Child Sexual Abuse In The Eastern Caribbean
Child Sexual Abusein theEastern CaribbeanThe report of a study carried out across the EasternCaribbean during the period October 2008 to June2009Adele D. Jones and Ena Trotman Jemmott
Perceptions of, Attitudes to, and Opinions on ChildSexual Abuse in the Eastern CaribbeanThe report of a study carried out across the Eastern Caribbean during the period October 2008 toJune 2009.Research TeamAdele D. JonesEna Trotman JemmottIjahnya ChristianDenise TannisCisne PascalJacqueline Sealy-BurkeHazel Da BreoSheron BurnsPriya MaharajThe study emerged out of the UNICEF/Governments of the Eastern Caribbean Programme ofCooperation 2008-2011 and was a joint programming initiative (UNICEF/UNIFEM together withstakeholders from the region) aimed at reducing sexual violence against children. The study waspartially funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) to support the inclusion ofcountries designated as British Overseas Territory.1 Page
CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 3ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . 5CHAPTER ONE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. 6CHAPTER TWO INTRODUCTION . 18CHAPTER THREE REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE. 20CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES . 44CHAPTER FIVEDEFINITIONS. 47CHAPTER SIXRESEARCH METHODOLOGY . 279CHAPTER SEVEN RESULTS: COMMUNITY SURVEY . 73CHAPTER EIGHT RESULTS: SURVIVORS’ VOICES . 100CHAPTER NINERESULTS: FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS . 112CHAPTER TENOVERVIEW OF RESULTS . 222CHAPTER ELEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS . 245CHAPTER TWELVE REFLECTIONS . 2632 Page
AcknowledgementsWe express our thanks first and foremost to UNICEF (Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Office) forcommissioning the study and to the Department for International Development (UK) for funding theparticipation of (British) overseas territories.This study would not have been possible without the support of a great many people. As we prepared thegroundwork for the research, we were struck by the willingness of the governments we approached toparticipate in a study that was bound to reveal some distressing and unpalatable truths. Through theoffices of their respective Permanent Secretaries, these governments ensured that Ministerial staff at thehighest level engaged in the research process and facilitated access to key informants and agencies. Thankyou to the governments of:AnguillaBarbadosDominicaGrenadaMontserratSt Kitts and NevisIn addition to a highly skilled research team, we were fortunate to be able to call upon the expertise of theAdvisory Group who provided excellent guidance and support especially in establishing the ethicalparameters for the study. Advisory Group members were:Mrs. Toni Burrowes-Cromwell (Action for Children)Mr. Shaun Kelly (Action for Children)Mr. Ian Warwick (The University of Huddersfield)Dr. Bernard Gallagher (The University of Huddersfield)Ms Heather Stewart (UNICEF, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Office)A key aspect of the ethical imperative for the study was the establishment of National Response Teams foreach country. These teams comprised volunteer counsellors whose role was to support persons affected bythe psychological impact of the study and to facilitate the follow up of concerns revealed during theprocess regarding children at risk of child sexual abuse. Our sincere thanks to you all:Mrs. Vanta WaltersMs. Marlene D. LiburdDr. Oluwakemi Linda BanksMrs. Patricia BeardDr. Samuel DanielDr. Phyllis Fleming-BanksRev. Dr. Beatrice Ruth AllenMr. Eugene D SkerrittMrs. Teresena Y FergusMr. Toney AllenMrs. Carol Mungo SweeneyMrs. Ava Roach3 Page
Dr. Griffin BenjaminMrs. Patsy LetangMs. Curllin AlexisMs. Kriss DaviesMr. Benny LanguineMs. Sophia GrantMs. Ruth ParrisMr. Sean PilgrimWe also wish to express our appreciation to Mrs. Yolanda Harvey of Action for Children (Barbados), Ms.Kirsty Thomson and Mrs. Sue Hanson (both of The University of Huddersfield, UK) for their excellentadministrative support. We would also like to thank Mrs. Vikki Raistrick who stepped in at short notice andundertook the mammoth task of proof-reading the final report.Lastly, we owe the greatest debt of gratitude to the people of Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada,Montserrat, and St. Kitts and Nevis who shared their views, experiences and suggestions. Your willingnessto shatter the collusion of silence on child sexual abuse is testimony not only to your concern for theregion’s children but also to your belief in change. Men and women from all age groups, professionalbackgrounds and walks of life came forward to talk to us. Especially courageous were those among youwho are yourselves survivors of child sexual abuse. We were humbled by your resilience and your opennessto talk about the trauma you had suffered, especially as this caused you much pain. We know that youshared these personal revelations so that children in the future will be better protected from child abuse.Thank you.It is now up to all of us to work towards the rebuilding of childhood as a safe place for children to be.Adele D. Jones and Ena Trotman Jemmott4 Page
