Study links sexual abuse and trauma to HIV among youth

A new Cedar Project study conducted in Vancouver and Prince George, B.C. has found there is a definite link between the historical trauma of colonization, the residential school system, and an increased risk of HIV/Aids, Hepatitis C, suicide, homelessness and sex trade work in Aboriginal youth.
Wayne Christian, chief of the Splatsin Secwepemc Nation, and part of the driving force behind the Cedar Project said that this study confirms that sexual abuse is one of the most devastating outcomes of colonization.
"The residential school system was Canada's war against Aboriginal people, and our children were on the front lines for decades. What people don't understand is how this legacy plays out in our communities today," he said.
Many of the issues that affected residential school students were never resolved or even acknowledged. In a CBC, The Current interview, Michelle Good, who works with residential school survivors in Kamloops, B.C. said, "Nobody can go through that kind of totally destructive and degrading experience and come through it unscathed."
"Yet the stories of abuse were cloaked in silence for decades. There were neither law enforcement agencies who would listen to survivors nor mental health agencies that would deal with their trauma. As a result, many residential school graduates returned to their communities, only to pass on the behaviours of control and abuse they had learned to their own children and families," said Chief Christian.
The study was governed by a number of Aboriginal and First Nations organizations in British Columbia, funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and conducted in collaboration with the University of British Columbia and Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital.
"Unbelievably, this is the first study dealing with this issue in Canada," said principal investigator Dr. Patricia Spittal.
Between October 2003 and April 2005 Aboriginal young people between the ages of 14 and 30 who use drugs in Vancouver and Prince George were interviewed.
Scientific Director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health, