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In regards to trauma experienced by victim-survivors Russell (1986) reports statistically significant differences when race and ethnicity were analysed. White participants were more likely to report experiences of abuse they viewed “as least severe” than African-American, Latino and Asian women (p.193). Russell concluded that intra-familial sexual abuse may carry a greater social stigma in certain racial and ethnic groups, adding to the trauma of the experience for non-white women. Finkelhor (1979), in a less diverse sample, reports that more mature victim-survivors, those who experienced more force, and were abused by fathers reported more severe impacts. Russell (1986) suggests that the more often “stressful” living conditions of minority women may compound and intensify trauma for

women associated with colour. She proposes that for African-American victim-survivors, present circumstances may influence how the recall of past experiences was interpreted in the present as more traumatic. Whilst childhood may shield from the significance of what children experience, understanding the meanings attached to CSA in later life may cause trauma to manifest or re-surface: Wyatt’s African- American interviewees reported being “less trustful and more cautious” (1985, p. 17) as a result of their CSA experiences than did white women.

Wyatt’s (ibid) study revealed subtle differences in the circumstances in which CSA for white and African American women took place, and the importance of understanding the role of culture and racism in the lives of victim-survivors. Russell (1986) enabled insight into how racially disadvantaged black women and ‘other’ minority women gain meaning in the present for past experiences of CSA. These meanings will be explored and developed in later chapters.

UK RESEARCH ON PREVALENCE

Recent UK research has estimated the prevalence of CSA is between 13 percent to 21 per cent (Oaksford & Frude, 2001; May-Chahal & Cawson, 2005). A study by Cawson (2000) was the first to explore all forms of child maltreatment (physical, sexual and emotional) with a representative sample of young people aged 19-24. Placing the research within a “continuum” (Kelly, 1988; Gough, 1996) of maltreatment, findings found ‘overlapping’ of forms of maltreatment. Kelly’s (1988) concept allowed for the analysis of sexual violence from across a spectrum, inclusive of the most extreme to lesser acts. However, Kelly stressed that the concept should not be employed to create a hierarchy of abuse. It linked every day, mundane, and more common forms of abuse to those defined as crimes within the law (Kelly, 1988). This premise according to the report authors was invaluable as a tool illustrating the connectedness of violence experienced, yet rendered quantifying the prevalence of child abuse, specifically CSA, problematic (Cawson, Wattam, Kelly, & Brooker, 2000).

The method of data collection took full advantage of new technological advancement thereby enabling participants to enter their response straight onto a laptop, thus alleviating pressure to discuss sensitive and distressing abusive experiences. Unfortunately, this research approach has not taken full advantage of technological demographic tools, which could have created a more representational perspective of British society: focusing on areas with a more ethnic diversity composition, and in enabling traditionally ‘silenced’ groups in within British society to disclose incidents of sexual abuse.

The sample was generated through random postcode allocations across the UK, with the vast majority (92%) reporting their ethnicity as white, and eight per cent recording ethnicity as Asian or another minority ethnic group. Unfortunately, for this research, the findings report little on culture and ethnicity.

There are, however, some smaller scale studies which address the impact of culture and race on victim-survivors of CSA.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RACE AND CULTURE: FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH

Stereotypical myths surrounding black womanhood may play a significant role in both the silencing of non-white women through a process of internalisation or locating the self in ‘blackness’ by the women themselves; thus, dissuading African-Caribbean British women from seeking help, or disclosing childhood experiences of CSA (Bogle, 1987). Research from the US has pointed to the importance of the notion that African American women are uniquely able to cope with and overcome abuse and trauma (see, for example, Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2009). Furthermore, it has been well documented in research conducted in the U.S. on violence against women and CSA that black women often avoid seeking formal help due to prior negative experiences and an anticipation of racist responses (Harvey, 1986 ; hooks, 1989; Wyatt, 1994; Crenshaw ,1991).

Exploring prevalence and incidence of CSA culturally has historically been problematic due to differing cultural definitional variants of what constitutes child neglect and abuse (Korbin, 1980; 1987). However, the impact or influence of culture and race is now emerging as a key factor in how particular

communities perceive, understand, and address CSA. There is an emerging literature which explores how victim-survivors themselves live with or make sense of their childhood experiences of sexual abuse through the prism of race/ culture (Jones & Trotman Jemmott, 2009; Marable, 1995; Tyagi, 2001; Ullman & Filipas, 2005; White, 2001). These new perspectives enable cultural differences to emerge which can shape support provision for victim-survivors.

A CULTURAL LENS?

Korbin (1979) urged that all acts of child abuse be explored through a cultural lens in order to explore variations in what is considered to constitute abuse: for Korbin it is the cultural context, not the act itself that defines abuse. That said, child sexual abuse was the exception with anthropological studies (Korbin,1979), since no culture or society sanctions or approves of acts of sexual victimisation between children and adults. Therefore, we may also assume that in regard to the sexual abuse of children a ‘sameness’ exists in regard to emotions of shame and stigma which are associated with this particular form of abuse for victim-survivors and families.

However, socio-economic factors may complicate, alter or disguise the ‘sameness’ of CSA on a micro, median and macro level. Obikeze (1999) presents a macro to micro model on CSA and child abuse within West African communities: a framework that demands an understanding of sexual violence at global, community and individual levels. This permits the specifics of the everyday lived experiences of women’s lives to be contextualised within, and understood through, not only a specific historical prism, but also to make visible the actualities of intersections of social divisions of inequalities (racism, sexism, class) (Crenshaw, 1991) on a personal, societal, and global level.

Korbin (1979) proffered that cultural conditions were significant on three levels: (1) practices accepted by one culture but viewed as abusive or unacceptable by another; (2) idiosyncratic departures from cultural norms and values; (3) societal abuse and neglect, for example poverty and malnutrition. Recent explorations of CSA have acknowledged and incorporated the significance of taking culture into

consideration (e.g. Agathonos-Georgopoulos, 1992; Itzin, 2001; Jones & Trotman Jemmott, 2009; Pasura, et al., 2012).

Placing Korbin’s (1979) premise at the fore of their investigation, Jones & Trotman Jemmott (2009) conducted a UNICEF funded study in the Eastern Caribbean aimed at understanding the particularities of culture in regard to sexual abuse within the region. The Caribbean has the earliest age of sexual “debut” with the exception of Africa (World Bank , 2003) a finding which prompted the study.

The research involved 1,400 participants: 120 attended stakeholder consultation sessions; 859 completed the community survey; 300 people participated in 35 focus groups; 110 interviews was carried out with policymakers, practitioners and clinicians, ranging from the police, nursing, judiciary, education law and social services and the church. Where the report is most striking is in the response rate of face to face narrative interviews with victim-survivors. The study involved seven Eastern Caribbean countries, yet the victim-survivor interview rate was only 11. This perhaps has echoes with Wyatt’s (1985) “less trustful” findings of African-American victim-survivors and also Finkelhor’s (1979) finding that the effects or stigma of CSA often only surfaces as the child grows older and begins to make sense of what they have experienced.

There was a clear conceptual understanding of what constituted CSA with nearly three quarters of the sample across the region agreeing that it was never acceptable, regardless of circumstance, for sexual activity to take place between an adult and a minor. However, over a quarter felt that there were circumstances where sexual activity between adults and children was permissible (UNICEF, 2009, p. 9). The UNICEF study explained this deviation as pertaining to the specific conditions of the region.

Life circumstance(s) also altered what was considered sexual abuse (‘consenting’ transactional abuse) between a young girl and an older male and characteristics (gender) often produced differing interpretations (2009, p. 77). Perceptions and definitions of child abuse were found to be socially constructed, whereby meaning is historically produced and specifically located within a social and

cultural context (UNICEF, 2009). Additionally Jones and Trotman Jemmott’s findings regarding circumstance altering interpretations of CSA for victim-survivors is reminiscent of Russell’s (1986) premise that African-American victim-survivors’ reflections of their experiences of CSA were influenced by their present and often challenging circumstances.

What constituted a legitimate sexual partner differed from western norms and thus impacted the question of consent. The majority gave 16 years as a legitimate age of consent; however, a significant number cited 13 year olds as having capacity to consent. Pregnancy also ended childhood for young girls. There was no understanding that sexual abuse would have preceded the pregnancy for such a young child, the authors found. Similar questions regarding the legitimacy of sexual partners in regards to age and consent and ethnicity are beginning to emerge in regard to child sexual exploitation in the UK (see also Lowe & Pearce, 2006; Ward & Patel, 2006).

Females were the most likely to report abuse, with abusers being predominantly male whomever the victim (Finkelhor, 1979; Wyatt, 1985; Russell,1986). A disparity existed between countries with higher reporting rates than others. The authors suggested that this was related to the small sample available within each country and the various methods used to recruit samples: the average percentage of people reporting an experience of CSA was 13.2 per cent.

