with disabilities may initially not feel confident to participate in an assessment or to share their opinions, or their parents, community leaders and peers may think they are not capable of participating. The participatory process also helps us to identify and mitigate potential risks, while concurrently promoting non-discrimination and fostering empowerment of marginalized groups. [See Table 2 for more information about risk identification and mitigation]
This approach provides opportunities for different levels of participation, which is also important to facilitate empowerment processes. By providing multiple opportunities for different levels of participation, we provide options and choice for children and youth with disabilities to both exercise and strengthen their self-agency. By recognizing and valuing all the different types of contributions they make — from just listening to sharing to expressing opinions, and even representing or supporting others — we promote change in the attitudes of others, including parents, community members and staff. Confidence is also built by providing different options for communicating concerns and ideas, and multiple opportunities to practice sharing these with others. The following process also provides opportunity for contributions from the wider community, promoting ownership and ongoing collaboration between stakeholders.
As with all GBV assessments, it is critical to raise awareness in the community first, to share information about your program; inform people about the assessment and the desire to include girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities; identify and address any myths and misconceptions about the assessment, including managing community expectations about follow-up activities; initiate community dialogue on the issue and strengthen ownership of follow-up actions. Staff can use the same approaches and strategies to raise awareness about including children and youth with disabilities, as with other activities that you run in the community. For example, you can contact community committees, parents, children's and youth groups, and any disability groups or organizations that you know are working in the community, to ask for their assistance in sharing information and identifying people who may be interested to participate. You could also form a small advisory group from these stakeholders, which can provide us with ideas and feedback about the proposed activities and even implement follow-up activities in the community after the assessment. [See Tool 1:.Awareness-raising messages for the community]
Interested participants ( e.g. , children and youth with disabilities, parents of children and youth with disabilities, child and youth committees) can be invited to a briefing or information session to better understand the topic and objectives of the assessment. At this session, you can provide them with more information about the assessment activities that will be undertaken, including: (i) group discussions with parents and caregivers of children and youth with disabilities; (ii) participatory activities that children and youth with and without disabilities will conduct together; (iii) individual interviews through home visits to children and youth with more severe disabilities and caregivers; (iv) a community workshop so that those who participated can share their concerns and ideas with the wider community. It is important to present the different options available for participation and to invite suggestions from children with disabilities and their caregivers. For example, you can introduce the “Communication Toolbox” a way that children and youth with different types of disabilities, and of different ages, can chose what works best for them, and/or what they feel most comfortable in undertaking. [See Tool 2: Information session]
Each group discussion should have 8–10 people participating. Depending on time, potential parent and caregiver group discussions could include:
Parents and caregivers should be encouraged to attend with any children with disabilities who require caregiving. A concurrent play-based activity can be facilitated with the children, identifying their skills and capacities that could support their inclusion in other children's activities. Highlighting these to parents at the end of the group discussion promotes respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities, and may open opportunities for them to engage early in activities that strengthen their agency in later years. [See Tool 3: Group discussions with parents and caregivers of children with disabilities]
Children and youth with and without disabilities should be identified to conduct a participatory assessment in the community: Girls and young women, and boys and young men, who you can then separate into age groups of 6 — 14 years (young adolescents) and 15 — 24 years (older adolescents and youth) to conduct concurrent activities. Ideally each group should have 8–10 participants, and half should be children and youth with disabilities.
The “Communication Toolbox” provides a range of different ways that children and youth can identify and express protection concerns and risks in the community; how these are different between girls and boys, and those with and without disabilities; as well as their suggestions for ways to mitigate these risks. Ask each group to pick two activities from the “Communication Toolbox,” and then to discuss ways in which they might need to adapt these activities for those with different types of disabilities, including those who may be isolated in their homes.
Each group can also decide on how they want to share their concerns and ideas with others ( e.g. , through art work, story-telling or drama) and identify representatives that will come to the Community Workshop to share the opinions and ideas of the group. Depending on the scope and time available for the assessment, children and youth could conduct meet more than once to conduct the assessment and plan their messages for the Community Workshop. [See Tool 4: Participatory activities with children and youth with disabilities]
Individual interviews can be conducted with children and youth with disabilities and caregivers who are not able to participate in the group discussions and other activities. This method is most useful for participants who require more individualized communication approaches and/or feel more comfortable in the home environment. Individual interviews are structured around the protection concerns and risks in the community for children with disabilities; how these are different between girls and boys, and those with and without disabilities; as well as their suggestions for ways to mitigate these risks. Home visits also provide an opportunity to assess the challenges to access and inclusion for persons who were not able to participate (due to any number of barriers) in the other activities, and to identify household-level protective factors. With appropriate support, individual interviews can be conducted by partner staff and community committee members to gather information from and better represent this group in their work. Modified interview tools can also be used by parents, children and youth to strengthen outreach, peer support and networking. [See Tool 5: Individual interviews and observation checklist]
A Community Workshop is the final part of the assessment process. It involves bringing representatives from the different groups involved in the assessment — children and youth with and without disabilities; parents and caregivers of persons with disabilities; partner staff; community committees and leaders — to share information and ideas and promote collaborative action planning or next steps in the community. Such a workshop provides an opportunity for children and youth with disabilities to mobilize around issues, develop their communication skills and play a greater role in program decision-making. It can also change the attitudes of staff, family members and community leaders who, over time, increasingly recognize the capacity of children and youth with disabilities to contribute to community action.
