Child Abuse in the West Bank: Lessons Learnt from a Qualitative Study

Abstract

In preparation for a survey using two international child abuse screening tools (ICAST-P for parents and ICAST-R for young people), a qualitative study explored the use of discipline and the understanding of child abuse, including sexual abuse, in Palestinian West Bank society, and investigated the appropriateness, in relation to clarity, acceptability and relevance, of the instruments. Qualitative research teams conducted 30 in-depth interviews with mothers (10), young men (10) and young women (10). Our findings indicate that in a society where sexual abuse is not openly discussed and follow-up services may be inadequate or inaccessible, inclusion of sexual abuse questions in a survey may be inappropriate and even harmful. However, by asking respondents about sexual abuse questions, rather than asking specifically about an individual's experiences, this study initiated discussion, which acknowledged the occurrence of sexual abuse of both boys and girls in the West Bank population. The findings warrant serious attention by educational, psychological, social and legal services in Palestine. Additionally, the findings caution against administering internationally designed survey instruments in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) before the potential implications related to cultural, social and political contexts have been carefully examined.

It Takes a Village: Challenges and Possibilities in Safeguarding Children in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries

“…Our next two papers both apply a culturally aware approach to translating and adapting particular assessment/screening tools for use in a Middle Eastern context. First, Yoke Rabaia and colleagues (2020) explore the use of discipline and understanding of child abuse in the West Bank. This was a qualitative study undertaken as part of an adaptation of the International Child Abuse Screening Tools (ICAST).…”

“…The most striking finding of Rabaia et al . 's (2020) study was the unacceptability of questions relating to sexual abuse. All three groups of interviewees considered it inappropriate to ask questions about sexual abuse within Palestinian society.…”

“…Participants felt that asking about such abuse could be psychologically harmful, through opening up old wounds, and suggested that ‘if “people” (i.e. parents, brothers, husbands) found out that young female family members had answered such questions (regardless of how they answered), they might be punished’ (Rabaia et al, 2020, p. 469). Furthermore, by including such questions in a questionnaire, the fieldworkers administering the survey could be at risk of harm from the community.…”