Acronyms and AbbreviationsACRONYMS AND NICEFWHO5 PageAcquired Immune Deficiency SyndromeBasic Cooperation Agreement (with UNICEF)British Overseas TerritoryCaribbean Community – an organisation primarily for the purpose of regionaleconomic development, comprising the governments of 15 Caribbean countries(members) and five associate member countriesChild Protection Action PlanConvention on the Rights of the ChildChild Sexual AbuseCommercial Sexual ExploitationCommercial Sexual Exploitation of ChildrenEnd Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children forSexual Purposes (a global networking organisation working in over 65 countries toeliminate CSEC)Faith-based OrganisationHuman Immunodeficiency VirusInformation Computer TechnologiesInternational Organisation of MigrationNon-governmental OrganisationNational Plan of Action (for Children)National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty towards Children (a UK-based NGO)Organisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesThe Pan American Health OrganisationPerceptions, Attitudes and Opinions QuestionnairePost Traumatic Stress DisorderSexually Transmitted InfectionTransactional Sexual AbuseUnited NationsUnited Nations Children’s FundWorld Health Organisation
CHAPTER ONEExecutive SummaryThis Executive Summary provides an overview of some of the main findings of a study of Perceptions of,Attitudes to, and Opinions on Child Sexual Abuse in the Eastern Caribbean carried out during 2008/9. Abrief outline of the social context and the research methods is provided and a regional overview of the keythemes to emerge from both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study is presented. Although therewere some differences in relation to specific countries, and according to different variables (age, gender,socio-economic status and so on) there were fewer differences than one might have expected and theseare not discussed in any detail here. Data from the individual countries that participated in the study arediscussed in subsequent chapters of the report.BACKGROUNDAlthough there is extensive international research, few empirical studies of child sexual abuse have beencarried out in the Caribbean and there are no reliable data on the prevalence of child sexual abuse, orindeed on attitudes and perceptions of abuse across the region. Statistics are generally collected onconvictions for sexual offences involving children, however these figures do not include the numbers ofreported cases, they do not address the problem of under-reporting and quantitative methods are, in anycase, inadequate in investigating this social problem. In many Caribbean countries the onset of sexualactivity is occurring at younger ages; the World Bank’s Caribbean Youth Development Report (2003) showsthat the Caribbean has the earliest age of sexual ‘debut’ in the world with many young people beinginitiated into sexual behaviour as a consequence of child abuse as early as 10 years (in some cases evenearlier) (World Bank, 2003). Early sexual initiation has also been positively correlated with child sexualabuse in other studies. Another problem is the increasing practice of the commercialisation of sex amongminors as a commodity for material exchange. Recent research suggests that boys and girls, especiallythose in poverty, are increasingly using sex as a source of economic exchange (exchanging sex for money ormaterial goods) (Phillips, 2006), and young girls especially are at risk of being solicited for child prostitution.Understanding the significance of these factors is important both in terms of addressing the social andpsychological effects of child sexual abuse, turning around the Caribbean’s high teenage pregnancy rate,and also in changing behaviours that contribute to the spread of HIV and other sexually transmittedinfections.This is the context in which the study of Perceptions of, Attitudes to, and Opinions on Child Sexual Abuse inthe Eastern Caribbean was carried out. The study was commissioned by UNICEF/UNIFEM, with theagreement of the respective governments, as part of an initiative aimed at reducing sexual violence againstchildren.THE STUDYThis was a landmark study since not only was it the first time that a comprehensive investigation of childsexual abuse had been carried out across several Caribbean countries, it was unique because it wasunderpinned by the philosophy that policy and programmes for dealing with child sexual abuse should berelevant to the cultural and social context in which abuse occurs. Whereas most research on the topic isoften premised on knowledge that has emerged out of Western (predominantly the UK and the US)contexts, this study aimed to understand how Caribbean people perceive the problem, what behavioursand social conditions contribute to it, what the impact of child sexual abuse is on those most affected, andwhat views are held about the forms of action that might be needed.The objectives were to:6 Page