It is critical to document needs, gaps and ideas that are presented by these different groups, so that these can form the basis of your programming. Remember that children and youth, boys and girls, as well as male and female caregivers will all have different perspectives and priorities. Hence, it is important to try to analyze and document the information that gather by age and gender. A summary sheet is included in this tool to help you document these different perspectives. [See Tool 6: Community workshop]
Children and youth with disabilities can participate not only in the assessment process, but also in evaluating what change matters the most to them from the GBV activities conducted by your organization. Children and youth with and without disabilities can be supported to document their own Stories of Change. This can help us to identify how access and inclusion has changed for girls, young women, boys and young men with disabilities, and how this is different between gender and age, having implications for prevention of GBV. It also provides another opportunity for children and youth to contribute to the program planning cycle. [See Tool 7: Evaluation – Stories of Change]
All ethical standards and consent processes for conducting GBV assessments also apply to assessments with children and youth with disabilities, and participation should be informed and voluntary. Individuals under the age of 18 years who are interested in participating (i.e., they assent to participate), should also have consent from parents or guardians. Three other considerations are important when getting informed consent/assent from girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities:
The participatory process described above is critical to risk identification and mitigation in most communities. Some additional considerations, however, for children with disabilities include:
It may be helpful to document potential risks, the likelihood that these risks might occur and the impact on individuals, families, the community and your program, as well as strategies to mitigate these risks. Table 2 can be used to document this information and to prioritize which risks to which you should be responding.
Table 2: Risk register and mitigation plan
L stands for likelihood or probability of the risk happening. Numerical ratings are applied as descriptive categories. 3 means the risk will happen almost certainly; 2 means the risk is possible; and 1 means it is unlikely to occur.
I stands for impact. It refers to how severe the adverse effects of risks will be in achieving the objectives. Again, using conventions, it can be measured and rated in the following terms: 3 means high (catastrophic); 2 means moderate (disruptive); and 1 means low (bearable).
| TYPE OF RISK | CAUSES | RISK ASSESSMENT | RISK RESPONSE | MITIGATION STRATEGY/DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS | ||
| L | I | Total score | ||||
This tool provides guidance on how to raise awareness with community members, including leaders, government partners, parents and, of course, girls, boys, young women and young men with and without disabilities. This will help you to start identifying interested participants and make families more comfortable to bring children and youth with disabilities out of their homes for such activities. It can also help to identify and address any myths and misconceptions about the assessment; to initiate community dialogue on the issue; and to strengthen ownership of follow-up actions.
You can use the same approaches and strategies to raise awareness about this activity as with other activities that you run in the community. For example, you can contact community committees, parents, children's and youth groups, and any disability groups or organizations that you know are working in the community, to ask for their assistance in sharing information with and identifying people who may be interested to participate. You could also form a small advisory group from these stakeholders, which can provide you with ideas and feedback about the proposed activities and even implement follow-up activities in the community after the pilot.
Introduce your organization and any partners that you will be working with on the assessment.
This tool provides guidance for staff and partners planning the information session with potential participants. The information session provides an opportunity for children and youth with disabilities and their caregivers to learn more about the assessment, thereby contributing to the informed consent process, and for staff that will be facilitating the assessment to identify the different communication preferences of individuals. It can also play a critical role in supporting children and youth with and without disabilities to get to know each other, making them more comfortable in the following activities.
1. Introduce the organizations involved in the assessment and the child protection or GBV activities that you usually run in the community.
2. Explain the purpose of the assessment, and why you want to include girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities — See Tool 1: Awareness-raising messages for the community (p. 50) for more detail.
3. Describe the different activities that will be conducted during the assessment. Use photos, as well as verbally describing this. See Annex 2: Sample PowerPoint Presentation. 10
4. Separate parents and children for an activity (preferably in the same room). Have one staff member sit with parents and caregivers to answer their questions, and then another one run an ice-breaker with the children and youth, so they can get to know each other.
5. Share examples of activities from the “Communication Toolbox”, including pictures, cameras and the Story in a Bag, so that children and young people with disabilities can start to explore what works best for them.
During this time, walk around to individuals who you may need to learn more about to facilitate their participation in the activities. These may include
6. Close the information session by bringing everyone back together as a large group, answer any further questions that children, young people and their caregivers may have, and clarify the next steps.
Group discussions should be conducted with men and women separately to gather in-depth information about their specific and different experiences. Each group discussion should have 8–10 people participating. Depending on time, potential parent and caregiver group discussions could include:
Group discussions should not be longer than 90 minutes. If groups take longer than this to complete all activities in the Group Discussion Guide, you may wish to conduct Activities 1 – 3 on one day, and Activities 4 and 5 another day, if participants are willing and able to return.
Facilitation of groups will require at least one person to lead the discussion and one person to take notes. As much as possible, group discussions with women and girls should be facilitated by women (this includes the person leading the discussion, the note-taker and the translator) and group discussions with men and boys should be facilitated by men. It is important that everyone in the group have the opportunity to speak. This may mean that the facilitator interrupts or redirects the discussion and encourages participation to make sure everyone has the chance to say what they want.
This tool includes participatory activities that can be used to facilitate discussion. While some adults may prefer to communicate through verbal discussion, this may sometimes be dominated by one person. Integrating participatory activities throughout will break up the discussion and provide opportunity for individuals who are less “vocal” to contribute.
