THE PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN JAMAICA: A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE
Keywords:
sexual abuse, sexual violence, sexual perpetrators, criminal actionsAbstract
Perpetrators of sexual violence are fully responsible for their criminal actions and have no excuse for sexually victimizing familiar and unfamiliar victims using their influence and aggression. Sexual violence perpetrators are partners and non-partners-community members. The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) provided the data for this study. This research examined sexual violence committed in Jamaica and the arrests made from January 1, 2010, to November 20, 2023. This study evaluates the perpetrators of sexual violence in Jamaica using a hybrid conceptual framework. The data was recorded, stored, and retrieved using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, Version 28.0, and Microsoft Excel. The significance level used to determine statistical significance was less than 5% (0.05) at the 2-tailed significance level. The findings revealed that students (23.6%) committed most of the sexually violent acts in Jamaica, followed by those who are unemployed (14.0%), labourers/construction workers (11.1%), farmers (4.3%), and taxi operators (3.4%). The statistics revealed that students were the most arrested perpetrators for carnal abuse (24.0%), rape (16.4%), and having sexual intercourse with someone less than 16 years old (31.0%). The public health problem of sexual violence is complex, and its solution cannot be addressed with a simple magic wand.
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