UNICEF Director: We need to keep going

Bernt Aasen, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, openly admitted that there is a danger of “preaching to the converted” at such events used to elevate the discussion and focus the media spotlight on sexual violence against children, but vowed that the fight must continue as the alternative is not acceptable.

He was speaking at the launch of a two-day sub-regional conference on this subject at the Barbados Hilton Hotel recently.

With known statistics in the Caribbean – thought to be underreported – showing that 47.6 per cent of girls and 31.9 per cent of boys reported that their first intercourse was forced or coerced by family members or family acquaintances and that of adult survivors, 30 per cent of female respondents from Barbados reported to have been sexually abused during their childhood, he highlighted the need for a concerted push to stop such incidences and reverse these troubling numbers.

Addressing the many high-level delegates gathered, he reminded them that child sexual abuse occurs across the racial, ethnic, religious, socio-economic scope and age scope – including infants – with studies showing that between 70-80 per cent of the children victims are girls.

In 50 per cent of these cases, he said the perpetrator lives with the victim, in 75 per cent of the cases the perpetrator has a direct relationship with the victim and in many cases, he or she is someone the child knows and trusts.

“Each of you has been working on one angle or dimension of this complex issue: adults perpetrating sexual crimes against children. We are shocked by the headlines in the media reporting an infant being raped by a male family member. You know from your experience that the issue is hidden; that the numbers reported don’t reflect the magnitude of the problem.”

Although such abuse experiences are usually accompanied by serious physical, psychological and social consequences, Aasen, however, pointed to positive movements that are having a small impact on the situation.

“These facts are alarming, yet we also know that there is a public and private ambivalence on the issue of child sexual abuse. The glimmer of hope is that tides are shifting.”

In this regard, the keynote speaker highlighted the emergence of agreements and actions among nations around the world where commitments to end occurrences and impunity of these crimes are being echoed, such as the recent sub-regional follow-up on the UN Violence Against Children study and the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on children and youth in July “where you emphasised the urgent need to expose these atrocities, remove the veil of secrecy and break the silence that shrouds these practices”.

“That is why we are here these two days – to start the process of translating these commitments into concrete actions. Each of us as critical players, whether at the local, national, regional or international levels, have been chipping away, at times almost in isolation from other actors. The prescriptions and recipes for successful action are available. We all know that the issue has to be dealt with in-concert – from all the different angles at the same time – consistently, persistently and systematically.” (EL)