Enablers of help-seeking for deaf and disabled children following abuse and barriers to protection: a qualitative study

In 2010, Blackburn et al estimated 950,000 disabled children (7.3 per cent) live in the United Kingdom. Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities enshrines their right to protection, yet research indicates deaf or disabled children face three- or four-times the risk of abuse compared with non-disabled peers (Jones et al, 2012), and delay disclosure or are less likely to disclose.

Disabled children continue to be disempowered by societal assumptions and professional practice such as:

This research seeks to increase understanding of their experiences, identifying enablers and barriers regarding disclosure, recognition, and response within the child protection system. It is a small scale project, with only 10 people forming the final sample (detailed explanation for this can be found in the full article), three of whom were children. Work took place between 2013/14 (prior to the current knowledge of historical sexual abuse), with interviews conducted with adults and children who had been abused in childhood; some had come into contact with child protection services, others had not. The two researchers undertaking the interviews have extensive experience of working with deaf and disabled people, with one being a native British Sign Language user, and both underwent bespoke training prior to commencing interviews.