22.8% of families negotiate with sexual aggressors

A study by the Dominican chapter of the global organization World Vision has revealed that 22.8% of the families of victims of sexual abuse or violence reach a negotiation with the aggressor.

The study, already published, is identified as “Evaluation of child protection services and attention to the violation of children’s rights in the area of incidence of World Vision Dominican Republic’s programs.”

It highlights that critical gaps are observed, such as the insecurity when acting against the different situations of lack of protection of children by families and community members.

Also, the levels of cover-up and conspiracy on the part of the affected families are striking: “An 11 year old girl was abused, and they gave her 80 thousand pesos, and the mother kept quiet,” expressed one of the respondents in the community of Haina, San Cristóbal.

According to the study, this happens in the weak care circles, where 23.3% of those interviewed think that families do not denounce because of “shame.”

Another of the findings reflected that in several of the municipalities studied; there is a lack of compliance with the principles of confidentiality and anonymity of the reporting processes by the acting authority, which shows the lack of guarantee in the handling and safeguarding of the information provided by the denouncers.

Risk
“This puts at risk not only the person who reports, but also the children and adolescents who have gone through a process of abuse,” explained Johnny Bidó, manager of advocacy and external relations of the organization.