Almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives
Rates of sexual abuse for girls are almost twice as high than for boys
47 percent of Maldivian children under the age of 18 have undergone physical or emotional punishment at home, school or in the community
“The use of emotional punishment is considerably wide-spread and is also supported by the parents’ beliefs that this is an effective way of teaching children the proper behavior,”
Boys were more susceptible to physical punishment while large numbers of girls at secondary school level reported emotional punishment
A quarter of all carefivers said they believed that physical punishment had a positive effect on the rearing of children..
The study also revealed a lingering distrust of authorities and their ability to deal with issues relating to physical or sexual abuse of children
“When aware of a case of abuse in the community, the majority [of respondents] chose to not inform the authorities, not [to] cause any trouble and/or due to limited belief in the efficiency of the system.”
despite high awareness of the issue, the cultural background of the Maldivia society “does not particularly prohibit emotional or physical punishment of children.” Efforts to increase the level of discussion were “hampered by the notion that such events should be solved in the home and not discussed publicly.”
“The victim itself might turn out to be made liable for such an event and might be subjected itself to penal proceedings if the perpetrator does not plead guilty or four witnesses for the prosecution cannot be found,” the report noted
The report also produced some interesting demographic findings about the structure of the Maldivian families. In 24 percent of cases, a child’s male caregiver is not their biological father – in seven percent of cases, this role is performed by an older brother, and only rarely (two percent) by a stepfather or uncle. 87 percent of children have their biological mother as a caregiver
The main source of domestic arguments for girls were household chores (15 percent) – the second highest source of friction for boys was hairstyle (12 percent)
The National Study of Violence Against Children – currently unofficial – is the first large-scale national study on the issue of physical and emotional punishment against children in the Maldives, interviewing almost 17,035 people in 2500 households as well as 2000 children in schools.
via minivannews