Keeping it from the community

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the links between forced marriage, running away/going missing and child sexual exploitation. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive research review and interviews with experts and practitioners across the three fields identified a total of 22 cases in which young people (aged 18 and under) had experienced some combination of all three issues. Of these, nine case studies involving South Asian young people were explored in depth using a case study methodology. Findings – Through adopting constitutive intersectionality as an analytical framework, the power of “community” emerged as a distinct theme within the cases. Concern about both family and community “honour” impacted young people’s decision making and help seeking processes. “Honour” also impacted parental responses to the young people as well as how they engaged with the professionals seeking to support them. Research limitations/implications – The safety of mothers also emerged as an issue, suggesting that this is an area for further research. Practical implications – Practical implications for practice included: the need to address barriers to young people disclosing abuse and entering into the criminal justice process; difficulties associated with finding safe spaces to work with young people; the need to identify effective ways of working with abused young people who are unable to draw on relational and social support; and dangers associated with accessing support services. Originality/value – An extensive review of the relevant research literature failed to uncover links between forced marriage, going missing and child sexual exploitation. This led the author to assert that the risk of child sexual exploitation as it relates to young South Asian young people who run away from home to escape forced marriage has been both under-acknowledged and under-explored (Sharp, 2013). Empirical research undertaken by the author over a 15-month period confirmed this assertion.

Understanding female adolescent ‘runaways’ and the implications of their decisions in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

“…The fact that female adolescent runaways may be considered a normal phenomenon among the communities in Tigray might explain the lack of social structures to protect them in spite of their vulnerabilities. For example, they are exposed to a range of risks, such as early and unwanted pregnancies, labor exploitation, dropping out of school, and transactional sex, as suggested in this study and as is consistent with other studies in the same field (Raval et al, 2010;Sharp, 2015). Indeed, a deeper analysis of the context would be needed to discuss why public institutions and communities overlook the needs of these underage runaway girls who often live alone.…”

“…Transactional sex and early pregnancies. Some studies on adolescent female runaways conclude that runaway girls are exposed to a higher risk of sexual exploitation (Raval et al, 2010;Sharp, 2015;Tyler et al, 2001). In this specific study, a key informant corroborated this in the following way:…”

“…Runaway girls in Ethiopia and across the globe remain unprotected and exposed to a range of risks, such as early and unwanted pregnancies, labor exploitation, dropping out of school, transactional sex relationships (Stoebenau, Heise, Wamoyi, & Bobrova, 2016) and sexually risky behavior (Sharp, 2015). Additionally, in poor resource settings with patriarchal structures and customary practices, runaway girls may also suffer social stigma.…”

“…Additionally, in poor resource settings with patriarchal structures and customary practices, runaway girls may also suffer social stigma. They may be socially condemned and neglected for resisting their parents' decision to marry them off (Marsden, 2007;Raval et al, 2010;Sharp, 2015). In rural settings, running away is often considered to be a deviant behavior, especially in those cases of 'romantic' elopements, as discussed later on.…”