THE responsibility of caring for children living with disabilities in Fiji should be shared by the wider community, not placed solely on parents.
This was the message from Fiji Human Rights Commissioner Veena Singh as she responded to concerns about a growing number of parental neglect cases involving children living with disabilities.
Ms Singh said understanding the different types of disabilities was the first step towards creating a more supportive and inclusive society.
She said caring for children with disabilities was a shared responsibility and that communities, the media and institutions all had a role to play in supporting families.
“The parents can do what they can with what is available to them, but also as a community,” Ms Singh said.
“The media could help by increasing communication, visibility and awareness, while the Human Rights Commission would continue amplifying the issue to reduce the burden on individual families.”
Ms Singh said reports of neglect should be viewed within a broader context rather than placing blame on parents alone.
Lead report writer for the Baseline Study on Rights of Children with Disabilities in Fiji, Kayt Bronnimann said parents also needed to be empowered with the information and support required to raise a child with a disability.
She said the study found this was not always the case.
“The focus should be on creating a supportive environment rather than pointing fingers at parents,” Ms Bronnimann said.
She said government and organisations had a responsibility to ensure families had access to the information, disability allowances and respite care needed to support children living with disabilities.
“So (providing) these, instances of neglect hopefully will just be isolated cases and that we really want to focus on empowering and supporting parents to be able to care for their children.”
