There is growing concern about the alarming levels of violence, particularly sexual violence, against the region’s children and youth and the vexing issue will be addressed here today and tomorrow at the meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).
Regrettably, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the nature, genesis, extent, causes and impact of this beast, hence the attempts to tame it have not spawned the desired outcomes, the Caricom Secretariat said in a news feature yesterday.
Violence against the region’s children continues unabated and the 2006 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children is arguably the most telling piece of empirical exposé on the magnitude of the problem, especially in the Caribbean.
Its findings point to the disturbing fact that violence does not discriminate between rich and poor nations and pervades all societies within which children grow up. Sadly, the report notes that violence is part of the economic, cultural and societal norms that make up many children’s environment.
Another startling revelation is that violence in all its forms has its roots in issues such as the power relations between men and women, exclusion, absence of a primary care-giver; and in societal norms and values that often disregard the rights of children.
According to the study, other factors contributing towards the unacceptable prevalence of violence against children include drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment and youth disenfranchisement, crime and a culture of silence and impunity.
In addition, the internet is viewed as a new space where children are both abused and exploited by the production of pornography, and are exposed to images of violence and degradation.
Sexual debut
Meanwhile, the World Bank’s Caribbean Youth Development Report (2003) said the Caribbean had the earliest age of sexual “debut” in the world with many young people being initiated into sexual behaviour as a consequence of child abuse from as early as 10 years old, and in some cases even earlier, the Caricom feature said. More recently, the 2009 UNICEF study on child sexual abuse in the Eastern Caribbean not only established that the problem is escalating in the sub-region but also identified emerging forms of abuse such as the use of young boys in an organized network to service cruise ship passengers.
But the most disturbing of these findings common to all the studies is that child sexual abuse in the region is shrouded in secrecy, aided and abetted by cultural ‘taboos’ and practices and in many cases, shame. It is the elephant in the room, the feature said.
Add to that the frightening thought that much of this sexual violence occurs in institutions that were once perceived as safe havens or places of safety – in our orphanages, detention centres, in our schools, in our foster homes and in our homes.
Incest and child molestation committed by the familiar “dear friend” and other trusted authority figures is very often deemed a “private family matter” and ostensibly enjoy high levels of impunity while the victim – very often morphed into the villain – experiences irreparable social and psychological damage and is made to suffer in silence.
It is against this backdrop that the Caricom Heads of Government at their just-concluded conference in Saint Lucia emphasised the need for “concerted action, at all levels, to address the increasing challenge of child abuse – particularly sexual abuse.”
Convened under the theme: Charting our future: an integrated development agenda for children and youth, the COHSOD meeting will tackle issues ranging from early childhood care and development; to children and migration; to youth employment and development.
The ministers with responsibility for children and youth at this two-day meeting will look at strengthening existing policies, introduce and expedite national legislation and devise sustainable interventions to abort all forms of violence against children.
The meeting will also look at the grievous problem of school violence and its deleterious social and personal impact and explore “anti-violence intervention strategies as well as recommendations for a zero-tolerance policy on school violence,” the feature said.
Caricom Gender Advocate, Dr Rosina Wiltshire, is also expected to present the conclusions of two years of research on youth masculinities and violence in the Caribbean.
There is also the controversial and rather sensitive issue of corporal punishment – a practice which many in the region baulk at letting go because they perceive it as “discipline”. The banning of corporal punishment is one of the key recommendations of the 2006 UN Secretary-General’s Study.
In keeping with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 19, 28(2) and 37) which all Caricom member states have ratified, children – wherever they are – should be protected from corporal punishment.
The meeting intends to address this and hopefully arrive at a consensus on legal and other measures to stamp out corporal punishment.
