Children with disabilities more likely to be victims of violence

July 17, 2012

Children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to be victims of violence than other children, according to a new report commissioned by the World Health Organization.

The report, published in The Lancet on Thursday, found disabled children were 3.6 times more likely to be physically assaulted and 2.9 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.

The most common victims of sexual assault were those with mental illness or retardation, and institutionalized children were attacked more often than those living at home.

Last week’s report was a meta-analysis of 17 other studies that collectively gathered evidence on 18,374 children, all of them living in wealthy countries, from the United States to Europe to Israel. About 3 percent of children in rich countries and up to 6 percent in poor ones have disabilities.

“Physical violence” included threats and spanking that left marks on the skin. A study published about 10 years ago estimated that 53,000 children under age 18 are murdered each year.

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