A/HRC/43/42/Add.1 system. They too need psychosocial support and counselling, as they often encounter stigma related to albinism. 53. Civil society organizations that support persons with albinism should be empowered and supported to carry out most of these measures to disseminate knowledge on albinism both to the public and to medical professionals. Entry points include training modules on disabilities, on rare conditions and diseases and on skin conditions, and primary health-care services. Inclusion in team sports at the primary education level is also important in supporting persons with albinism in their development of healthy social relationships, a positive self-image and self-acceptance – all of which are jettisoned when facilities restrict equal competition and contribute to psychosocial and mental health issues. (e) Education 54. A major challenge to access to education for persons with albinism is a lack of reasonable accommodation, that is, necessary adjustments, needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the exercise of their human rights and freedoms on an equal basis with others.25 Reasonable accommodation measures in schools, for persons with albinism, include the provision of adaptive as well as assistive devices, the placing of persons with albinism at the front of the class, adjustments to uniforms so that they are sunprotective, permission to wear wide-brimmed hats, accommodation in sporting activities, and extra time on tests and exams, among other measures. These are often lacking in mainstream schools, although there are some positive reports on this matter. It seems that such measures of reasonable accommodation are implemented unevenly across the country and are thus unreliable. Consequently, some persons with albinism opt to attend special schools for persons with visual impairments. However, at special schools, resources, assistive devices and teacher awareness about how to provide reasonable accommodation are not always available, especially in poorer communities. 55. According to the Department of Basic Education, there were 279 learners with albinism enrolled in special schools in Gauteng, 153 in KwaZulu-Natal, 138 in Limpopo, 4 in Mpumalanga, 3 in Northern Cape and 67 in Western Cape. As regards learners with albinism enrolled in mainstream schools, there were 216 in KwaZulu-Natal, 182 in Limpopo, 32 in Mpumalanga and 11 in Northern Cape, with no data available for Gauteng or Western Cape. There appeared to be no real discrepancy between the number of learners with albinism in special schools and the number in mainstream schools. 56. Avoidance of long walks in the sun, and security, were often cited as other key reasons why persons with albinism attend special schools, which are often boarding schools. These schools tend to have gated perimeters with dedicated security personnel, among other protection measures. However, some who need these schools, such as those living in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, a province where attacks have been reported, are not in close proximity to them. Security arrangements at some of these schools are not sufficient, and one of the best special education schools, Prinshof School, for persons with visual impairments, is situated in a highly insecure part of Pretoria. Security is a nonnegotiable measure for children, especially those with disabilities, who are at risk of various forms of attack. 57. Bullying of learners with albinism was reported both in integrated, or mainstream, schools (known in South Africa as “ordinary” schools), and in special schools. It appears to be worse in ordinary schools, and learners often opt to attend special schools in order to escape bullying. Children of mothers with albinism have also been subjected to bullying in schools. It is important not to normalize bullying as “what children do”, as the effects on learners with albinism are compounded. The discrimination they face is often not confined to one environment, but permeates nearly every sphere of society. Introducing the topic of albinism and persons with the condition into school subjects, through courses on life skills, diversity, human rights and civic responsibility, from an early age, will likely reorient learners away from the cultural mystification of albinism and can mitigate bullying. 25 See the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 2. 11