World Leprosy Day: UN expert calls on States to end discrimination against affected women and children
GENEVA (24 January 2020) – Hundreds of thousands of women and children affected by leprosy suffer from informal
segregation and institutionalized neglect and governments must put an end to it, a UN human rights expert said in
comments marking World Leprosy Day on 26 January 2020.
Too many women and children affected by leprosy - also known as Hansen's disease - are victims of stereotypes, physical
and verbal abuse, delays of diagnosis and lack of adequate care, regretted Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the
elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.
“Affected people and their family members have been systematically subjected to dehumanization in different cultural
backdrops,” Cruz said. “Stigmatization remains institutionalized in the States’ architecture and functioning: more than
50 countries in the world keep hundreds of discriminatory laws against leprosy-affected people. Discriminatory practices
at the States’ administration endure,” she added.
According to her last report, too many cases of affected women and children are underreported due to institutional
reasons. Children appear to be more prone to leprosy due to their immature immune systems but about 10 to 20 percent of
them stop taking medicines because available treatments are not appropriate for their age. Almost half of affected women
experience depression and/or suicidal thoughts.
The UN expert expressed concerns about the “complete lack of specific plans by States to address the particular needs of
women and children affected by leprosy and to end discrimination and violence against them”.
“Affected people are not only those left furthest behind, they are actively being kept out of agenda, out of history,”
she added.
Cruz welcomed improvements in the response of some Governments, including in awareness-raising activities, campaigns to
improve detection and early diagnosis, and access to treatment.
The UN expert nevertheless regretted that too many States with high incidence rate and with discriminatory laws did not
reply to her requests for visits or did not arrange the visit yet after several months of their acceptance of her
request.
“States must abolish all discriminatory laws and implement the Principles and guidelines for the elimination of
discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members,” Cruz said. She also called for more
inclusion of leprosy-affected women and children in the decision-making processes impacting their lives.
ENDS