Boys are made vulnerable to sexual abuse due to lack of care within a culture that accepts and allows relaxed supervision for them, a recent study commissioned by ChildLink has concluded.
The study, titled ‘Caring for Boys: Social Norm Drivers of Sexual Abuse of Boys in Guyana,’ also found that societal culture, which expects a boy to protect his manhood, and the shame and blame affixed to sexual abuse may contribute to the concealment and non-reporting when they are violated.
“Boys often face a dilemma since the perpetrators may be known adult authority figures who they have been taught to respect and trust and who should protect them from all forms of abuse,” it said.
According to the study, boys are allowed to graduate into manhood through the culturally accepted norms that grant them freedom to roam, while sexual abuse tends to occur in the community by persons known to them.
It suggested that exposing “this conundrum” is necessary and requires national efforts to increase awareness of the problem and strengthen the skills and confidence of boys and their parents or caregivers to disclose sexual abuse.
The baseline study on sexual abuse of boys, which was conducted by Dr Paulette Henry, forms part of a larger project which is derived from the One Thousand Boys (OTB) action. The OTB action builds on the work of ChildLink and its local and international partners which resulted in the launching of the ‘Tell Scheme’ initiative for the prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA). The ‘Tell Scheme’ was designed by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security and was implemented in primary schools across Guyana.
According to the study, men were identified as the most common perpetrators of abuse against boys as 24 (90%) of the boys abused in the cases reviewed found that men were responsible. Men were also perceived by both the boys and their parents as being the perpetrators and they identified male friends, older men in their homes, or male strangers as the most common perpetrators.
The report said a mother recalled, “with my son, the said man used to pass and call for him when he was at home. He ended up being the perpetrator”.
It was also found that older boys induct or experiment with younger boys during unsupervised activities away from home.
Almost equal
The study found that there was an almost equal number of adult perpetrators (54%) as there were teenage perpetrators (46%) below the age of 18 years.
In one of the cases that involved older boys, the mother reported to the Childcare and Protection Agency that her 11-year-old son was sexually abused in their neighbourhood by three boys aged 14, 15 and 18. They handcuffed, undressed, and with the use of an instrument, sexually violated the 11-year-old. According to another report, a nine-year-old boy was sexually abused by a male friend aged 15; the act was videotaped and the video was circulated on social media.
The study highlighted that boys and girls need similar protections from sexual violation. But even with this recognition, gendered perspectives on how those protections should be dispensed emanated from both children and their parents.
“For instance, similar to their parents, children articulated that the mode of dress for girls was considered as contributing to their abuse rather than affixing blame to the perpetrator on his or her wrongdoing,” the report said.
Parents corroborated the importance of both communication and supervision of children as part of their protective measures. This was reiterated in the frequency with which parents and children highlighted the importance of talking more with boys and girls about sexual abuse as well as monitoring their whereabouts.
It was found that touching of the genitals was the most dominant response (16) within the data, followed by rape (seven); other violations such as adults showing their private parts or having a child touch adults’ genital or showing a child sexual content, were reported at least one time amongst the reponses.
Of the 25 boys, only four did not articulate factors that may contribute to sexual abuse. Most of the boys identified the need for money, discontentment and lack of affection at home as factors that may lead to boys seeking out or forming relationships with adults who might possibly abuse them.
Less understanding
The study also found that there was less understanding among parents about the sexual abuse of boys, compared to girls. Some 36 percent of the interviewed parents did not know what factors might contribute to the abuse of boys. On the other hand, for girls only three percent of the parents demonstrated a lack of knowledge regarding abuse.
The data showed that more than 20% of the parents perceived boys to be in less need of protection than girls primarily because girls, unlike boys, can become pregnant.
The findings of the study confirm that boys lack the reporting skill and language or “words to convince persons to whom they are reporting” and even though parents are aware of child sexual abuse, they too did not know how to talk to their sons about it.
On the issue of grooming, the report found that most children do not suspect and are often unaware that they are being groomed for sexual encounters with older boys or adults.
While the majority of the abused boys were violated outside of their homes, the study said it did not mean that the perpetrators were not known to them within the community.
Social norms
The study indicates that it addresses the deeper societal and cultural complexities of CSA in Guyana and identifies social norms which propel or are push factors for the sexual abuse of boys. The participants in the study were selected from children who were registered as abused and were in receipt of services from the Child Advocacy Centres operated by ChildLink and its partner Blossom Inc. They came from seven regions and boys and girls who were not abused were also sampled to allow a comparison between those practices which may have contributed to the protection of children from sexual abuse. Parents of boys and girls who were sexually abused also participated in the study.
Interviews were also conducted with 19 stakeholders whose work provided a deeper understanding of the norms and interconnected systems which form part of the child’s environment. Those persons included counsellors, police officers, prosecutors, child protection officials, and other civil society partners.
According to the study, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, services from child protection agencies were decreased but despite this more than quarter of the reported cases of child abuse (26% of 815) were CSAs. And while there have been fluctuations in the reported cases of sexual abuse of both boys and girls between 2013 and 2020, according to the figures from the Childcare Protection Agency, the trend of more girls being sexually abused has not changed. Of the 6,400 cases of CSA during that period 85% or 5,415 were girls while 15% or 985 were boys.
The study sought to determine the social norms and practices that contribute to the perpetration of sexual abuse of boys. The boys interviewed for the report were sexually abused and it is hoped that through their lived experiences information is garnered to make the determination. It is hoped that the findings will be incorporated into public education awareness campaigns and training materials for parents and caregivers. Once this is done, it is also hoped that it will result in the protection of all children against sexual abuse so that they can grow up to achieve their potential and contribute to safer families and communities. The findings of the study will be presented in the Family for Every Child Blue Umbrella Campaign.
Challenges
One of the challenges identified by the study was the fact that it did not benefit from the views of any medical personnel who might have been able to offer some useful insights on the systemic structures and normative practices when addressing boys. Also, some of the boys and their parents migrated out of the community and it was difficult to meet at a mutually convenient place for the interviews.
Only one father participated in the study and while a second father was invited, he indicated that work prevented his participation, but also expressed an unwillingness to discuss the issue and have his son relive the experience. The study also revealed that in contrast to women, men were very reluctant to discuss sexual abuse of children and boys in particular.
The study recommends that there be greater outdoor supervision for preteen and early teenage boys, more communication between boys and their parents and that there be more government-funded child advocacy centres. Another recommendation was for there to be standards for professional practice and for victim advocates along with collaborations around child protection and financial security.
Further recommendations include a suggestion for targeted public education programmes, protective measures to protect families and children who report sexual abuse and retraining of frontline professional workers.
