DRI Ambassador Holly Valance produced this video to raise awareness of the rights of children and adults with disabilities after accompanying us on a trip to Eastern European orphanages.

Russia’s War Creates Orphanage Crisis In Ukraine. More than 11 million people have fled Ukraine as a result of Russia’s invasion. But many of most the vulnerable — mentally and physically disabled children — have been left behind.

Torment Not Treatment (2011)

Warning: Viewers may find some images in this report distressing.

BBC News has gained access to institutions in Ukraine where widespread abuse and mistreatment of disabled people has been uncovered. Around 100,000 children and young people live in these institutions, which pre-date the war with Russia. Human rights investigators say Ukraine should not join the European Union until it closes these institutions. The Ukrainian government has promised a series of reforms over the past few years, acknowledging that its system of institutionalisation needs to change.