TAKE BACK THE TECH! GENDER BASED VIOLENCE CASES AFFECTS PERSONS WITH SEVERE DISABILITY MOST

Having volunteered as a Social Worker for over 16 years I serve all the needy I meet on my way to the slums without discrimination. Parents with severe disabled children especially girls suffer most of all

I formed a group of persons with Disabilities in my Community.

They met on every Saturday. In most culture when one is married and gives birth to a a disabled child, such a case is regarded as a curse. The girl is chased out and goes to hustle all alone with her disabled child.

Ken has a severe multiple disability in a wheelchair. Ken\\s mum was a victim, she was so shocked when the husband divorced and said in their family they don\\t give birth to disabled persons. She was so much stressed that she became depressed and then she died as a result. Ken\\s Aunt is single, jobless lives in a one roomed house with her other three children. she takes care of Ken.

I know three girls who are retarded they have suffered alot in sexual abuse. When their parents leaves them to go for casual labour. They find neighbours men have sexually abused them.

A case of sarah a retarded girl who was left by her sister when she went to work. A man neigbhour who was not working, the wife is the one who was working. So, the man could go where she was sitting outside, cheated her bought her soda and then sexually abused her. She became pregnant and when the neighbours noticed they interrogated her and she took them to the man.

He was brought to the Area Chief but he denied. Then he was arrested but later on he was released. The girl gave birth to a baby boy. She did not know when to suck the baby. When the baby was six months the sister prepared food for the child and left for work. When she was asked to feed her baby, she ate the babies food. The baby became sick/admitted due to poor feeding. He died when he was one (1 year old.

When the family was preparing for burial one of the relatives abused her sexually. So the mother has been asking me to look for a home whereby she would take her live there. She has no peace When the mother went to reserve a neighbour in that slum sexually abused her.

There are so many cases of persons with severe disability the families suffer secretly.