A/HRC/20/5 and assistive devices (such as wheelchairs, braces and white canes); the removal of a ramp or mobility devices; refusal of caregivers to assist with daily living (such as bathing, dressing and eating); denial of food or water, or threat of any of these acts; verbal abuse and ridicule relating to the disability; removing or controlling communication aids; causing fear by intimidation; harming or threatening to harm, take or kill pets or destroy objects ; psychological manipulation; and controlling behaviours involving restricting access to family, friends or phone calls.24 Women and girls with disabilities are also particularly vulnerable to forced sterilization and medical treatment, including the administration of drugs or electroshocks. Research has found evidence of forced sterilization of women with disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities, in several countries in Europe, as well as in Asia, Australia, Latin America and the Middle East.25 23. In its contribution to the study, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicated that children with disabilities are estimated to be 1.7 times more at risk of violence, including neglect, abandonment, abuse and sexual exploitation when compared with other children. Physical and emotional abuse appears to be the most prevalent abuse during childhood, while sexual violence increases during puberty. 26 Children with disabilities are also disproportionately vulnerable to non-registration at birth, which undermines their right to an identity, name and nationality and exposes them to exploitation and violence.27 Older children with physical or intellectual disabilities may also be particularly vulnerable to violence and humiliation. 28 Research shows that children with disabilities are also more vulnerable to corporal punishment in all settings. 29 24. Information submitted by non-governmental organizations for the present study indicated that, in societies where there is prejudice and discrimination against persons with disabilities, some parents respond with violence because of the shame the child has brought upon the family. Importantly, the prejudice attached to disability is compounded by gender discrimination; a disabled girl infant or girl child is more likely to die through “mercy killings” than a boy child of the same age with a comparable disability. 30 In addition, gender-specific neglect may compound discrimination against girl children with disabilities, who are particularly vulnerable to violence and harmful practices, including 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 8 Habib, “Women and Disability Don't Mix!” (see footnote 17). See for example, Joëlle Gauer and Others against France, European Court of Human Rights Application No. 61521/08; “Sweden admits to racial purification”, Independent, 25 August 2007 (available from www.independent.co.uk/news/world/sweden-admits-to-racial-purification1247261.html); “Sterilization: Peru’s darkest secret”, Independent, 8 December 2011 (available from www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sterilisation-perus-darkest-secret-6273734.html); and Women With Disabilities Australia, “Sterilisation of women and girls with disabilities: an update on the issue in Australia”, March 2011 (available from www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/cedaw_crc_contributions/WomenwithDisabilitiesAustral ia.pdf). See “Violence against children in Africa: a compilation of the main findings of the various research projects conducted by the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) since 2006”, March 2011 (available from http://www.africanchildforum.org/site/images/stories/ACPF_violence_against_children.pdf); see also UNICEF contribution. See UNICEF contribution. See Human Rights Watch, “Futures stolen: barriers to education for children with disabilities in Nepal”, 2011. Human Rights Watch, (2009), “Impairing education: corporal punishment of children with disabilities in US schools” (available from www.hrw.org/reports/2009/08/11/impairing-education-0). See “ Violence against Disabled Children”, summary report, Thematic Group on Violence against Disabled Children, UNICEF, New York, 28 July 2005 (available from http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/PDFs/UNICEF_Violence_Against_Disabled_Children_Report_Dis tributed_Version.pdf, p. 6.