Table N°3
Classification of children with disabilities according to characteristics
Type of disability
Lower limb disability
Upper limb disability
Visual Disability
Hearing Disability
Neurological Disability
Mental Disability
Mutilated
Others
Source TBS December 2013
Number6
242
153
98
109
132
108
111
38
Ratio7
58.2%
36.8%
23.6%
26.2%
31.7%
26.0%
26.7
9.1
Out of 416 children with disabilities, at least 6 have civil status certificates (63%).
School attendance is effective for 37.7%. Those who are not enrolled in school are
particularly those suffering from upper limb disability, neurological and mental
disabilities.
o
182
183
184
185
Legal Framework of Protection of children with disabilities in Benin:
The protection of children with disabilities is entitled to some legal and regulatory
guarantees.
In fact, Article 8 of the Constitution that enshrines the right of children to a special
protection integrates the protection of children with disabilities. In addition, nondiscrimination principles imposed by the Constitution reinforce legal guarantees for
the establishment of protection measures. Furthermore, joining directly the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Article 7), the constitution makes directly
applicable that Article 18 of the Charter, Paragraph 4 providing that: "elders or people
with disabilities have equally the right to specific measures of protection relatively to
their physical and mental state".
Indirectly, all current legal provisions in Benin advocating the non-discrimination
principle in its general conception or defining specific protection measures due to
physical and or mental vulnerability are applicable to the protection of children with
disabilities.
This is the case, for instance, of Law N°2006-19 of September 2006 on the
repression of sexual harassment and protection of victims in the Republic of Benin
providing in its Article 3 that the situation of vulnerability qualifying the sexual
harassment offense can be related to "the physical or mental state of the victim".
Article 23 reinforces the foregoing provision by prescribing that the maximum
sentence, either the payment of one million CFA francs fine and or a two-year
imprisonment, must be applied if the sexual harassment is committed on a minor or a
person particularly vulnerable "...due to physical or mental disability or deficiency".
The Labor Code also recalls in its Article 31 that people with disabilities must not be
subject to any discrimination in matters job".
Better, Article 33 of the same Code encourages employers to hire people with
disabilities giving them the benefit of exemption from the employer's share of the
progressive tax on treatments, salaries, pensions and annuities.
6
416 children with disabilities have been registered in the database
7
The percentage has been calculated from the total of 416 children with disabilities