SWIMMING THE CARIBBEAN SEA

SWIMMING THE CARIBBEAN SEA Culturally Contexted Ethical Parameters in Child Sexual Abuse Research: Lessons from a Caribbean Study Adele D. Jones Ena Trotman Jemmott Priya E. Maharaj

Main objective • To generate questions that dislodge taken for granted assumptions about Social Work research ethics by: • Reflecting on the experiences of working through a Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) research project undertaken in the Eastern Caribbean from October 2008 to June 2009. Why? • To facilitate a more critically reflective approach to the contexts in which Social Workers work and the methods adopted.

Background • Several international organisations involved, either through funding or direct participation – Action for Children, UNICEF, UNIFEM, DfID, University of Huddersfield • The CSA project was undertaken over a 9-month period in 6 Caribbean islands in the Eastern Caribbean – titled, “Perceptions of, Attitudes to, and Opinions on Child Sexual Abuse in the Eastern Caribbean”

Brief summary of CSA project • Few empirical studies on CSA have been undertaken in the Caribbean • The existing CSA literature largely comes from the US and UK • We do know from existing literature: • Onset of sexual behaviour is occurring at earlier ages. • The Caribbean has the earliest age of sexual “debut” in the world (World Bank, 2003) • There is an increasing commercialisation of sex for both boys and girls in the Caribbean (Phillips, 2006)

Summary continued • Sought to understand how Caribbean people perceive CSA, what behaviours and social conditions contribute to CSA, the impacts of CSA and views held about the forms of action needed • A comprehensive literature review was conducted. For example, we found that about 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men had been subject to some form of CSA in the US (Cermak & Molidor, 1996); the general pattern of CSA prevalence has remained relatively over the years, especially in women (Pereda et al., 2007).

Summary continued • Methods – conceptualised as a Socially Transformative Action Research Project (PARTICIPATORY RATHER THAN PRESCRIBED) • What does this mean: • Providing opportunities throughout the research process to generate awareness of the effects of CSA, share strategies on interventions, develop alliances towards social transformation. All with the aim of: THE GREATER PROTECTION OF CHILDREN

Summary continued • Research tools: • Literature Review • Policy and Legislative Analysis • Stakeholder Consultation Sessions (120) • Focus Group Discussions (300) • Practice-Focused interviews (68) • Policy-Focused interviews (42) • Narrative interviews with adult survivors (11) • Community Survey of Perceptions, Attitudes and Opinions (859)

Summary continued • A few key findings: • Most victims are girls (universal) • Most CSA is committed by adult males (universal) • Some findings specific to the Caribbean: • In small societies anonymity and confidentiality cannot be assured in reporting CSA • Cultural values about the status of children means they are not always believed • Abuse often committed by step-fathers and mother’s boyfriends • Opportunistic abuse linked to natural disasters • Child sex tourism • Sexual aggression by girls • Transactional sex between children; and between children and adults

Social Work Ethics and CSA • In CSA research an ethical protocol or code must be developed. It is important to understand that such a protocol is not set in stone, fixed – rather, it is organic and many of its components will flow from the research process. This is central to the participatory principles embodied in this project. • Ethical considerations must start from the literature review through till dissemination. • Several ethical challenges will now be highlighted (some are routine, some often overlooked); some examples of situated responses are also provided (how to deal with ethical challenges in relation to social / cultural factors).

Challenge 1 • Reconciling universality and culture-specificity • The framework of the CSA project was developed, in part, from the literature review (largely Western) • Responsible not to generalise based on pre-existing, static ideas but to understand the fluidity of CSA research (for instance, the literature may not have been inclusive of child sex tourism – but based on a piecing together of associated literature and even observations)

Challenge 2 • Protecting the researcher • Possible risks: • Travel and working in remote areas • Invitations into people’s homes • Female researchers working with young men • Request for ongoing contact • Researching sensitive topics • Over-exposure to computer work

Challenge 3 • Protecting the research participant • Confidentiality • Anonymity • Informed consent • The right to terminate participation at any time • Access to the National Response Team in the event of psychological trauma or distress

Challenge 4 • Protecting interviewees • Same principles apply as in the previous slide • Special considerations: • Recordings should be transferred to a portable memory device and deleted from computers • In small, tight-knit societies many people may know the paediatrician or constable – careful not to inadvertently disclose the views of any individual in reporting

Challenge 5 • Ethics and children’s rights • While this study did not involve the participation of children (under 18 years of age), it was possible that in the research process some adults may have disclosed CSA. • Confidentiality and participants’ welfare must be balanced – professional discretion must be exercised in the consideration of welfare needs • Reporting of allegations of CSA done in accordance with child protection policies of the specific country • Access to the National Response Team for all participants –dealing with distress and also in the event of future disclosure

Challenge 6 • Dissemination • While it may not be obligatory to disseminate we felt it was important to give back to the people who shared their experiences – we recognised that this was not only crucial in information sharing and educating / empowering the general public but also in promoting policy change at the governmental and regional levels • Country-caravan – each island visited to share the findings • Group discussions at public fora, government-level discussions, extensive media exposure (print, radio, TV)

Challenge 7 • Other considerations: • Paper copies • Transportation – should be kept with the researcher during travel when possible • Should be kept in a secure place while data-entry is ongoing and after for a reasonable length of time, then destroyed • Once interviews are transcribed, all soft-copies should be destroyed • When written consent is not possible, verbal consent can be given precedence

Ethical challenge: protecting theresearch participant Participating organisations did not come to a consensus on how to handle abuse disclosure Dominant view – confidentiality could be breached if risk to a child is disclosed Lead research institution – confidentiality should never be breached Research team – primary duty to protect children Caribbean reality – post-disclosure there are inadequate systems (investigation, assessment, monitoring – eg., collusive officials) Situated response: Researchers would not report any CSA Empower participants to report CSA themselves based on local knowledge Participants given access to National Response teams (local volunteer counselors and agency workers) for those who did not wish to go through official channels Situated response 1

Ethical challenge: ethics and children’s rights Universal conceptualisations not shared across the Caribbean, despite all having ratified the UNCRC Cultural situations, eg. collectivistism and parental rights CSA charges require parental consent Situated response: Highlighted the need for national laws to be harmonised with UNCRC Public education included CSA within the family / community context, not only as a children’s rights issue Did not impose our children’s rights stance on participants Findings indicated that CSA should be treated as a public health issue, not just a children’s rights one Situated response 2

Ethical challenge: protecting the researcher Minimise all risks to researchers, including psychological trauma Voluntary participation – researchers may have had interactions with some people who abuse(d) children Of particular concern – for a narrative interview one man who was in therapy for abusing children volunteered to share his story, only to a specific interviewer Situated response: Access to counseling Small societies – confidentiality not ensured, one researcher requested a counselor from another country Concerned that the man could have used the interview as a means of sexual gratification Concerned about the request to be interviewed by someone specific Although participation was voluntary it was decided to exclude him from the study in the interests of the integrity of the research and protection of researchers Situated response 3

Conclusion • It is unlikely that a pre-determined ethical protocol will encompass all of the challenges researchers face in investigating CSA • Ethical boundaries may need to be negotiated in line with specific CSA research questions in specific cultures – organic and dynamic rather than prescribed • By doing so there is a greater chance to address complex ethical dilemnas in researching sensitive social problems

SWIMMING THE CARIBBEAN SEA