Children with disabilities in Russian institutions: can the West help protect the most vulnerable?

Despite Russia’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and a sizable body of related legislation, stigma surrounding disability persists and Russia has fallen short on protecting the rights of children with disabilities. Family-based care programs are slow to be implemented and institutional placements continue to be favored and often pressured upon parents of children born with impairments. International support has played a key role in developing child welfare services, and intercountry adoption has saved many Russian children with disabilities from a life of institutional care. However, recent political developments have limited foreign adoptions as well as the ability of Western organizations to assist in advancing child protection in Russia. Even with these constraints, activists must continue to collaborate to work toward reforming the system of care for the country’s most vulnerable children.