Overview

Too many children in the Caribbean are inadvertently being desensitized and mis-educated about the nature and consequences of sexual violence. Even when young people are able to consent, there are many instances of uninformed consent. The school system, despite its best efforts, has often been ineffective in uprooting some of the cognitions supportive of sexual violence. Consequently, many youths leave school with a world-view supportive of the process and notion of sexual victimization. Research was conducted using the framework of Dr. Paul Schewe's sexual violence risk reduction initiatives. Without Consent uses the result of this research to give insight into the parenting, socialization and formal-education factors that could contribute to sexual violence. Victim narratives are presented in poetic form to give real examples of some of the issues presented. This publication includes recommendations to assist parents and school personnel to reduce the chances of youths entering adulthood with a cognitive framework that is insensitive to or ignorant of the pain and nuances of sexual violence.