https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1546/working-with-community-to-prevent-csa-in-the-home.pdf
Somali professionals felt it would be difficult for people to discuss concerns. The clan, extended family and family structure was felt to influence responses to cases or reports of child sexual abuse. It was explained that the priority for any family member was to preserve the reputation of the family and clan, in the eyes of others. When a member of one clan wronged the member of another, every member of the latter clan was said to feel entitled and obliged to take retribution on any member of the other clan, i.e. each clan member could act on behalf of and was perceived to be an ambassador for their clan (a similar arrangement was reported in Kenyan society, see Odero et al, 2014). When an incident occurred between members of different clans, to stop the possibility of an escalation of inter-clan violence, it was said negotiations would be held between clan leaders, who were always male. The aim of the negotiations was to preserve the peace and the reputation of each clan.
This process was also said to be applied when a member of one clan or family abused a child from another. Where inter-clan child sexual abuse occurred, it was said that there would be shame for the clan of which the abuser was a member. But interviewees told the project team that clan members of the abused child would also feel ashamed. If the child was a girl and the abuse was penetrative, the girl would not be considered fit to marry. This, it was felt, would be a cause of immediate distress for the family and in the long term for the girl (if she wanted to marry another Somali). For this reason, clan members were said to want to keep news of abuse out of the public domain, for making the issue public would not only damage the girl’s reputation, it would be seen as a betrayal of the requirement to preserve the reputation of their clan and a provocation of the clan of the abuser. Reparation was said to be agreed privately between clan elders. However, while this arrangement functioned to stabilise relationships between clan members and served to protect how people within the community perceived the girl’s fitness for marriage, it was felt that it led to the physical, emotional and psychological harm done to the girl going unaddressed. Keeping concerns private in this way was not exclusive to the Somali community. It was and remains common to many groups including local government, religious institutions, including some institutions whose purpose is to protect and promote the wellbeing of children (e.g. Jay, 2014).
The messed up part is clan members of the abused child would feel ashamed especiallly if the abuse was penetrative
Do you realize how fucked up that sounds?
Somali professionals felt it would be difficult for people to discuss concerns. The clan, extended family and family structure was felt to influence responses to cases or reports of child sexual abuse. It was explained that the priority for any family member was to preserve the reputation of the family and clan, in the eyes of others. When a member of one clan wronged the member of another, every member of the latter clan was said to feel entitled and obliged to take retribution on any member of the other clan, i.e. each clan member could act on behalf of and was perceived to be an ambassador for their clan (a similar arrangement was reported in Kenyan society, see Odero et al, 2014). When an incident occurred between members of different clans, to stop the possibility of an escalation of inter-clan violence, it was said negotiations would be held between clan leaders, who were always male. The aim of the negotiations was to preserve the peace and the reputation of each clan.
This process was also said to be applied when a member of one clan or family abused a child from another. Where inter-clan child sexual abuse occurred, it was said that there would be shame for the clan of which the abuser was a member. But interviewees told the project team that clan members of the abused child would also feel ashamed. If the child was a girl and the abuse was penetrative, the girl would not be considered fit to marry. This, it was felt, would be a cause of immediate distress for the family and in the long term for the girl (if she wanted to marry another Somali). For this reason, clan members were said to want to keep news of abuse out of the public domain, for making the issue public would not only damage the girl’s reputation, it would be seen as a betrayal of the requirement to preserve the reputation of their clan and a provocation of the clan of the abuser. Reparation was said to be agreed privately between clan elders. However, while this arrangement functioned to stabilise relationships between clan members and served to protect how people within the community perceived the girl’s fitness for marriage, it was felt that it led to the physical, emotional and psychological harm done to the girl going unaddressed. Keeping concerns private in this way was not exclusive to the Somali community. It was and remains common to many groups including local government, religious institutions, including some institutions whose purpose is to protect and promote the wellbeing of children (e.g. Jay, 2014).
The messed up part is clan members of the abused child would feel ashamed especiallly if the abuse was penetrative
Do you realize how fucked up that sounds?