Page 100 - Social Norms Survey

CONCLUSIONS

“Negative is the norm.”
“Because shooting an dem ting deh, robbery, a just everyday lifestyle.”

Many children in the CSJP communities, among the poorest and more volatile in the island,

are raised in environments of violence. Their primary socialization experiences, in the home
and at school, are frequently of physical and psychological abuse, where they may also
be observers, psychologically tortured but powerless, as their mothers are being beaten,

sometimes very brutally. They live in communities frequently riddled by extreme violence,

stabbings, shootings and murder. The fearful sound of gunshots, causing a scramble home
to huddle under the bed, is common. Some have witnessed murders, injuries, bleeding
and dead bodies. They are accustomed to poverty, insufficient money to attend school

every day, hunger, and having to drop out of high school prior to completion because the
expenses are too high. Girls may resign themselves to having to take part in opportunistic
sexual relations to stay in school; they may become pregnant, conventional practice

forcing them to drop out of school on that account. Peer pressure on boys and girls to
have sex early is intense.

In table 4 below, the findings relating to each theme are summarised and linked to relevant
social norms. Comments on possibilities for the social marketing campaign are in the final

column.

20