Kingston, November 7, 2024

Jamaica has completed its first Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS), a national household survey that is providing planners, decision makers and other stakeholders with information on the prevalence and scope of these concerns across Jamaica.

The details of the survey will be released on November 14 in Kingston by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and UNICEF. The PIOJ led the 2023 Jamaica VACS, with funding from US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The survey was coordinated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a part of its Together for Girls Partnership. UNICEF supported the data to action process through a cooperative agreement with CDC. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the The University of the West Indies, Mona, executed the survey.

The report will be officially handed over by the CDC to the PIOJ and the Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information.
Director General of the PIOJ, Dr Wayne Henry says, “The completion of the Violence Against Children & Youth Survey (VACS) and the findings provide valuable insights that will assist in determining the gaps in our current systems so that we can be more responsive to the needs of victims and prevent harm from reaching our youth and children.”

UNICEF Jamaica Representative, Olga Isaza says, “Jamaica now has data that can be used to strengthen systems and programmes to end violence against children. These findings confirm that Jamaica must invest more to scale the current programmes to prevent violence and address the serious impacts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse on their development and life course. UNICEF considers that the time is now for data to be converted to action and our support for this accompanying framework has led to recommendations that are grounded in the national context and are actionable.”

The survey indicated the frequency, locations (whether in the home, in an institution or in a public area) and impacts of violence. It also investigated where young people are going for help and which institutions or persons they trust with the personal and confidential needs that exposure to violence leaves with them.

The VACS survey report shows the difference in the stages of life that violence is being experienced and also provides data as it relates to whether the child is a boy or a girl. The data also unmasks the persons who are most likely to commit harm to a child and their proximity.
Emotional harm is also captured in the report and notes whether the harm was caused by an adult or someone who is nearer to the age of the child or young person.

The report notes that Jamaica has widespread community violence, some of which is influenced by gangs, and children and youth are exposed as witnesses, victims and at times perpetrators.
On the matter of HIV in society, the report also probed awareness of the location of HIV testing sites, and whether youth are seeking to know their status and reasons for hesitancy.

The VACS survey is a global initiative of PEPFAR to help to understand the scope, nature and consequences of the intersection of HIV risk factors and violence among youth.

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