Page 51 - Getting it Right for Vulnerable Children and Young People in North Ayrshire

Children and young people who may be vulnerable as a result of their own or others disability. Definition The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as the person having difficulty in performing day- to-day tasks for a period of twelve months or longer because of a physical or mental impairment. The Scottish Government has commented that information that was previously labelled as 'disability' does not meet the definition of disability outlined in the Equality Act 2010 and is more accurately described as additional support needs. The Scottish Government hope to implement a new disability question by 2015/16. Brief Overview ‘There is clear evidence that disabled children are at higher risk of abuse than non- disabled children, particularly neglect and emotional abuse. This can result from professionals’ failure to identify, or report, abuse in disabled children, children’s own difficulties reporting abuse, or reports of abuse from disabled children being dismissed. However, the direction of causality, and how far impairments caused by abuse contribute to the association, is not known. A wide range of factors are likely to contribute to disabled children’s increased vulnerability to abuse, although these are not always recognised. Some disabled children may have less awareness or knowledge than non-disabled children about what is acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour from others – or perpetrators may assume that is the case. Some children may be targeted because they have communication impairments making it hard for them to report abuse, or mobility difficulties making it hard to remove themselves from the abuse. Others will have personal care needs which open up opportunities for abuse. Family-related factors include the stress which can arise from caring for a disabled child, particularly if sufficient support is not available, ambivalent feelings about having a disabled child or the nature of the child/parent attachment, or parents’ disciplinary approaches. Services and systems factors can fail to protect children. Staff may not understand or communicate well with disabled children; disabled children are disproportionally represented in residential settings where risks are known to increase; having multiple carers can cause vulnerability; parents may fear losing support if they raise concerns about possible abuse, while signs of maltreatment and distress can go unrecognised in disabled children. Some professionals appear reluctant to believe that anyone would 24 abuse a disabled child. Useful training materials produced by the NSPCC (2011) cover many of these underlying factors. 24 https://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/children_with_disabilities_nspcc_resources_wda80564. html Getting It Right For Vulnerable Children and Young People in North Ayrshire DRAFT V1.1 March 2014 Page No:51