Increase understanding of the perceptions and behaviours associated with child sexual abuse,including incest, within the cultural contexts of the Eastern Caribbean region.Increase research capacity in the Eastern Caribbean into issues affecting children.Provide base-line data on perceptions on the scale of the problem within the region.Investigate the manifestations of child sexual abuse across diverse ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic groups.Sensitise stakeholders to the socio-cultural and psycho-social issues underlying child sexual abuse.Develop partnerships with key stakeholders and professionals in order to enhance country andregional capacity for addressing child sexual abuse and addressing its psychosocial effects.Identify inter-country and country-specific policies and strategies for reducing child sexual abuse.Contribute to the establishment of a shared language on the definition of child sexual abuse and toregional partnerships and consensus on what needs to be done to address the problem withinCaribbean contexts.Make recommendations for the development of relevant policy, protocols and programming.The study was carried out across six countries collectively considered representative of the region: Anguilla;Barbados; Dominica; Grenada; Montserrat; St. Kitts and Nevis.MethodsConceptualised as a socially transformative action research project, the study was designed to provideopportunities throughout the research process to generate awareness of the effects of child sexual abuse,to share strategies on appropriate interventions, and to develop alliances for social transformation towardsthe greater protection of children. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather data from fivestakeholder groups: the general population, professionals in relevant fields, policy makers, survivors ofsexual abuse, and parents. The research tools were designed to facilitate the meaningful participation ofdiverse populations across all the participating countries. The methods used:1. Literature Reviews:i.Overview of International Research (including the Caribbean) on Child Sexual Abuseii.The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents2. Policy and Legislative Analysis3. Stakeholder Consultation Sessions4. Stakeholder Engagement at the Regional Level5. Focus Group discussions6. Practice-focused interviews with key informants (e.g. teachers, police, social workers, healthprofessionals, staff of NGOs and FBOs)7. Policy-focused interviews with key informants (e.g. government staff and other professionals)8. Narrative interviews with Adult Survivors in three countries9. Community Survey of Perceptions, Attitudes and Opinions across a representative sample in eachcountryParticipantsAbout 1,400 people participated in the study overall: approximately 120 people attended stakeholderconsultation sessions; 859 respondents completed the community survey, 300 people participated in 35focus groups; 110 interviews (42 policy-focused and 68 practice-focused) were carried out withpolicymakers, practitioners and clinicians in the disciplines of the police, judiciary, education, law, socialwork, nursing, policy and planning and the church; and 11 adult survivors of child sexual abuse participatedin narrative interviews. The study aimed for an equal representation of men and women. This was largelyachieved with focus group participants, however more female than male key informants were interviewed.With regard to the Community Survey, although extensive efforts were made to recruit male respondents,there were still more women than men - 37.9% (319) of the respondents were men and 62.1% (522)7 Page
female. We found many men supportive of the study; however, overall, more men declined to participatethan women.RESULTSDefining childhoodWe explored the different ways in which childhood might be understood. The majority of the respondentswere of the view that children were children at least until the legal age of sexual consent (16 years).However, there was a significant number of people who believe that childhood ends at 13 years. This mayhelp to explain why, in the focus group discussions, some men indicated that they considered girls to be‘legitimate sexual targets’ once they reach their teens. Another important issue was that some peoplebelieve that childhood ends if a girl becomes pregnant. This suggests that at the conceptual level, for asignificant number of people, the state of motherhood is not considered compatible with the status ofchildhood. This highlights the contradictions and dilemmas that many teenage mothers face as they cometo terms with being mothers while they are still children. Juxtaposed against the construction of youngmotherhood, however, is the reality that these respondents overlooked the fact that for a girl to becomepregnant, she must have first been a child victim of rape or unlawful sexual intercourse. The study showsthat defining child abuse is linked to the way in which childhood is defined.Defining sexual abuseThe study showed that for most people there was clear understanding about the types of behaviours thatconstitute sexual abuse, although there were differences in relation to abuse involving ‘consenting’teenage girls and older men (transactional sexual abuse). The findings suggest that despite sexual offencesbeing clearly defined in legal terms, at the conceptual level, sexual abuse is not fixed; it depends upon arange of circumstances and how abuse is defined is influenced not only by the characteristics of the victimand the abuser, but also the characteristics (such as gender) and experiences of the person who is askedthe question. Asked whether sex between older men and underage girls is increasing, a person might say‘yes’; however, if the same person is asked whether sexual abuse is increasing, he or she might say ‘no’.Our findings suggest that the term ‘sexual abuse’ may be too limiting and narrow to fully capture thecomplexity and multiple ways in which sexual behaviour harms children. One way forward would be toclarify the definition of sexual abuse and to introduce two additional terms ‘harmful sexual behaviour’ and‘behaviour that contributes to the sexual harming of children’. We do not propose these as legal definitions;however we argue that they are useful in guiding policy formulation, practice interventions and publiceducation. These terms are defined as follows:Child sexual abuse may or may not involve actual physical contact and includes penetrative acts(e.g. rape or buggery) and also non-penetrative and non-contact activities, such as involvingchildren in watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually explicit ways andexposing them to inappropriate sexual material. Child sexual abuse also includes involving childrenin prostitution and pornography. Child sexual abuse occurs in all racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic groups and affects children of all ages, including infants. Both boys and girls are sexuallyabused although girls are more at risk.Drawing on the findings of the study and the diverse views expressed about sexual abuse, we defineharmful sexual behaviour as:Harmful sexual behaviour is sexual behaviour which is harmful to children both at the micro level,affecting children as individuals and also at the meso and macro levels in that it contributes tocreating situations in which children are placed at risk of sexual abuse.8 Page
While ‘harmful sexual behaviour’ refers to acts of commission, i.e. acts involving children, the studyidentified other ways in which adults such as non-abusing parents (who know about the abuse) andprofessionals (who are aware of abusive acts) contribute to the sexual abuse of children through ‘omission’,i.e. failing to act to protect children from sexual abuse. We describe this as ‘behaviour that contributes tothe sexual harming of children’ and define this as follows:Behaviour that contributes to the sexual harming of children is the failing to act to prevent a childbeing sexually harmed or abused when one is aware that a child is at risk, failing to support a childin one’s care who has been abused, failure to report sexual abuse to the appropriate authorities or,failing to fulfil professional responsibility for child protection or, acting in a way that minimises orhides the sexual abuse of children.We offer these definitions as a basis for further discussion. The definitions are intentionally contentiousand problematic - they shift debates about child sexual abuse from discussion of individualpsychopathology to societal responsibility. This approach to child sexual abuse conceptualizes the problemnot only in terms of the abuser’s behaviour and the effects on children but also includes the complicitbehaviour and attitudes of adults who have committed no offence, who are not abusers but who, throughinaction, contribute to the social sanctioning of child abuse at the societal level and maintain risk forchildren at the individual level.Despite some differences, overall most respondents were in agreement that child sexual abuse includedthe following behaviours:Rape‘Consensual’ sexual intercourse with a minorIncestChildren used as sexual objects in videos, photos or as pimpsExposure to sexual material through different media e.g. radio, photos, movies, text,mobile telephone, Internet, parent/adult sexual toys, sexual DVDsExpo
Although there is extensive international research, few empirical studies of child sexual abuse have been carried out in the Caribbean and there are no reliable data on the prevalence of child sexual abuse, or indeed on attitudes and perceptions of abuse
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