In the Caribbean, Women and Girls Face Daily Threats of Sexual Violence; Getting Justice is Another Ordeal

For many Caribbean women, few places are safe from the threat of rape or sexual violence. Women report experiencing sexual violence in their workplaces and being violated by people in their towns and villages. Many times, the places that should be the safest for women are the most dangerous: their own homes. Homes are where many children–mainly young girls–are targeted for grooming, molestation and rape by a family member, neighbors or other people they know. Sexual violence of women in the region is so prevalent that Caribbean nations accounted for five of the world’s top 20 rape rates in 2019, according to the World Population Review, which studies demographics around the globe.


She and Her Daughter Share the Same Father

Survivors of sexual assault in Antigua and Barbuda endure  a long road to justice. The childhood of S was shattered at age 6 when her father began a cycle of sexual abuse. 

The abuse escalated, resulting in her pregnancy at 15 years old. Now 26, S (the initial of her first name) is mother to a 9-year-old daughter, a child born of unspeakable circumstances. S and her daughter share the same father. For two decades, S’s pleas for help were ignored.