UWI IGDS: Child sexual abuse a national security issue

THE Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St Augustine Campus has called upon the Government and the arms of the State entrusted with security to prioritise child sexual abuse as a central threat to human security and national development.

'Framing child sexual abuse as a national security concern is a necessary step to come to more relevant, comprehensive crime policy responses, improve resource allocation and protect our children, who are among our most vulnerable citizens. Critical to our capacity to protect our children is to enhance the availability of safe, confidential spaces to report incidents of abuse,' The UWI stated in a release on Tuesday.

The release reported that since 2008, the IGDS St Augustine Unit's (IGDS SAU's) Break the Silence Action-Research project 'has been committed to bringing visibility to the issue of child sexual abuse, its multilevel threat to society and its numerous repercussions. The project's activities over the years have consistently underscored the need for policy intervention, to influence systemic change that treats child sexual abuse, not only as an issue of child rights, but as a national security crisis.'

The IGDS reported that in the most recent iteration of the Break the Silence project, 'Filling the Gaps: Enhancing Evidence-Based Advocacy to End Child Sexual Abuse', funded by the Bankers Association of T&T, 'young men and adult males in particular reinforced the significance of school social workers and school guidance officers in their decisions to report incidents of abuse'.

'The young men also cited the difficulty of speaking within the family and with peers, identifying the active home environment and the fear of being ostracised if abuse is spoken about. The belief that socio-psychological professionals are better equipped to manage such sensitive information was a recurring theme.'

The IGDS said over the past decade, reported cases of child sexual abuse have remained consistently high.

'The Children's Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (CATT) indicates incidents of reported cases to be more than 10,800 between 2015 and 2023, averaging approximately 1,300 cases per year, or four children affected every day. In January 2024 alone, the CATT reported that over 500 cases of child abuse were lodged, underscoring the persistence of the crisis,' the release added.