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- Title
Improving Life Chances of an 'At Risk' Group in Trinidad and Tobago: An Exploratory Analysis of Missing Girls' Data.
- Authors
Berkley, Melissa; St. Bernard, Godfrey
- Abstract
In Trinidad and Tobago, the phenomenon of 'missing girls' is a misnomer given its representation in police record-keeping. Though not applicable to all cases of 'missing girls', it may rather be indicative of a pattern of delinquency characterising a specific group of females under 18 years. Considering child rights that are geared towards protecting those with the greatest predisposition to all forms of violence, public health risks and deprivation, all of which limit their life chances, females under 18 years constitute a critical sub-population Bearing in mind similarities and differences in the distribution of missing teenage girls in Trinidad and Tobago during a four-year period between 2008 and 2011, the paper constitutes an exploratory study that provides clues for further research and policy prescription. This study seeks to examine critical attributes such as age, ethnicity and episode characteristics across time and space to discern profiles of 'missing girls' in Trinidad and Tobago. Micro-level data are drawn from police-records for the period January 2008 to December 2011. Descriptive statistics examining patterns of variation and association are analysed to discern similarities, differences and inequities. Available data indicate increases in the frequency of missing girls' reports during the period, an urban bias with respect to such reports despite their increasingly ubiquitous character with the passage of time, Though the whereabouts of the vast majority of girls were known, there is evidence of some measure of criminal activity with girls being offenders and victims. The majority of the reported cases occurred on the weekend and irrespective of temporal or spatial domain, the median age of missing girls is 15 years.
- Subjects
TRINIDAD &; Tobago; CHILD abuse; RESPONSIBILITY in children; ETHNICITY in children; SOCIAL problems; ECONOMIC policy
- Publication
Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, 2013, Vol 38, Issue 4, p107
- ISSN
1028-8813
- Publication type
Article