CHRIST CHURCH, Barbados – REGIONAL stakeholders convened in Barbados yesterday (May 11) to discuss perceptions and implications of child sexual abuse throughout the region.
The two-day Regional Symposium on Child Sexual Abuse is a UNICEF initiative aimed at considering the findings of a study on child sexual abuse (CSA) and to engage delegates in formulating related recommendations.
In opening the Symposium, UNICEF Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Tom Olsen referred to CSA as “a vexing issue” that demands collaboration and cooperation. He advised delegates to ensure their suggestions were holistic, noting it would be remiss to ignore critical developmental factors affecting children such as education, nutrition, family life and housing.
The delegates were then presented with the results of a study entitled “Perceptions of, Attitudes to, and Opinions on Child Sexual Abuse in the Eastern Caribbean”. The research was conducted over several months in late 2008 and early 2009 in six countries: Montserrat, Dominica, Barbados, Anguilla, Montserrat and St. Kitts and Nevis.
Over 1 400 persons from these islands were asked to give their perspectives on CSA, its victims and perpetrators, and the factors contributing to its perpetuation.
According to lead researcher Dr. Adele Jones, the study revealed that the three major types of CSA within the region are intra-family sexual abuse, transactional sexual abuse and non-family sexual abuse. Of the three, intra-family sexual abuse was found to be the most common, and perpetrated most often by fathers, stepfathers and the boyfriends of mothers.
Many of the respondents blamed this situation not only on the perpetrators, but also on the mothers who are aware of the abuse but refuse to prevent it.
“The role of women in preventing and sustaining CSA was also examined by the participants. Many of them were angry at the inaction of some mothers who fail to protect their children from CSA by either not believing them or putting their partners’ needs before those of their children’s.”
Other contributory factors identified by respondents were collusive officials, misconceptions of childhood (the idea of some that a girl becomes a woman once she reaches puberty) and ineffective systems that fail to truly alleviate the problem.
Research further indicated that most CSA victims are girls, although the sexual abuse of boys is a rising concern. Jones expounded briefly on the destructive consequences the phenomenon has on its victims, their families, and society on a whole.
“On a personal and family level, it results in emotional, psychological and behavioural problems within children, divorce and family break-ups, and even cyclical and intergenerational abuse. In the wider societal context, it can lead to an increase in crime and violence, the transmission of STIs and teen pregnancies and abortion,” she noted.
The researcher informed that CSA could be mitigated through “the creation of alliances and not enemies, through acceptance instead of denial, and the execution of creative solutions as opposed to scapegoat tactics”. She however acknowledged that her suggestions were by no means conclusive, and she welcomed additional input from the delegation.
Today’s agenda will see delegates discussing issues centred on the creation of partnerships to develop an effective regional child protection system. They will then participate in a plenary session to devise strategies and recommendations to reduce incidences of CSA.
Barbados News