Abuse is abuse, regardless of who
perpetrates it. Sexual abuse is perpetrated by people, either individually or
collectively; it is not committed by cultures, races or communities as a whole.
As we know, the majority of sexual abuse is contextual and situational, which
means that cultures, races or communities may believe that some forms of sexual
abuse is acceptable, that it may go unpunished or can be covered up. Examples
of this are evident from the practices of certain indigenous cultures to the
secrecy of activities within some religious sects, to the culture of silence
within some university sports teams. This may mean that certain groupings of
people (whether they be communities of a certain race, culture, or combination
of the two) may be more prone to sexual abuse that receives little or no
response from the wider community. However, it does not mean all of the larger
culture, race or community will engage in or condone the abuse.
In England over the last couple
of years we have started to see the emergence of gangs of ethnic minority men,
mainly Asian, organising and perpetrating the sexual abuse of vulnerable young
white girls (in Rotherman,
Peterborough,
Newcastle
and other
locations). The problem is that, like all sexual abuse, this is not new; ethnic-
and gender-based violence has occurred as long as there has been gender and
ethnicity. What is new is the size and scope of the abuse, and the factors that
capture the attention of the majority culture. Clearly, we have we not done
enough to prevent, educate and prosecute individuals and communities around
sexual abuse. There is an argument that a perfect storm of political
correctness, fear of reprisal and a dissolving of intra as well inter community
relations has resulted in these cases not being prosecuted as they should (The
independent).This is unfortunate, as waves of sexual violence such as these
have occurred elsewhere in human history (e.g., the sexual assault of women in times
of war and its aftermath).
The cases in the UK have been
reported on as a race issue with male, ethnic minority men sexually abusing
white, working class, vulnerable white girls. This has fuelled conversations
about immigration and race relations, thereby making an already complicated
issue even more loaded. Which has resulted in a number or articles and think pieces,
each of varying degrees of nuance and rigour, from journalists (The
independent) and political leaders (Sarah
Champion MP; Sajid
Javid MP; Jeremy Corbyn
MP) weighing in on the debate. However, the real issue here is that this
was targeted grooming of children by adults who happened not to be white against
victims who were white. The same offences and behaviours are happening in white
communities as we write this.
We would argue that overarching
race and cultural issues are not precursors to sexual abuse, especially child
sexual abuse. Instead, abuse-related and problematic sub-cultural factors (and
the processes underlying them) can indeed contribute to abuse. Sexual and
social deviance does not adhere to cultural, ethnic, or national boundaries.
What we are seeing in these cases are people who sexually abuse children
because they want to, regardless of their own race or culture. The fact that
the victims are white and of a different cultural heritage speaks more to elements
of criminality than over-arching cultural themes. These people are making a
decision to sexually abuse across race and cultural lines, why? Is it because vulnerable
white girls are easier for them to get access to, is it because they don’t want
to offender against their own culture or race, or is it simply access to any
child?
The race or the culture of a
perpetrator of sexual harm should play no role, positivity or negatively, in formal
responses to abuse. Those who abuse should receive the same prosecution, as
well as treatment and rehabilitation opportunities. Interestingly, research by Professor
Malcolm Cowburn over the past 20 years shows that ethnic minority
communities are less likely to engage with treatment (especially sex offender
treatment), arguing that it does not speak to their cultural needs. We need to
get better – a lot better – at understanding that the issues that race and
culture throw up, as well as how these can be better navigated in treatment.
However, a part of this this improvement invites a reflection: how many of
these cultural and race issues are real, tangible issues and how many are our
own cognitive distortions that serve to prevent engagement?
In terms of the direction that
the field of sexual harm is moving – towards a combined model of
prevention/rehabilitation, we need to do more to engage with all communities on
understanding, preventing and responding to sexual abuse. We need to work more
effectively and openly with all races, cultures and communities to see how we
can adapt our messages around sexual abuse, so that we can better prevent it. Sexual
abuse is an interpersonal offence, its committed by people and therefore has to
be prevented by people of all races, cultures and communities.
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