2 weeks Ago
As a nation we must understand that child abuse, the maltreatment of children, happens in several forms including physical, sexual, emotional, neglect, and exploitation that results in serious and enduring harm. This harm impacts the child’s health, ability to survive, their development, and dignity. Child abuse is a breach of the relationship of responsibility and trust with adults and it is an expression of unequal power relations.
In Trinidad and Tobago, there is no legislated definition of child sexual abuse (CSA) and no collection of data on child sexual exploitation (CSE), though surely this is happening. This absence of documentation and understanding may explain why the concept of child safeguarding has not been incorporated into laws, child protection policies or in the practice of the State in addressing and ending child sexual abuse/exploitation. Nonetheless, the unpacking of the causes and consequences of child abuse in all its forms has been taken up by civil society organisations such as the Coalition against Domestic Violence (CADV) and academic institutions like the Institute of Gender and Development studies (IGDS) and Social Sciences department of UWI.
We ought to promote the culture of safeguarding which include elements of prevention and child protection. Safeguarding is a multi-layered approach beyond child protection, but also includes children’s needs assessments, preventative work, and child rights based, child-centred interventions. Child safeguarding is based on three core principles: (1) freedom from all forms of abuse and exploitation, (2) everybody has a responsibility and (3) there is an institutional duty of care to children.
Girlhood and Safeguarding Reports of the Trinidad and Tobago Children’s Authority (CA) since its inception, reveal that sexual abuse usually comprises the largest proportion of all reports. The 2016 report noted that close to 25% of all reports to the CA were for sexual abuse (24.7%), that girls are significantly more vulnerable.
This is linked to gender norms and the societal undervaluing of the need to protect the girl child. Let us remember that child marriage was only abolished recently. The Break the Silence campaign found that girls experience sexual violence in different ways and that sexual violence is an everyday experience for girls and women.
In Trinidad and Tobago children experience the world in different ways, because their experiences can be shaped by intersecting realities based on, for example, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ethnicity, location and nationality. And so the responses of the state have to be alert to these differences. In particular, we must acknowledge that girls are especially at risk for child sexual abuse and this is rooted in gender inequality.
The Children’s Act needs to promote prevention programming in which gender equality is a central message. The Children’s Act of Trinidad and Tobago has a fundamental and philosophical understanding of the essentials of child protection and safeguarding. However, one size fits all interventions under the Act may fail many children, insensitive as such approaches are to identity and social status differences and disadvantages.
What we need to address child sexual abuse against girls is a girlhood-centred approach which allows for lived experiences and concerns of girls to be translated into actionable policies and practices. Prevention in the Act We must prioritise prevention of abuse, that is we must all take actions that deter or stop abusive action or behaviour. Prevention work should include activities that promote a positive action or behaviour and that remove the risk of mistreatment or abuse on children.
In implementing the Children’s Act, we must consider the social structures and interactions that create risks and vulnerabilities of children across their diverse realities. We must confront the power and sexual entitlement through which sexual perpetrators operate. Therefore, there is a need for a multi-agency approach to eradicate things like predatory masculine behaviours rooted in rape culture.
Although the Act has provisions for access to resources and early intervention, national commitment is needed by health, education, and social welfare sectors. This multi-agency approach has proven to be successful in child abuse interventions as it reduces risk factors and promotes protective factors to ensure the well-being of children and families. Given the prevalence of child abuse, we should establish a Children’s Ombudsperson/ Commissioner with the mandate to monitor and assess state policies and responses to child abuse.
Such an Ombudsperson Office will also be a central and powerful advocate for child protection. The Ombudsperson/Commissioner can ensure children are aware and involved in the systems and processes and that all relevant bodies are connected and held to a particular standard of best practice. The above is the final in a series of six articles marking 16 days of activism to eliminate violence against women and girls.
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