Adult perpetrators were defined as including abusing and non-abusing, the latter being those who “through silence, denial, and a failure to take appropriate action” were complicit in the practice of CSA (UNICEF, 2009, p. 9). This finding chimes with previous studies which have implicated other family members, especially mothers (Sauzier, 1989; Summit, 1983; Roesler & Weissman Winn, 1994; Alaggia, 2004 ; Fontes & Plummer, 2010). However, it was not clear whether the perception of complicity of non-offending adults referred to in Caribbean study was aimed solely at mothers or adults in general.

Women’s disempowerment was cited as an inadvertent contributor to the practice of CSA, by failing to protect minors, even when they were aware that the abuse was occurring. Over half of the respondents agreed with the following statement: “women sometimes turn a blind eye when partners have sex with children in their families” (UNICEF, 2009, p. 9). Recent research on child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the Caribbean has correlated sex tourism/ transactional sexual abuse, ‘parent pimping’ to be located with the definitional bounds of CSE (Pasura, et al., 2012). Although research has acknowledged the relevance of poverty in the global South (Obikeze, 1999; Richter & Higson-Smith, 2004; Kempadoo, 2004; Jones & Trotman Jemmott, 2009) the correlation of racism and poverty in the experiences of African-Caribbean British communities and victim-survivors in the UK is scant (Davis ,1982; Bernard & Turner, 2011). Findings on the complicity of mothers are not unique to the Caribbean study (see also Chapter 6).

Parents were the most likely perpetrators, with the majority citing stepfather abuse as the most common or perceived as the most likely to abuse. Trusted adults - teachers, priests and coaches - were also thought to be more likely abusers over strangers. These perceptions concur with previous research findings from the US (Finkelhor, 1979; Finkelhor, Browne,1986, Pierce & Pierce, 1982; Wyatt, 1985; Russell, 1986), yet contrast with research conducted in Africa where ‘stranger danger’ was still a dominant theme (Levett & Lachman, 1991; Levett, 2003).

The study, uniquely, explored patriarchy as an explanatory factor, linked to culture and race. The authors note negative perceptions regarding women’s capabilities as responsible mothers. This view of ‘mothering’ may be particular to this geographical region, and would need further research to establish what has produced such a sense of mistrust within Caribbean ‘mothering’ practices. However, this finding reflects West African attitudes which also place full responsibility for children’s negative or positive outcome as adults on mothers (see also Hill-Collins, 1991; Levett, 2003; Spirasi, 2006). This factor may indicate the transfer of West African socialisation practices carried over to the Caribbean from slavery into the present. However, previous scholars (Bortalaia Silva, 1996) have argued:

…that motherhood has been associated with women in the context of persistent male domination of society. In discussion of the degredation of mothering this generally linked to two major concerns: men’s increasing capacity to control mothering, and the progressive devaluation of mothering (Bortalaia Silva, 1996, p. 13).

Survey responses to attitudinal questions were revealing. Over half of the respondents did not agree that men felt a sense of entitlement to children’s bodies, with just under half agreeing and under a quarter stating that they were unsure: more men disagreed (64%) than women (56%). The suggestion that a man’s capacity as ‘breadwinner’ entitled him to have sex with his children also garnered a high negative response, with over three quarters of respondents disagreeing. In contrast, over half the respondents agreed that women’s refusal to sleep with their partners justified a man sleeping with children in the household: the largest support for this statement came from Dominica and Grenada. Surprisingly, younger respondents (aged 18-30) were more likely to agree with the perception that CSA was linked to women refusing sex to their partners (Jones & Trotman Jemmott, 2009, p. 80; see also Kempadoo, 2004).

Over half believed there was a correlation between being abused as a child and going on to abuse as an adult. Older females attributed more blame especially if the abuse was intrafamilial (Jones & Trotman Jemmott, 2009) and the adolescent girl was deemed to have provoked her abuser by her style of dress or behaviour. Support for many of the statements suggests that respondents saw men as having a biologically driven sexuality, thus easily tempted (Jones & Trotman Jemmott 2009, p. 81). The findings have links with other research on blame (Ford, Schindler, & Medway, 2001; Ford et al. 2001).

The Caribbean is not a homogeneous region' being compiled of populations of differing cultures, histories of slavery, indentured labour and colonialism. However, there are many commonalities between island populations for example our West African heritage. Furthermore, the participants in this study have either migrated from this region or have parents who were born in the Eastern region of the

Caribbean and still adhere to this region’s cultural traditions and beliefs and socialization processes. However although the Jones & Trotman Jemmott (2009) study explored sexual abuse from an Eastern Caribbean perspective, it differs from this study as it does not address migration, citizenship and belonging or racism.

