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round of testing, there was a large and significant performance differential by caste, with low-caste boys underperforming. The announcement of caste in front of other boys had a debilitating effect on the performance of lower-caste boys. 181 280. A daily struggle for dignity and against discrimination is a lived experience for millions of people around the world. Government support in that struggle is manifest in reported policies, budgets and programmes to protect specific populations from abuse, neglect and violence, and also in laws that respect, protect and guarantee the human rights of these populations. The evidence from the global survey suggests a world in which most countries recognize and protect their citizens, but not all countries, and not all population groups. 281. The overwhelming majority of countries (87 per cent) reported that they have addressed the issue of “preventing children’s abuse and neglect and [providing] assistance to [child] victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment, including orphans” during the past five years. Protecting children as they attend school did not garner a similar level of support, with 59 per cent of countries reporting that they had addressed the issue of “improving the safety of pupils, especially girls, in and on their way to school”. A higher proportion of countries addressed this issue in Asia (66 per cent) and Africa (63 per cent) than in Oceania (55 per cent), the Americas (54 per cent) and Europe (48 per cent). Similarly, actions “addressing gender-based violence and bullying in schools” have been addressed, budgeted and implemented by almost two thirds of countries (63 per cent); a larger share of countries in the Americas (83 per cent) have done so than in Africa (62 per cent), Europe (61 per cent), Asia (53 per cent) and Oceania (50 per cent). 282. With regard to explicitly addressing discrimination against persons other than children, the proportion of countries with policies, budgets and implementation measures in place is not encouraging (60 per cent or less), depending on the groups addressed. For example, 57 per cent of countries have addressed the issue of “preventing discrimination against older persons, especially widows”, and 60 per cent have addressed the issue of “guaranteeing to persons with disabilities equal and effective legal protection against discrimination on all grounds”. 283. The same proportion of countries have addressed, budgeted and implemented the issue of “protecting migrants against human rights abuses, racism, ethnocentrism and xenophobia” (60 per cent). Regionally, a higher proportion of countries address this issue in Asia (71 per cent) and the Americas (70 per cent) than in Europe (59 per cent), Africa (56 per cent) and Oceania (20 per cent). With regard to the legal and practical restrictions on the movement of people within countries, which include, among others, the need for a work permit, proof of identity, proof of employment or a legal address at the place of destination, the requirement that women be authorized by their husbands or legal guardians/tutors and restrictions based on HIV status, only four countries reported legal restrictions (two in Asia and two in Africa), four others reported practical restrictions (two in Asia and two in Africa), and nine reported both legal and practical restrictions (three in Africa, three in Asia, two in the Americas, and one in Oceania).
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K. Hoff. and P. Pandey, “Belief systems and durable inequalities: an experimental investigation of Indian caste”, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3351 (Washington, D.C., June 2004; K. Hoff and P. Pandey, “Making up people: the effect of identity on preferences and performance in a modernizing society”, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6223 (Washington, D.C., October 2012).
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