Many children with disabilities will not feel confident at first to be separated from their parent or caregiver. So it is important to create a space in these group discussions for children with disabilities to be present, interact and contribute in any way they feel most comfortable. Try to conduct group discussions in a space which is large enough to have a concurrent activity running for children, but still close enough that they can see and/or hear their parents. As is culturally appropriate, have mats, chairs and materials (such as pens and paper) for the children to use. An adult facilitator should be available to conduct a play-based activity with the children and to document how they interact with each other and the activities presented. Children should not be pressured by their parents or the facilitators to use this space, but rather invited at multiple points throughout the discussion. At the end of the discussion, space should be created for children to share with their parents what they did in the activity. The facilitator should try to also describe to parents how children with more profound disabilities participated, even if it is through their behaviors, emotions and body language. This way we promote recognition of the skills and capacities of all children.
The discussion guide is broken down into four parts, representing key assessment areas. Each part comprises several questions that can be answered through activities or discussion.
Facilitation: Use pictures of persons with different types of disabilities and ask people to identify which ones are most common in their community. Ask the group to talk about persons who are isolated in their homes, or those with more “hidden” disabilities, like intellectual or mental disabilities.
Purpose: This activity will help identify how the community perceives women, girls, men and boys with disabilities and how this affects their roles, responsibilities and opportunities in the community. It will also help to understand the expectations of women, girls, men and boys with disabilities and the reality of their daily life, including the support they may or may not receive from others in the community.
Preparation: Develop short, contextually appropriate case studies about gender-based violence committed against children and youth with disabilities. Use these case studies to guide the questions below. It is important that these case studies are not linked to a specific story or child from the community. A few sample case studies are provided here, but should be adapted to your context.
Sample Case Study 1: A young girl who is deaf and can't speak left her home during the night to use the latrine. When she exited the latrine, a man grabbed her, pulled her behind the latrines and raped her.
Sample Case Study 2: A girl with intellectual disabilities is being tied up at home by her parents. Her mother says this is to stop her from running outside, where she might be abused. She can be very affectionate to strangers, and will do whatever other people tell her.
Sample Case Study 3: A young man with physical disabilities is living with his sister and brother-in-law. His sister frequently tells him that he is “useless” and a burden on the family. He tries to help by doing household chores, but other men sometimes tease him when they see him doing these activities.
Sample Case Study 4: A young woman who is blind — she has a boyfriend who keeps her a secret from his friends and family. When they argue about this, he says that she is “lucky” to have him and threatens to leave her.
Facilitation: Begin by explaining to the group, “We would like to ask you some questions about the services and assistance available for girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities who experience violence. We are going to begin by sharing a fictional scenario with you, and we will ask you some questions.” You may want to share more than one case study.
Explain to participants that there will be a Community Workshop to share the findings from this assessment and to develop actions to improve activities for girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities in the community. Invite the group to appoint two people to attend this workshop and share the concerns and ideas discussed in the meeting.
Share with participants the next steps in the assessment, including involving children and youth with disabilities in some participatory activities. These activities will provide a range of different ways that children and youth can identify protection concerns and risks in the community; how these are different for girls and for boys, and for those with and without disabilities; as well as their suggestions for ways to mitigate these risks. Give parents details about where and when children will be meeting to do this activity, and encourage them to share information with the parents of other children with disabilities.
This tool provides a description of the steps to undertake the activity, a discussion guide and a “Communication Toolbox” that staff can use to help children and youth identify protection concerns or risks in the community; how these are different between girls and boys, and those with and without disabilities; as well as their suggestions for ways to mitigate these risks. The activities are designed to provide different options for participation and/or communication on protection concerns, and to foster protective peer networking and agency among children with and without disabilities in the community.
These activities are designed for children and youth over the age of six (6) years. We recommend having four groups:
Half of each group should be children and youth with disabilities. Some children and youth with disabilities may attend with siblings or other relatives without disabilities. These individuals should be kept in the same group regardless of age, but ideally they should be of the same gender, so that girls and boys will feel more comfortable to discuss their specific concerns.
It is recommended that you conduct the activities with girls and young women concurrently on one day, and with boys and young men concurrently on another day. You can introduce the activity to them as a large group of girls and boys, split them up by ages for the activity itself, and then bring them back together to discuss what they learned. This will provide space and opportunity to explore the gender-related concerns of children of different ages, for younger people to share their perspectives with older people and to foster opportunities for peer mentoring from the youth in the community.
The participatory activities should be conducted across two separate days. This will provide time for the groups to document things at different times of the day; for the printing of photos taken by the children to use in discussions; and further planning for any presentations and contributions to the Community Workshop.
Activities with women and girls should be facilitated by women (this includes the person facilitating and the person taking notes) and activities with men and boys should be facilitated by men. Facilitation of groups will require at least one person to introduce the activity to the large group. Ideally there should be two people for each group — one to supervise and assist children who may decide to withdraw from the activity at any point, and one person to observe and take notes.
Participation is voluntary — Ask the group to describe what “voluntary” means to them. Some messages that you may like to use to explain or clarify are:
Everybody has differences — we are all different ages, sizes and shapes, and we all have different things that we like or dislike. In this group we also have people who move, think or communicate in different ways. But everyone here has different strengths and abilities. Let's see what we have in common and what is different. Move into groups according to:
Note: Signs and symbols can also be used to identify which group someone would like to join. Some children may prefer to raise their hands or indicate with gestures in any way that they feel comfortable about which group they identify with. This activity aims to develop an understanding and appreciation of human diversity, but also what children have in common. You can shape the activity to highlight the skills and capacities of different members of the group. Finish with grouping by similar ages, as this assists with the following activities.
