News Releases

Statement on the Occurrences of Child Sexual Abuse within Children’s Homes

For Release Upon Receipt - August 16, 2024

St. Augustine


Incidents and Reporting of CSA in Trinidad and Tobago 

ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. August 16, 2024 - The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies and the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT) under the Break the Silence (BTS) End Child Sexual Abuse Project calls upon those service providers addressing the needs of children to:

1. Commit to ensuring their work environment is a safe space for children.

2. Recognise that inherent in provision of a safe space is ensuring that all members of staff are well aware of reporting protocols related to CSA and;

3. Recognise the Government and the arms of the state entrusted with the security of the population must treat with cases of Child Sexual Abuse and Assault with the utmost vigilance

The recent reports in the national press on incidents of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in what are supposed to be care spaces, and the reporting of CSA nationally over the years have brought visibility, once again, to several administrative and policy gaps that prevent these institutions from embodying their main objective, which is to be a safe space for vulnerable children. Their main mandate is to care for children who were victims of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence and are regarded as a haven. It must be understood that any institution that is considered to be a ‘haven’ for children must be physically and psychologically safe for ALL occupants. There is a need for continuous psycho-social support not only for the victims of abuse but those close to them who most likely are vicariously affected by instances of CSA. Also, it is pertinent that a clear protocol for reporting exists for any breach or compromise of service.

It is glaringly apparent that many institutions that have been appointed responsibility to ensure the protection and security of the nation's children are considerably overwhelmed. There is a need for the coordinated enactment of clear safeguarding policies throughout these agencies to help all persons at all levels understand the requirements needed for the protection of children. Additionally, the revision of the reporting process and the revaluation of the human resources needed to effectively oversee cases needs to occur to prevent CSA cases from continuously falling throw the cracks.

For us in Trinidad & Tobago, CSA is serious business. CSA is the second most common form of reported Child Abuse in Trinidad and Tobago, with the first being neglect (Wong 2021a; Bishop 2023; Reddock, Reid and Nickenig 2022, 179). The twin island nation reported 915 cases of CSA from May 18, 2015 to February 17, 2016, 1,800 cases within a period of 21 months in the years 2020-2021 and over 500 cases from October 2022-April 2023 (Harracksingh and Johnson 2022; Rampersad 2021; Bishop 2023). The prevalence of CSA is a fact that is common knowledge in Trinidad and Tobago. In fact, in a 2007 survey on the norms and values of the people of Trinidad and Tobago 87% of participants highlighted CSA as a nationwide issue (Matroo 2011 as cited in Reid, Reddock and Nickening 2014, 258). In spite of its prevalence, research indicates that less than 50% of survivors will report CSA.

Clearly, CSA is a national problem for us in Trinidad & Tobago. It is therefore of utmost importance that we respond relevantly, and across all sectors and stakeholders to address this issue. Central to our response must be the fact that children who may themselves have been victims of CSA at times visit such behaviours on others. Consideration must be given to all contributory factors that would have led to the child engaging in inappropriate activities. Therefore, the course for rehabilitation and reform must involve psychological support and monitoring of the perpetrator to prevent them from doing this again.

CSA victims should not feel as if they are being punished for coming forward to report CSA. Reporting CSA is already a difficult and courageous act for victims. We must recognise and respond accordingly, to the differences in the experiences of abuse by young girls and young boys. Undoubtedly, over the years there has been movement towards increasing sensitivity to and awareness of CSA, we do require some urgent attention to the following:

1. We at the Institute for Gender and Development (IGDS) call upon the Ministry of National Security and the TTPS to use some of the 6.12 billion allocated in the 2024 budget to furnish police stations across the country with one-way mirrors so survivors of assault in its many forms do not have to stand face to face with their alleged abusers.

2. Duty bearers at the OPM must return to the Jones Report and address the challenges related to Children’s Homes and Child Support Centres.

3. Persons who work in childcare centres must be relevantly trained to address the impact of CSA on our children, ensuring that they are not penalised for the actions of perpetrators. Therefore, ensuring that programming is centred on healing and not re-victimizing our children.

4. Media personnel must be mindful of the ways in which sensitivity of language needs to form part of our reporting of incidents of CSA.

We at the IGDS through our collaboration with the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago, recently rolled out a Short Course on Safe Spaces for Children in the context of CSA. This was done through the Break the Silence (BTS) Campaign which since its inception in 2008, continues to embark on building the capacity of all relevant agencies who are involved in child care and protection as it relates to CSA. We believe that the creation and maintenance of safe spaces for children needs a multi-sectoral approach to enhance the capacity of these institutions to fully enact their role as a haven for children. The IGDS, through the BTS Campaign, stays committed to being a partner that continues to provide technical support and create capacity-building opportunities for all stakeholders involved in addressing CSA and other forms of Gender-Based Violence and abuse.

End.

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