ABSTRACT
As signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the Eastern Caribbean region’s island states have made policy commitments and significant social progress in protecting children from violence, abuse and exploitation. Nevertheless, many Eastern Caribbean children continue to experience violence, abuse and exploitation, which hinders their positive development and indicates that UNCRC rights enshrined in Articles 19, 34, 37 and 39 have not been achieved universally. This chapter considers how the UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office (UNICEF ECA) collaborates with governments and non-governmental and civil society organisations across health, education and social development sectors to address the issue of sexual abuse of children. The chapter discusses prevention and responsive protection strategies implemented by the UNICEF ECA with its partners, including governments. The authors argue that the paramount challenges to the implementation of those strategies reside in finding strategies to promote the Eastern Caribbean states’ recognition of the multidimensional nature of the issue of child sexual abuse and their realisation of multifaceted, integrated solutions.