Explain to the groups that we would like to talk today about the different concerns of girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities. We want to know about:
There are lots of ways to contribute to this discussion and for children and young people to document or record their concerns and ideas. Let the participants decide what the best way is for the different people in your group. Introduce the “Communication Toolbox” that they can use. These include:
Table: Using tools with children with different types of impairments 14
Ask the group to pick two activities from the “Communication Toolbox.” They should think about which tools will help everyone in their group to participate or contribute in some way to the activity. They may want to identify different roles for people in your group based on the different skills that each person has. For example, some people may not feel so confident speaking, but they can take photos; others may need assistance to move their wheelchair around the community, but they can take good notes; maybe there is an object or place that they know makes another person in their group happy — they can collect that and put it in the Story in a Bag or visit that place in the Guided Tour.
Move away and give the group time to discuss, and to engage with the different tools. Let them look at the tools, touch them and talk about them. Then ask them to explain what they have chosen and how they might like to adapt and/or combine the activities.
Remind each group that today's activity is meant to document the different concerns of girls, boys, young women and young men with disabilities. We want to know about:
Start the activity using the tools chosen by the group. The following Discussion Guide can help you gather more information during the activity and facilitate the group to identify their main concerns and ideas for change.
Each group can then decide on how they want to share their concerns and ideas with others. You should bring the children and youth groups ( e.g. , the girls and young women's groups) back together to share with each other what they have learned. Ask each group to then:
Children and youth with and without disabilities should be invited to attend a Community Workshop where they can share what they learned through the assessment, their recommendations and ideas for activities that can be conducted and/or adapted. This is a critical step in the participatory action research cycle and over time strengthens both the capacity and agency of children. Children should be supported to participate in any way they feel comfortable — they may just want to listen, appoint an adult or a peer to speak for them, and/or make formal presentations and contributions. Create the space, and then support them to fill it!
Prompting questions for discussion both during and after activities should include:
For important places in the community:
This tool provides guidance on how to gather information from children and youth with disabilities and their caregivers who may be isolated in their homes and unable to attend the other assessment activities. The tool includes questions to guide the interview and an observation checklist to help the interviewer get a sense of the environment in which the child lives and their preferred method of communication.
The purpose of individual interviews is to reach those children, youth and caregivers who may not be able to participate in group discussions because they are isolated in their homes. You should ask the parents or caregivers about the most comfortable location in the home to interview them, but also to involve the child with disabilities in the process, bearing in mind what is culturally appropriate in your given context, and the age and gender of the child and caregivers involved.
Do no harm: Some children and caregivers may experience violence inside the home. It is important to check with those being interviewed where they would feel most comfortable and safe — This may be in in their home or in another location. It is also critical to keep questions broad in nature, rather than asking about personal experiences of violence. You may also start with general topics relating to safety and security in the community and perhaps expand into more sensitive topics in follow-up visits.
Individual interviews should not be longer than one hour, but will vary dramatically in length, depending on the age and attention span of the child involved, as well as how comfortable they are with you and how familiar you are with their communication preferences. Shorter interviews over multiple home visits can also help to establish trust and safely expand discussion into more sensitive topics over time.
Wherever possible, children and youth with disabilities should participate directly in the interview. It is possible to also use the “Communication Toolbox” during such interviews, which can help to foster the participation of individuals with more severe communication difficulties.
If an individual does not feel comfortable communicating with you on her or his own, or you cannot find an appropriate method of communication, you can also involve parents, caregivers and even siblings or friends of children with disabilities. In these situations, it is important to still include the child with disabilities in discussions, so they can listen and communicate in any way possible whether they agree or disagree with the statements being made. Parents, caregivers and siblings or friends can also help you to identify different communication approaches with the child with disabilities.
1. Tell me a bit about yourself.
2. What kind of community activities do you participate in?
3. Are there any places or activities in the community where you feel most comfortable or most safe? What makes these places comfortable or safe for you?
4. Do you have contact with other women/girls/men/boys your age? If so, who provides you support? Where to you go to meet them? If not, what are the challenges to meeting and socializing with other women/girls/men/boys your age?
5. Are there any places or activities in the community where you feel uncomfortable or unsafe? What makes these places uncomfortable or unsafe for you?
536. Where do you go or who do you talk to if you have problems and concerns?
7. Are there any programs or activities for women/girls/men/boys in the community that you would like to access or participate in? What has prevented you from accessing these services or activities in the past? How could we help you to participate in this activity or access this service?
During an individual interview, it can be useful to make some notes about what you observe about the individual and their environment. This can help to determine other things in the child's home life and relationships that may affect their health, safety and well-being. It can also help to identify additional needs, concerns, and ways to support the child with a disability to participate in your program and access your services. The questions below may be useful for guiding your observations.
This tool provides a sample agenda for staff and partners to plan a Community Workshop at the end of the assessment. The Community Workshop should include community leaders, government partners, organizational staff and representatives from the different groups engaged in the assessment. It is a forum to share information learned throughout the assessment, and to put children and youth with and without disabilities and their caregivers at the center of program planning. Children and youth with and without disabilities can contribute also to the planning of the agenda of the workshop, often suggesting activities that are built around their skills and capacities.
Also included in this tool is a documentation form to help you to record and analyze the information presented by the different groups of children and youth with disabilities and their caregivers. It is critical that recommendations from each of these groups are documented and remain at the center of program action planning.
1. Introduce the organizations involved in the assessment and describe the child protection or GBV activities that you usually run in the community.
2. Explain the purpose of the workshop:
3. What did we do during the assessment?
Describe the different activities that were conducted during the assessment.You may like to use photos, as well as verbally describing this. You can also invite the children and young people to describe different activities and tools that were used, perhaps through “work stations” around the room that participants visit to learn about each of the activities.
