Guatemala City - August 9, 2017 - After years of abuse, violence, and exploitation in orphanages and psychiatric institutions, Guatemala must take urgent action to return children to their families and psychiatric detainees to the community, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated in a press statement released this weekend during a visit in Guatemala.
DRI Executive Director Eric Rosenthal participated in an event launching the book Protecting Children against Torture in Detention: Global Solutions for a Global Problem.
Protecting Children against Torture in Detention: Global Solutions for a Global Problem
Washington, DC - March 22, 2017 - DRI Executive Director Eric Rosenthal has published an op-ed on the deadly orphanage fire in Guatemala in the Washington Post. Since the tragic fire that left 40 girls dead on March 8, DRI has been working to protect the survivors - many children who survived the fire have been dumped into other institutions around the country. Rosenthal calls on Guatemala to take this opportunity to redirect funding for orphanages to support families instead and finale close orphanages for good.
Washington, DC - March 15, 2017 - Today, DRI released a new report After the Fire: Survivors of Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción at risk. The report details what happened to the survivors of the fire at the institution and the grave danger that they are still in as they are moved to other institutions in Guatemala.
"For decades, disabled children and adults living in institutions worldwide have suffered abuse of all kinds – from deprivation and solitary confinement in miniature cells, to sexual abuse and forced sterilisation. Now a charity which has documented this abuse for more than 20 years is bringing a landmark legal case against the Mexican government, with the intention of laying down a new line in international law."
Washington, DC, Guatemala City - March 9, 2017 - 31 teenage girls have perished in a so-called "safe house" outside Guatemala City, Guatemala, because they were locked in their room during a fire. The girls were protesting the sexual abuse and trafficking they were subjected to in the institution - leading to being locked in the room as punishment.
Dear DRI Supporter,
We know you care about children with disabilities and the work of Disability Rights International – and we continue to need your support. There were a total of 60 infants at this Kenyan facility, with only 4 caregivers, barely able to wash, feed and change diapers. No time for play, hugs, kisses or responding to a cry of fear or the need for touch. Even orphanages with the best intentions cannot provide for the needs of infants and toddlers in a large group setting. No matter how clean or humane they might appear, physical and psychological damage will occur.