Discrimination, Exploitation, Abuse and Neglect [DEAN] of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria (Published)
Disability is a global concern, predisposes the sufferers to several challenges including discrimination, exploitation, abuse and neglect both at home and in the street. The conditions of being disabled could arise from birth or during one’s lifetime and the sufferers find themselves incapacitated either mentally or physically which then limits their chances of accessing various opportunities in society. The paper argued that persons with disabilities [PWDs] are poorly treated by family members through physical and sexual abuse, exploitation of inheritance, rights infringement and or resources gathered from alms begging where used for such. The exploitation and abuse were made possible due to the heavy reliance of the PWDs on the family members to carry out certain tasks and for being perceived as a burden to the family. Also, the paper argued that PWDs are faced with a lot of discrimination in schools by their peers and tutors and are often neglected in terms provision of assistive devices, materials and adequate training for tutors to successfully transfer knowledge to them. The paper concluded that the treatment of the PWDs was poor, unfair and unjust and requires government intervention, NGOs and individuals’ positive attitudinal change to alleviate their suffering experiences.
Keywords: Abuse, Discrimination, Exploitation, Persons With Disabilities, Treatment., neglect