4. What did we learn during the assessment?
Depending on the size of the group, this activity could be done in through group activities or a “Global Café” activity. Give representatives from each group from the assessment — female caregivers; male caregivers; girls with disabilities; boys with disabilities; young women with disabilities; and young men with disabilities — a space or location in the room. They can set up this space with tables and chairs, and place any posters or artwork on the walls that they developed during the assessment. Split the remaining participants into six groups who will spend 10 minutes with each participant group before rotating to the next one. Ask the workshop participants to record the main concerns and recommendations of each group, which they must share at the end of this activity to cross-check and validate with the representatives present.
Summarize the recommendations from the representatives of each group and write these on flip chart paper so that everyone can see them and refer to them throughout this activity. Depending on the recommendations presented and the stakeholders present, you can divide participants in groups to develop actions to implement over the next 12 months. Examples of ways to divide the participants could be:
Recap the actions being proposed and the next steps for program planning. Clarify with participants where any actions may not be realistic or outside the scope of your programming, and make suggestions of alternative partners that could be engaged for these wider issues.
Always finish with space for a contribution from children and youth with disabilities. Let them decide how they would like to fill this space. They may wish to perform a poem or a song that they have prepared together. Let them have the last word!
Community workshop: Documentation form
| FEMALE CAREGIVERS | MALE CAREGIVERS |
| YOUNG WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES | YOUNG MEN WITH DISABILITIES |
| GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES | BOYS WITH DISABILITIES |
| FEMALE CAREGIVERS | MALE CAREGIVERS |
| YOUNG WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES | YOUNG MEN WITH DISABILITIES |
| GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES | BOYS WITH DISABILITIES |
Children and youth with disabilities can participate not only in the assessment process, but also in evaluating what change matters the most to them from the GBV activities conducted by your organization. Children and youth with and without disabilities can be supported to document their own Stories of Change. This can help us to identify how access and inclusion has changed for girls, young women, boys and young men with disabilities, and how this is different by gender and age, having implications for prevention of GBV. It also provides another opportunity for children and youth to contribute to the program planning cycle.
This tool can be used to document how children and youth with disabilities have been included in GBV activities and what has been the most important change for them. It can help program staff understand the actions that make their programs more accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities and caregivers, and gather ideas about how next steps.
They think about this in terms of community change or a personal change. The story should reflect or describe this change and be something that they are happy to share with others. They can choose to verbally share their story, write it down, make a drawing or take photos. They can do it on their own or with a friend or family member.
Story of Change: Sifo (16 years old)
Over the past year, I have most enjoyed going to awareness sessions. It is important to me that the community sees me as not just a girl without a leg, but as a person with rights and a future. I also really appreciate the materials from IRC, especially sanitary napkins and supplies, because often people forget that girls our age need them. With my new leg and my chance to have an education, I feel safer, smarter and less likely to be taken advantage of.” 16
Note-taker (if applicable): ___
If yes, the translation was from ___ (language) to ___ (language)
( e.g. , adolescent girl with disabilities; female caregiver)
Present the purpose of the activity:
“We want to find out how you have been included in GBV activities and what has allowed you to participate. We will ask you to share examples, stories and things you think other people should do in their programs. You can choose to share your story in any way you like. You could tell it to others or write it down; you could use a drawing; or take some photographs to help tell your story. You may like to do this on your own or with a friend or family member. It is your choice. We will then have a meeting where people can come to share these stories and learn from each other.”
Get consent from participants:
For children and young people with limited communication abilities, ask caregivers: How does [state the name of the person] tell you that she/he is unhappy or uncomfortable with something? What makes her/him happy or sad? Use this information to facilitate the interview if verbal communication is not possible and respect any indications that the participant is not comfortable or willing to continue.
Note-taker (if applicable): ___
If yes, the translation was from ___ (language) to ___ (language)
( e.g. , adolescent girl with disabilities; female caregiver)
Present the purpose of the activity:
“We want to find out how you have been included in GBV activities and what has allowed you to participate. We will ask you to share examples, stories and things you think other people should do in their programs. You can choose to share your story in any way you like. You could tell it to others or write it down; you could use a drawing; or take some photographs to help tell your story. You may like to do this on your own or with a friend or family member. It is your choice. We will then have a meeting where people can come to share these stories and learn from each other.”
Get consent from participants:
For children and young people with limited communication abilities, ask caregivers: How does [state the name of the person] tell you that she/he is unhappy or uncomfortable with something? What makes her/him happy or sad? Use this information to facilitate the interview if verbal communication is not possible and respect any indications that the participant is not comfortable or willing to continue.
Children can choose to use drawing and artwork to communicate the protection concerns of children and youth with disabilities, and their ideas for the future. They can draw places and situations that children and youth with disabilities like/don't like and/or situations where this group might feel safe/unsafe. They can also use drawing or artwork to document their recommendations and vision for the future.
This approach can be easily integrated with other tools, such as the Picture Library for individuals who feel less confident with drawing. Sometimes it might be useful to write descriptors on picture that individuals have drawn to help capture the discussion around a topic.
1. Split the children into three groups or into pairs. Give each group flipchart paper and markers and ask them to draw the pictures that reflect the three questions under discussion:
2. Once complete, ask them to share their pictures with each other.
3. Ask them as a large group to make recommendations about:
4. Ask the children to then document their ideas and suggestions through one more picture that can be shared in the Community Workshop.
Young women with and without disabilities, including women who are Deaf and use sign language, chose a combination of artwork and photos to share their concerns: these included access to sexual and reproductive health information, which is important for women with disabilities who are entering into relationships. They recommended further awareness-raising among families and the community to ensure that women and girls with disabilities have access to counseling and life skill trainings.
