‘Nuh Guh Deh’ campaign to stop sexual abuse of girls heads to Westmoreland

The ‘Nuh Guh Deh’ campaign to end the sexual abuse of the girl child in Jamaica will host its second community forum in Truro district, Frome, Westmoreland on Saturday, May 30 at 4 pm.

The forum, to be held at the Nazarene Church Hall in Truro, aims to sensitise and prepare community members, leaders and other stakeholders to become more proactive in identifying and preventing sexual abuse of girls. Representatives from relevant state agencies and NGOs, as well as survivors of child sexual abuse, will share information with the community to support efforts to respond to the problem of the sexual abuse of girl children at the community level.

The parish of Westmoreland has been identified by the Child Development Agency as one of the child abuse ‘hot spots’ in Jamaica.

NGO EVE for Life launched the Nuh Guh Deh Campaign to end sex with the girl child in October 2014, after recognising the severe impact of sexual abuse on girls and young women which the organisation serves, and identifying a possible link between sexual abuse of adolescent girls and higher risk of HIV infection among this group.

Jamaica’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Surveys consistently show that one in five Jamaican women has reported being forced to have sex, that is raped. This figure is even higher for younger girls, as 34 per cent of adolescent girls reported to the survey that their first sexual encounter was forced – that is, their first introduction to the sexual act was through rape. Adolescent girls are also three to four times more at risk of HIV infection than their male peers.

The Nuh Guh Deh campaign has been working with various partners to galvanise action against sexual abuse of the girl child. The campaign seeks to challenge attitudes, behaviours and norms that facilitate the continued sexual abuse of young women in Jamaica, and to stimulate dialogue and action among communities, families and the media, focused on the prevention of sexual violence. Nuh Guh Deh is being implemented with support from the British High Commission and UN agencies in Jamaica.

Since 2015, activities have included the publication of stories from survivors of child sexual abuse in the media, organisation of the first community forum in Flankers, St James in April and the launch of the Nuh Guh Deh song and video, produced in collaboration with the band Nomadzz, in May. The campaign will continue to reach out to schools, churches, civic groups and various other community institutions over the next few months.