Mention of Ukraine’s treatment of disabled children and Nigeria’s treatment of young girls along with the west’s love of abortion seems to fit the things we learn trafficking, political involvement, etc.
In Ukraine, many people consider disabled children taboo and their families can bear significant social stigma simply for having them or exposing them to the public eye. Instead of being integrated into family and society, people with disabilities are often relegated to institutions where they are left ignored and untreated, and where they bear an increased risk of assault or being trafficked for labor, sex, or pornography. Ukraine bears the ignominious distinction of being one of the least disability-friendly nations in the world. Thankfully, it seems as though the nation is slowly beginning to display a greater acceptance of disabilities and the responsibility to help the disabled flourish.
In Canada we murder babies—especially disabled babies. Some similar nations are celebrating the fact that they are preparing to be entirely free from Down’s syndrome, but this comes only at the cost of universal testing and widespread preventative abortion. As actress Patricia Heaton has said, these nations aren’t “actually eliminating Down syndrome. They’re just killing everybody that has it. Big difference.” Big difference, indeed. Aborting a disabled child is now considered an act of mercy to the individual, the family, and the wider society. It’s considered a mark of our social progress that we’ve nearly eradicated this disability (by eradicating all the people who have it).
In parts of Nigeria, thousands of children suffer terribly for being branded as witches. When a family member contracts an illness or experiences a misfortune, they may blame a child, declaring him or her a witch. This often leads to punishment, torture, or even expulsion. Many of Nigeria’s homeless children, vulnerable to assault and all manner of privation and exploitation, have been accused of witchcraft and thus driven from their homes and families. Thankfully, Nigeria’s criminal code and Child Rights Act have been updated to protect children by making it illegal to accuse them of being witches (though, sadly, enforcement is woefully lacking).
Slide... Re: Downs children: There is an organization called Reece’s Rainbow which promotes special needs adoptions. Many of the children have Downs, and I became acquainted with one couple who was assisted in an Eastern European adoption through that group. At the age of 3 in some of those countries, disabled children are placed in adult facilities for the mentally ill and do not survive for very long.