In this tool, the child and/or children select photos or images from the Picture Library to help them explain their answers to the discussion questions. This tool is useful to prompt children and youth, including those with intellectual disabilities, about different aspects of their lives, “including those that they have not yet experienced (or may desire to experience) or may have difficulty articulating.” 1 The photos and images are a prompt to help the child talk or communicate about the topic.
It is important that the facilitator or staff member look for different ways in which the child might communicate, including facial expressions, emotions and gestures, and to document these. Some children may be unable to articulate in detail why they chose a certain photo or image, but their siblings and friends may be able to elaborate based on their familiarity with the individual.
This approach can also be integrated with other tools and approaches, including adding selected photos and images to a visual map of the community. Photos and images can also be sorted into different groups under signs that you place on the wall. These signs can include symbols and facial expressions representing places they like/don't like or feel safe/unsafe. Children and youth with disabilities can also take their own photos in the community, adding to the library, and they can write or tell a story using the selected photos.
1. Travel around the local area and take clear and colorful photos of important places in the community, locations where children with and without disabilities spend time and where activities with children are being conducted. Consider the different roles that girls and boys assume at different ages in the community. Ensure that you have different locations and activities that will be relevant to girls and boys, as well as children of different ages and with different types of disabilities ( e.g. , some Deaf children may attend a school for the Deaf).
2. Collect images of girls, boys, women and men with different types of disabilities undertaking different roles in their households and communities. Include images of healthy and unhealthy relationships which may provide an opportunity to explore topics relating to sex and GBV. See Annex 4: Example Picture Library Images. 2
3. Print each photo or image and give each one an identification number and descriptor. This is the photo library.
1. Lay out the photos and images in front of the children and young people — let them touch and look at the photos and talk about them with each other.
2. Go through each of the three key topics, asking the children to select a picture that applies to each one:
3. Use the Discussion Guide (p. 69) to further explore the pictures chosen by each child — ask them to tell you about each picture they have chosen, what it means to them and why they have chosen it.
4. Ask the children to then select a picture that makes them happy. Explore why they chose this picture and discuss what it might mean for programming on GBV prevention. Ask them as a large group to make recommendations about:
Do no harm: Images of violence may trigger additional emotional distress for survivors of GBV. Hence, it is important to always start with more general images of exclusion and marginalization, monitoring how individuals are interacting with these pictures, and watching for any signs of distress or withdrawal that may indicate that they are not ready to move onto more sensitive topics or discussions.
Zeina is an adolescent girl with intellectual disabilities. Facilitators conducted an activity where she drew and used pictures to discuss what she likes and doesn't like. She picked out pictures reflecting basic needs and rights — like education and access to food — to go on the “like” side. I asked her about a picture depicting verbal violence between a man and a women: She doesn't like this, and says that the girl can go to her mother or friends for help. She also said that we should try to speak to women like this and visit her, and help her to meet new people who will be her friends. Zeina didn't like a picture of young people interacting (normally a positive picture) because the girl with one leg reminded her of a friend in Iraq. The others used to look at her with shock and surprise, and this made her feel bad. Zeina also drew a picture of a plane and two people. She wants to see her siblings who are living in another country.
In this tool, we use short audio recordings of local sounds to help the child communicate about the topic.The child listens to the sounds and selects sounds that they would like to use to help explain their perspectives. This is a similar tool to the Photo Library; however, it provides audio prompts rather than visual prompts. There is no one right way to do this process — you can be creative. The sounds are just a prompt to help the child talk or communicate about the questions.
The children may choose to use the sound library in conjunction with drawing or writing about the topics of the sounds. Children can also record their own sounds when undertaking activities such as the Guided Tour, adding to the visual information that is being gathered through other activities. Children can be instructed on how to use the sound recording equipment and/or accompanied by a staff member or peer with these skills.
1. Travel around the local area and make short ( e.g. , 20 — 30 second recordings) of sounds that relate to GBV. Think about all the areas of a child's life that are relevant to the topic of GBV, such as health, housing, play, social life (friends), family life, food and drink, education, safety, transport, work, communication, culture, spiritual life and religion. Pay particular attention to getting sounds that will be relevant to girls and boys at different life stages.
2. Organize the sounds onto an audio file ( e.g. , a CD, a digital audio file on a computer or iPad, or a tape).
3. Make a list of all the sounds in order. Give each sound a number and a title ( e.g. , Cooking at home).
Note: Children or adults with vision impairments may be able to help you identify the most appropriate sounds to record. It may also be possible to find sounds similar to local sounds on the Internet. Usually, sounds recorded professionally and available on the Internet are of a higher recording quality and have less disruptive background noise. For an example of a sound library, please see: http://www.voicesofchildrenwithdisability.com/vanuatu-sound-library/.
Do no harm: Detailed audio descriptions of violence may trigger additional emotional distress for survivors of GBV. Hence, it may be more appropriate to work with children and youth to develop their own Sound Library that will document their responses which are important to them.
1. Explain that you are going to ask some questions and that the child might like to listen to the sounds to help answer them. Show them how the audio recorder/player works and demonstrate the headphones. Help them become comfortable with wearing headphones. Practice use of the audio player and headphones with clearly recognizable sounds or music.
2. Go through each of the three key topics, asking the children to select a sound that applies to each one:
3. Use the Discussion Guide (p. 69) to further explore the sounds chosen by each child — ask them to tell you about each sound they have chosen, what it means to them and why they have chosen it.
