Persecution and harmful practices: A daily challenge for persons with albinism

In conversation with Ms Perepetua Senkoro

The false beliefs surrounding persons with albinism have led to discrimination and their persecution, something Ms Perpetua Senkoro (Advocacy and Human Rights Officer, Under the Same Sun) strives to change. While albinism can affect any living thing, many have a limited understanding of the condition. During the discussion with Ms Senkoro she explains the importance of awareness raising and how it impacts the protection of persons with albinism.

In the episode we cover what albinism is, its day-to-day implications such as challenging those affected to access the environment around them, and why persons with albinism are included within disability groups and protections. While persons with albinism may not looked disabled, they suffer from many recognised disabilities as well as additional challenges stemming from harmful practices – including being hunted for their body parts. The many misconceptions and beliefs surrounding persons with albinism are demystified by Ms Senkoro, who explores the link between witchcraft and the false beliefs surrounding persons with albinism.

We then move to consider what protections have been put in place by governments and regional instruments and what has been done to challenge the beliefs within the African context. The difficulty surrounding community protection when the communities themselves hold harmful beliefs towards persons with albinism is explored. Through the discussion the pivotal role of awareness raising in challenging the negative perceptions held amongst both rural, urban, educated and non-educated communities becomes clear.

This conversation was recorded on Thursday 14 March 2019.

Music: Inner Peace by Mike Chino https://soundcloud.com/mike-chino Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/0nI6qJeqFcc