The Challenge

Since the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by Kyrgyzstan on March 13th, 2019, government representatives and activists agree that some efforts have been made to try to include people with disabilities in society. However, people with disabilities, in particular children and their families, still face critical barriers to realise their right to inclusive education, access to quality care and employment and still face many forms of abuse and discrimination.

Including people with disability (and children in particular) in society is a behavioural issue at its heart. It requires a large range of stakeholders to adopt new positive behaviours and abandon harmful ones. Communicating the right information to the right people to enact real behaviour change requires a deep understanding of the context, the target audience and behavioural science.

To address this issue, MAGENTA developed, in close collaboration with UNICEF Kyrgyzstan, a social and behaviour change (SBC) roadmap aimed at parents, caregivers, professionals in contact with families of children with disabilities (CwD) and community leaders to encourage the participation of CwD and their families and support all CwD to reach their developmental potential.

The Objective

The primary objectives of this programme are to:

1. Improve parents of CwD’s self efficacy

2. Establishing inclusive and tolerant social norms and attitudes enabling CwD and their families to increase their participation in society

3. Promoting a culture conducive to the realisation of CwD’s rights

This SBC Roadmap is part of UNICEF’s wider disability programming and aligns with the country office’s theory of change. It also aims at feeding into the CRDP’s progress report shouldered by the Ministry of Social Protection and is aligned with government’s objectives in terms of inclusive education.

The objective of the assignment and the roadmap is to address the drivers of negative behaviours in a holistic and integrated way, targeting stakeholders at the individual, community and wider institutional level through a variety of approaches adapted to their needs.

What We Did

1. Inception phase

   • Stakeholder consultations

   • Desk review

   • Situational analysis

   • Inception report

2. Capacity building

   • Three—day in country capacity building workshop to gather insights, bring the CwD community together and co-design the roadmap

3. Roadmap development

   • Roadmap Development

   • Roadmap presentation to UNICEF Kyrgyzstan country office

4. Implementation and M&E Plan

   • Implementation Plan Development

   • M&E Framework and Tools Development

Social and Behavioural Insights

A rapid desk review, combined to 5 stakeholder interviews allowed us to understand the situation of CwD in Kyrgyzstan. The key takeaways are summarized below.

193,000 people with disabilities live in Kyrgyzstan including 32,000 children under 18 years of age.

Persons with disabilities (PwD), in particular CwD and their families live in isolation due to negative notions and stereotypical social norms. This includes beliefs that PwD cannot learn or make any decision, that they should be hidden and are a burden and that they often have bad character, exhibiting bitterness and aggressivity. Mothers of CwD are considered guilty and disability is regarded as a punishment for a sin. Families can be ostracized for fear of contagion.

These stigmas and stereotypes directly affect CwD’s ability to:

• Realize their rights to education and access to basic services

• Be included in play and social activities

• Be treated in a respectful way and make their own decision

• Access employment later in life

• Receive protection in case of abuse

There are very limited services and support available for CwD and their families, particularly in rural areas.

Target Behaviours to Address

The following behaviours have been identified as target behaviours to focus on based on desk research and key informant interviews. The behaviours were later validated during the participatory workshop:

• Exclusion and avoidance of children with disabilities:

  • Refusing to play with them

  • Refusing to enroll them in school

  • Avoiding eye contact, behaving as if they did not exist

• Hostility against persons with disabilities:

  • Psychological violence

  • Verbal Abuse (mockery, insults)

  • Physical violence (domestic violence, bullying, sexual violence)

Impact

UNICEF Kyrgyzstan was presented with the final Roadmap, including suggested activities, implementation and M&E mechanisms to take forward as part of their 2022 strategy.

With the implementation of this strategy, UNICEF will support children with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan to address negative perceptions and fulfil their potential.