4. Ask the children to then select a sound that makes them happy. Explore why they chose this sound, and discuss what it might mean for programming on GBV prevention. Ask them as a large group to make recommendations about:
Photo elicitation techniques, such as Photovoice, can be used with members of marginalized groups in the community. The method encourages participants to tell his or her own story and their community point of view through photographic images of their community and lives. 4 Such techniques have been successfully in participatory action research with persons with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities, to document barriers and facilitators to inclusion and formulate recommendations on decisions that affect them. 5 , 6 , 7
Photography is a very effective way of documenting risks or hazards in a community and provides visual evidence for children and youth with and without disabilities to share with programmers and decision-makers. As such, it can be effectively combined with the Guided Tour as detailed below (p. 80), or cameras can be sent away with individuals and groups to document important places and activities in their lives outside of this activity. In addition, photography has been an effective tool to girls and young women who are Deaf to document social activities that they enjoy, and develop actions for strengthening peer networks. 8
1. Show the children how to use the camera and give them a chance to practice with an example question, such as “take a photo that describes one thing you like about this location” and “take a photo that describes one thing you don't like about this location.”
2. Discuss the importance of only taking pictures of people who give their permission. Get them to practice this with the staff and other children or young people in the current location.
3. Remind participants that we want to collect photos that describe three key topics:
4. Invite the group to split up into pairs or smaller groups to work together in collecting photographs around each of these topics.
5. Let the children take the cameras away to work on this project. This can be done independently by older children, or with adult supervision for younger children.
6. Collect the cameras and print the photos so that they are ready for your next session with the group.
7. Lay out the photos in front of the children and young people — let them touch and look at the photos and talk about them with each other.
8. Go through each of the three key topics, asking the children to select a photo that applies to each one.
9. Use the Discussion Guide (p. 69) to further explore the photos taken by each child — ask them to tell you about each photo they have chosen, what it means to them and why they have chosen it.
10. Ask the children to then select a photo that makes them happy. Explore why they chose this photo, and discuss what it might mean for programming on GBV prevention. Ask them as a large group to make recommendations about:
This activity involves children and youth taking staff on a tour of their community, showing them the places where they spend most of their time, the places that they like/feel safe or dislike/feel unsafe. It is suitable for children with all kinds of disabilities, especially those with physical disabilities, as it provides a valuable opportunity for children to identify environmental barriers that may prevent participation, and to make recommendations on how to address these. It also allows exploration of safety issues that children with and without disabilities may experience when moving from one place to another.
It is critical to let children with disabilities and their peers identify the most important places and barriers to them. This will also vary by age and gender. For example, younger children with disabilities may feel comfortable to have friends carry them up the stairs to the classroom, but want a better path to get to the playground where they are able to socialize with other children and strengthen these valuable peer networks. For adolescent girls with disabilities, however, an accessible toilet or latrine and the stairs to the classroom may be more important.
Children and youth can be given cameras to take photos of relevant locations, people and activities in the community as they undertake the tour. They can then use these pictures to document the map of their community that they will share with others.
Cameras; flipchart paper; pens and markers; and water and refreshments. Children with disabilities should attend with any aids and devices that they might use on a daily basis to move around their community.
Establish a meeting location to start and end the activity. Give the children time to discuss the places that they want to visit to build their map.
Ask them to identify different roles for people in your group based on the different skills that each person has. For example, some people may not feel so confident speaking, but they can take photos; others may need assistance to move their wheelchair around the community, but they can take good notes.
Ask the children to start the tour, walking at a pace that suits all of the group. They may wish to visit homes, schools and community meeting places.
Probing questions to ask at each place: Why is this place important to you? What activities happen here? Are there any children or youth who can't come to these activities? If so, why? What makes this place safe/unsafe? Is it different for girls and boys? What would you recommend that we do to make this place safer? What pictures could you take to describe this problem to others?
Once the tour is finished, you can collect the cameras and print the photos.
Meet on another occasion with the photos. Participants can use these photos to make a poster or a presentation about their community and their recommendations.
When working with pre-existing groups of children and youth, you can expand this activity to foster peer networking with isolated children and youth, such as those with disabilities who may be unable to leave their home. Ask the group to think about other children and youth they know who can't move as well around the community. Probing questions could be: Where do they spend most of their time? Could we go and visit them on the tour to collect information from them and their family? What information would they like to collect from them? How can we keep them updated on activities that are happening in the community?
Young men with and without disabilities chose to undertake a Guided Tour. They reported that most men their age meet at the sports field. This is where they socialize with each other, and often exchange information about different issues. Through the guided tour, they were able to document some of the barriers to participation by men with disabilities. Through this process, they were able to establish and articulate recommendations on improving the accessibility of the built environment, particularly roads, schools and safe spaces for youth.
Give the children a bag with familiar objects in it that they can use to tell a story. These should be everyday objects, like a drinking cup, a toy or ball, or a pen and a book. These objects can represent different roles and experiences that girls, boys, young women and young men with and without disabilities assume at different life stages. They can also be objects that represent places or activities that they like or dislike.
The objects are a prompt to help the child talk or communicate about the topic. It is important that the facilitator or staff member look for different ways in which the child might communicate, including facial expressions, emotions and gestures, and to document these. Some children may be unable to articulate in detail why they chose a certain object from the bag, but their siblings and friends may be able to elaborate based on their familiarity with the individual. It is also important to ask these individual who know the child well:
How does [state the name of the person] tell you that she/he is unhappy or uncomfortable with something? What makes her/him happy or sad?
Children can also be given the bag to take home and fill with their own objects, bringing them to the group activity with other children. Alternatively, objects can be collected throughout the Guided Tour, providing a different way for children and youth with vision impairments to remember and discuss locations visited. Lastly, we found the Story in a Bag was very useful for individual interviews with children and youth with more severe communication limitations, as it provided an individualized activity around which to base discussions with caregivers.
