Reforming response and prevention around child sexual abuse in the Caribbean

The Centre for Applied Childhood Studies (CACS) has played a major role in tackling the problem of child sexual abuse in the Caribbean. The work has been described by UNICEF as a landmark in the field and has led to government acknowledgement of the problem, growing public awareness, new policies, innovative child protection programmes and improvements in the capabilities of professionals and agencies. The research is also helping to shape responses to child sexual abuse in other parts of the world.

What was the problem?

Although a global problem, in poor and middle-income nations, such as the Caribbean, child sexual abuse is under-researched. Policy in these countries often follows Western trends where child protection systems tend to be narrow in remit, focussing more on surveillance than on prevention; are costly to administer; and can lack cultural relevance for other societies. As well as leading to a wide range of psychopathologies, child sexual abuse contributes to the region’s status as having the second highest global prevalence rates of HIV and teenage pregnancy and high levels of family and community violence.

Benefits of this research

The CACS has taken an original approach to investigating the issue by examining how child sexual abuse is linked to social constructions of childhood and to context-specific gendered and sexualised behaviours. Researchers carried out studies in six Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and St Kitts & Nevis.

It was found that child sexual abuse, an extensive problem in all six countries, is underpinned by a complex set of cultural, structural and economic factors which are both historical and contemporary. New trends in abuse were discovered which had not been previously documented, including child sex tourism, cell-phone pornography and opportunistic abuse linked to natural disasters. In addition to the abuse of girls, the abuse of boys was reported as a growing concern.

Despite the gravity of these problems, legislation, policy and services were found to be underdeveloped and ineffective, constrained by fragile economies and public debt.

What did we do?

The researchers found that deeply-rooted patriarchal beliefs contributed to the levels of abuse, with unequal gender relations shaping sexual behaviour, social attitudes and vulnerabilities. Reinforced through conceptualisations of childhood, these factors are both causes and consequences of abuse, leading to sexual victimisation and the early sexualisation of children becoming widespread, with sex-for-trade viewed as normal in some communities.

Out of this work have emerged recommendations for a new approach to child protection which recognises and challenges the many layers of abuse in order to encourage attitude change, material improvements to the lives of abuse victims and actions which address inequalities.

All six governments involved produced National Action Plans on Child Sexual Abuse with the CACS research as the foundation. The plans include actions relating to parenting skills and education as well as further research, to challenge the existing cultural acceptance of child sexual abuse in these regions. The plans also include changes to existing child protection laws and government policies regarding the complex surrounding issues.
Organisations and institutions around the world have also used this work as the basis for change, including the introduction of new support programmes for those having experienced sexual abuse, and educational programmes for perpetrators of violence to encourage a shift in attitudes and understanding.

What happened next?

Research led by the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies was published in the first book about child sexual abuse in the Caribbean: Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Perspectives from the Caribbean, edited by Professor Adele Jones. Selected by the international dissemination organisation, the Alpha Galileo Foundation, as featured research, the book explores the conceptual, cultural and social behaviours which underpin child sexual abuse. It addresses the limitations of current Western dominant models for child protection which are often ineffective in the majority world. In addition, practice and policy examples for transforming child protection in sustainable ways are presented.