UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Child abuse & neglect in Suriname van der Kooij, I.W. Publication date 2017 Document Version Final published version License Other Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): van der Kooij, I. W. (2017). Child abuse & neglect in Suriname. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:27 Sep 2021 CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT IN SURINAME INGER WILLEMIJNE VAN DER KOOIJ CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT IN SURINAME INGER WILLEMIJNE VAN DER KOOIJ The research described in this dissertation was financially supported by: Stichting Blaka Rosoe Stichting Maan Stichting Tot Steun Stichting Weeshuis der Doopsgezinden Cover design I.W. van der Kooij Layout Renate Siebes | Proefschrift.nu Printed by Proefschriftmaken.nl ISBN 978-94-90791-57-5 © 2017 I.W. van der Kooij All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT IN SURINAME ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. K.I.J. Maex ten overstaan van een door het College voor Promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel op woensdag 6 september 2017, te 10.00 uur door Inger Willemijne van der Kooij geboren te Heerenveen PROMOTIECOMMISSIE Promotores: Prof. dr. R.J.L. Lindauer AMC – Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. T.L.G. Graafsma Anton de Kom Universiteit, Suriname Copromotor: Dr. S. Bipat AMC – Universiteit van Amsterdam Overige leden: Prof. mr. J.E. Doek Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. dr. G.J. Overbeek Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. N.W. Slot Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. dr. G.J.J.M. Stams Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. dr. E.M.W.J. Utens Universiteit van Amsterdam Faculteit: Geneeskunde THE STARFISH POEM Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human fi gure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfi sh in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfi sh in the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they’ll die.” “But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfi sh all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!” The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfi sh and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.” Anonymous TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 9 Chapter 2 A national study on the prevalence of child abuse and neglect 23 in Suriname Chapter 3 Child sexual abuse in Suriname 45 Chapter 4 Perceptions of corporal punishment among Creole and 67 Maroon professionals and community members in Suriname Chapter 5 Perceptions of adolescents and caregivers of corporal 87 punishment: a qualitative study among Indo Caribbean in Suriname Chapter 6 Implementation and evaluation of a parenting program to 117 prevent child maltreatment in Suriname Chapter 7 Use of a screening tool for posttraumatic stress disorder in 143 children in Suriname Chapter 8 Summary & general discussion 157 Chapter 9 Samenvatting 176 List of co-authors 183 Contributors’ statement 184 PhD portfolio 186 Dankwoord 188 1 Introduction My earliest memory of my mum’s temper is from when I was a toddler and she was throwing books down the stairs at my dad. I was so young at the time that I thought it was a game. When my dad moved out, when I was 5 or 6, her aggression turned on me. Over the years, my mum kicked and beat me, throttled me, threw me down the stairs and pushed me into a scalding hot bath. She once held my head under water and another time she shoved a full bar of soap in my mouth. There are too many incidents to recount. Even though she could be really nasty, she could be loving too. I didn’t misbehave and it was always something petty that would trigger her violent outbursts. It would usually start with her yelling and swearing and I would normally try to go to my room to escape her but she would follow me in and overpower me. I’d get thrown against a wall and she would hit and kick me. My neighbours must 10 have heard the raised voices all the time, but no-one complained or did anything about it. It wasn’t until I was around 12 that I started to realise that it wasn’t normal and that other people’s parents didn’t hit them like this. Over the next few years I got stronger and started to fight back so it would happen less regularly. I still find it difficult to trust people and I have flashbacks, especially if I see something on TV which triggers a memory. I find everyday things, like walking down a street, difficult as I worry that making eye contact with someone will cause them to be physically violent towards me. For a long time, I accepted what was going on at home as normal. But no child should have to live in fear or on edge in their own home – that’s the place they should feel safest. Letter from Orlando, 17 years The aim of this thesis is to provide scientific knowledge on the current situation of child abuse and neglect in Suriname. It provides information on the (year) prevalence of child abuse and neglect in Suriname, with particular attention to sexual abuse of children. It also gives insight into perceptions of the use and function of corporal punishment among young people and parents/caregivers from different ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, it pays attention to the prevention of child abuse through the implementation and evaluation of a parenting program. Finally, a tool that screens for posttraumatic stress disorder – one of the possible negative outcomes of child abuse – is examined in order to identify children at risk in an early stage after a (potential) traumatic event. CHILDREN’S RIGHTS The United Nations decided that children needed special protection under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and worked for many years to develop the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Adopted by the United Nations in 1989, the CRC covers Chapter 1 the basic human rights belonging to all children, ratified in Suriname in 1999. They include the right to survival, to develop to the fullest, to protection from harm, abuse, and exploitation and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The CRC’s four key principles are: no discriminating against children, acting in the child’s best interests, 11 respecting children’s rights to survival and development, and respecting the views of Introduction the child (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016; UNICEF, 2016). Children are characterized by their vulnerability – because still in development – and dependency of others (Perry, 2005). Legislative measures force adults to respect the rights of children, as the Lancet recently described: “law: an underused tool to improve health and wellbeing for all” (The Lancet, 2017). The CRC implements a view in which children and adults are both seen as citizens with individual rights (Lyle, 2014) and emphasizes that children are human beings fully worthy of moral and intellectual respect (UNICEF, 2016). CHILD MALTREATMENT Child maltreatment, sometimes also referred to as child abuse and neglect, is defined by the World Health Organization as: “all forms of physical and emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation that result in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power” (World Health Organization, 2017). Child maltreatment is the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation, which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.