Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 31

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Paragraph text: Bullying of school-age children owing to their appearance has also been reported in other regions of the world, such as in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in that region, discrimination takes more extreme forms, including infanticide, physical threats and attacks. Lack of information on the condition facilitates the spread of myths to explain albinism, most of which are erroneous and in some cases dangerous, including myths that people with albinism are ghosts or the result of conception during menstruation or the result of a general curse. Life in that context could be described as a cycle of discrimination. Civil society has reported that ostracism of entire families owing to the strong negative connotation of the birth of a child with albinism, perceived as a source of misfortune in certain regions, contributes to infanticide and abandonment of children. Where there are no systematic birth and death records, identification and reporting of such cases are even more difficult. In some regions, children with albinism drop out of school for reasons linked to stigma and because no reasonable accommodation is made for the vision impairment often resulting from albinism. A lack of education combined with widespread absence of health information often lead persons with albinism to employment outdoors with no protection from the sun, which exposes them to a high risk of skin cancer.

Body: Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism

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Person(s) affected