The authors recommended two additional concepts in order to counter the limiting aspects of child sexual abuse: “harmful sexual behaviour” and “behaviour which contributes to the sexual harming of children” (Jones & Trotman Jemmott, 2009, p. 9). In taking into account the socio-economic characteristics of the region the authors proposed a localised (non-legal) definition of child sexual abuse which takes into consideration the lived experiences of the region’s populations. The relevance of the themes from the study to African-Caribbean British communities in the U.K. will be explored in later chapters.

STUDIES OF CSA AND RACE IN THE UK

Melba Wilson’s (1993) book Crossing the Boundary: Black Women Survive Incest is the first, and to date the only, autobiographical text which explores the impact of race and racism on African-Caribbean British women who has experienced CSA to a British context. Her intent was two-fold: to aid her own recovery and to assist other “black” women who have similar experiences to be able to do the same (p. 1). She acknowledges the fear that the impact that her disclosure and book may have on the black British community.

I worry that this book will be misconstrued and misinterpreted by many in the black communities. Some may feel that I have breached an even bigger taboo, crossed a bigger boundary (in their eyes) than incest (p. 1).

The taboo Wilson refers to is also referenced in work on domestic violence from both the US and Canada (Crenshaw, 1991; White, 2001; Tyagi, 2001; Alaggia, 2004). Wilson articulates how African- Caribbean British women may feel traitorous when disclosing experiences of CSA and sexual violence. The “don’t wash your dirty linen in public” attitude is bolstered, according to Wilson, by family and community alike: it is only in rare circumstances (e.g. especially brutal occurrences of child sexual abuse) that tacit approval is given to not keeping CSA in black communities under wraps.

Wilson (1993) clearly articulates and encourages African-Caribbean British women to move beyond the abuse, shame and stigma by dispelling myths regarding the experiences of abuse within our communities. The book is priceless in its efforts to articulate the lived experiences of African-Caribbean British survivors and noting the harm done to African-Caribbean British victim-survivors of CSA by their exclusion from dominant discourses on sexual abuse. The book raises the question of whether African- Caribbean British women can legitimately be viewed as victims.

Additionally, Wilson’s understanding of the difficulties involved for African-Caribbean British victim- survivors to speak of their experiences within our communities contradicts later research, albeit on domestic violence (Thiara & Gill, 2012) which found that African-Caribbean British victim-survivors often turned to friends and family for support. Therefore, more research is needed which specifically addresses the support needs of African-Caribbean British victim-survivors of CSA.

A subsequent study (Kelly, Burton & Regan, 1998) set out to explore in the ways in which gender and age of the victim and abuser affect the meaning and impact of CSA. The non-clinical sample involved 136 women and 25 men and established that the consequences of CSA were “profoundly” enmeshed with gender and sexuality (ibid, p.3), with “over simplistic” definitions of the terms: ‘victim’/‘survivor’ was viewed as irrelevant by the majority of participants. A third of the sample defined themselves as black or belonging to an ethnic minority group. As the study did not address how race or culture may complicate or impact understandings of histories of sexual abuse, this is not addressed in the findings.

However, the findings in regards to how the abused gain meaning in regards to gendered positions offer an analytical framework through which the racially constituted subject can be explored. This provides an avenue for this study to analyse whether abused African-Caribbean British/black British victims of CSA are constituted through racialised discourses which promote representations of the ‘strong and resilient’, and how dominant stereotypes affect meaning and self-determination for African- Caribbean British women, how they negotiate CSA and the coping strategies employed to by them.

Thiara & Gill (2012) built a sample of fifteen African-Caribbean British and thirty South Asian mothers who had experienced domestic violence, and were involved in child contact disputes with ex-partners. In addition, 71 professions and statutory bodies were included in the process: legal professionals, courts and judiciary, CAFCASS and child contact centres. Although the focus was domestic violence, the findings in regard to barriers faced by women associated with race in the UK are significant. Many women were isolated, especially when they did not have support networks of family and friends in the UK. For South Asian women, the added fear of separation from their children was highlighted, and a lack of information regarding their rights was also another key barrier.

The study found that African-Caribbean British women tended to turn to family and friends, whereas South Asian women tended to leave quicker. African-Caribbean British women sought to deal with the