A bag and a variety of everyday objects collected by staff and/or children ( e.g. , a soccer ball; a sanitary pad; a piece of fruit; clothing; or a notebook and a pen)
1. Think about all the places and activities that may be relevant to safety and inclusion of children and young people in the community. Consider the different roles that girls and boys assume at different ages in the community, and have objects relating to these gender roles in the bag.
2. Travel around the local area and collect objects that relate to this (considering a broad range of areas of the child's life) and that are likely to be familiar to the child. Usually these will be everyday objects. For example, a pen and book, which might mean “school” or education to the child.
3. Find or make a bag to put the objects in and place the objects in the bag. Make a list of all the objects. Give each object a number and a title ( e.g. , 1. Pen). Include around 10 – 15 items for each exercise, taking care to consider the age, circumstances and abilities of the child to be interviewed.
1. Let the child explore the bag, pull out the objects and feel them, and talk about them with others before you start asking questions.
2. The child removes objects from the bag, identifies them and selects any that will help them to tell their story. There is no one right way to do this process, you can be creative.
3. You can go through the bag slowly, looking for objects that the child is most interested in. For example, if there is a shoe in the bag, they might want to try it on.
4. The child may want to identify each object ( e.g. , “This is a coconut”), and you should agree and affirm this or correct them gently if they are wrong. The child might want to comment on or describe the object ( e.g. , “It's hard with hair on the outside, I think this one is ripe,”). You should affirm their description and perhaps add a little bit more ( e.g. , you might say, “Yes, I think it is a juicy one, if you shake it you can hear the coconut water inside.”).
5. Ask the child if there are other objects they would like to include in the bag. For example: “If this was a bag of things that told people what was important to you in life, what else would be in the bag?” Or “Is anything important missing from the bag?”
This can be a good activity to conduct in pairs — children with disabilities paired with a child without disabilities. Try to identify someone who is around the same age and with whom the child with disabilities feels comfortable. This may be a sister or a brother with whom they spend time. Explain that you would like them to tell us a story about what is important to them in terms of safety and inclusion in the community. Let them take the bag home with them to collect objects that will help them to tell the story when you meet on another day. Collecting objects and planning the story together can foster reflection of different types of communication and contributions to activities.
Young women with and without disabilities in Ethiopia chose the Story in a Bag as a method of communicating their experiences relating to gender roles. After being introduced to the methodology during the first session, the young women went home, and returned the next day with their own objects. One participant described the significance of a football that she brought for the activity — When girls get to a certain age, they are told by others that they should not play sports with the boys. This is usually in adolescence, when they are expected to take on more traditional “women's roles” in the household.
The annexes referred to in this toolkit are available online.
This document provides an overview of the methodology used for field piloting the tools with ChildFund staff and partners in Ethiopia. Tools and resources developed in this project are now available in the publication: Gender-based Violence against Children and Youth with Disabilities: A Toolkit for Child Protection Actors.
www.womensrefugeecommission.org/disabilities/resources/1290-youth-disabilities-toolkit-methodology
Participatory Assessments with Children and Youth with Disabilities: What steps will we undertake?
www.womensrefugeecommission.org/disabilities/resources/1291-youthdisabilities-toolkit-presentation
7 Child sexual abuse is defined as “any form of sexual acfivify with a child by an adult or by another child who has power over the child.” International Rescue Committee, Coring for child survivors of sexual abuse: Guidelines for health and psychosocial service providers in humanitarian settings (New York: IRC, 2012), p. 15.
9 Evidence suggests that supporting children and youth, particularly during adolescent years, to develop human, social, financial and physical assets, improves their health, reduces their risks and equips them with the skills to positively impact their families and communities. Education, communication skills, friendships and social networks, as well as having vocational skills and opportunities in older adolescence are considered the “building blocks of economic and social empowerment.” For more information about asset-based approaches, please refer to: Women's Refugee Commission, Strong girls, powerful women. Program planning and design for adolescent girls in humanitarian settings (New York: WRC, 2014). http://wrc.ms/StrongGirlsReport
12 Lisa Jones, et. al. “Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies,” The Lancet, vol. 380 no. 9845 (2012): pp. 899–907.
14 Article 12: Equal recognition before the law. United Nations, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Geneva: United Nations, 2006).
17 Adapted from: R.J. Davies & J. Dart, The ‘Most Significant Change’ Technique: A Guide to Its Use (2004). www.mande.co.uk/docs/MSCGuide.pdf
4 S. Lorenz, & B. Kolb, “Involving the public through participatory visual research methods,” Health Expectations, 12 (2009): pp. 262–274.
5 J.M. Jurkowski, “Photovoice as a participatory action research tool for engaging people with intellectual disabilities in research and program development,” Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, vol. 46 no. 1 (2008): pp. 1–11. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/5579735_Photovoice_as_participatory_action_research_tool_for_engaging_people_with_intellectual_disabilities_in_research_and_program_development (accessed 12 August 2014).
6 M. Tijm, H. Cornielje, & A.K. Edusei, “‘Welcome to my life!’ Photovoice: Needs assessment of, and by, per-sons with physical disabilities in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana,” Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development, vol. 22, no. 1 (2011): pp. 55–72. http://dcidj.org/article/view/12/28 (accessed 12 August 2014).
There are three children aligned in a row aged around five years. The photograph on the left side is of a boy wearing a hooded sweater and looking away. The second photograph shows a girl child looking upwards. The child on the right is busy writing with a pencil in his hand. All the three children have high cheek bones and rosy cheeks.
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