Help for young victims of sexual abuse
Organisations such as Child Helpline International and ECPAT International are striving to protect the most vulnerable among us
Lee, Faith and Carmin, assumed names of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, not only lost their childhood but were emotionally scarred for life due to this despicable act inflicted on them at the most vulnerable period of their young lives. The three victims have one thing in common — they opted to remain silent because of fear that no one would understand or believe them if they spoke out.
These cases were brought to light by Dorothy Rozga of ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), a non-governmental organisation and a global network of civil-society organisations dedicated to ending the commercial sexual exploitation of children, who was a key speaker at last week’s Child Helpline International’s Eighth International Consultation, a biennial event held in Bangkok.
The international gathering brought together government officials, child-protection experts, high-level partners and members of the Child Helpline network from over 100 countries. Participants pooled resources and know-how in the hope of making a sustainable and lasting impact on the lives of children across the globe.
Rozga, a supporter of the Bill of Rights for victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse, shared details about Lee’s case, saying: “Currently he is a teacher in Bangkok, but his childhood was a tumultuous one. Lee was repeatedly sexually violated by his caregiver during his childhood.
“And although he knew deep down inside the assault he was subjected to every day was wrong, he couldn’t explain why this was happening to him. He didn’t have the words to describe or articulate his experience, and his innocence prevented him from realising that he was being victimised.
“Fear paralysed him from expecting outsiders to comprehend what he had gone through. His last resort was to keep quiet.”
Rozga then continued with the case study of a girl named Faith who comes from Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
“Faith had a similar encounter at age 13. Due to her impoverished background, she was sent to live with a relative who promised to pay for her education,” she remarked. “Upon her arrival, however, the teenager was put to work, doing the household chores. Soon she realised she was not going to school. After a few more weeks, she began to get sexually exploited by one of the relatives.
“Faith was eventually rescued from her nightmare, but it took her over a decade to fully comprehend that she had been a victim of child trafficking, exploitation and abuse.”
Carmin, a young girl from Honduras, faced a similar fate. She was sent to reside with her uncle in America when she was 13, and eventually sold to a woman who ran a delivery company.
“She was tasked to clean the delivery trucks, while going to school was not an option. Rescued at the age of 17, Carmin spent many years overcoming the shame she felt in confiding that in addition to cleaning the trucks each night she had to sexually service the truck drivers. When she was rescued she had no idea that she had the right to demand justice and to make a case against the people who had owned her for a full four years.”
ECPAT International’s executive director said questions that arise from these three cases include, why did they suffer in silence for so many years? In her estimation, it is due to fear, shame, stigma and a general lack of knowledge of their rights.
Children who are sexually exploited need to know their rights, she said. They need to know their exploitation is a crime and that what is happening to them is not a cause for shame. They need to be told that they are entitled to help, and that they have the right to access justice and need to speak up.
“The lesson from each of the aforementioned cases is that in order to protect children we must provide them with the tools to protect themselves. The bill of rights for child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse is such a tool,” remarked Rozga.
“Child survivors that participated in the study from Thailand, Tanzania, India, Moldova, Nepal and the Philippines helped us to understand that one of the major barriers to accessing justice was a low level of awareness of their rights.
“After the research was completed, the Bill of Rights was shaped from three rounds of consultations. More than 400 young people, most of them survivors of all forms of atrocities, from 28 countries were involved.”
The challenge now, she said, is for the information in the Bill of Rights to reach children. Use the mode that works best for one’s community and country, suggested the NGO executive. The information can be shared through radio, television, community committees, websites, social media, music, flash mobs and more.
To make her point, she said: “Child Helpline International tells us that in 2014 alone there were almost 60,000 calls to helplines from children regarding sexual abuse and exploitation. Widely sharing information from this Bill of Rights may cause this number to grow, breaking the silence of young victims further.”
Sheila Donovan, executive director of Child Helpline International, said the conference in Bangkok is based on sustainable developmental goals, particularly those having to do with violence against children. One particular goal, Target 16.2, is to end violence against children by 2030.
“To reach this goal, we concentrated on three areas. One is child online protection, keeping children safe in their online world. The second is putting children in a humanitarian setting, especially in the case of emergencies. And the third is gender-related cases. How do you mainstream gender practises in the Child Helpline?” said Donovan.
“This we accomplished through presentations and workshops. For example, Facebook held a workshop where they trained helpline staff on how to keep children safe online, especially while using social media. We also held workshops, one around gender issues and one around children in emergency situations. Child helpline staff were also given valuable know-how on managing such cases.”
Unicef’s Cornelius Williams, associate director of the child-protection programme, said that as the fabric of society continues to evolve, parenting and government involvement are critical and becoming increasingly important to ensure children don’t become victims of sexual exploitation and abuse.
“Parenting from childhood to the middle years to adolescence is critical for a child’s development,” he said. “As economies begin to pick up, I would like to suggest governments take a proactive approach toward supporting the family unit. Some areas to look into include early-childhood development, parenting skills, early detection of violence against children, sex education, and, last but not least, explaining to parents that they can discipline their child without being physically or verbally abusive.”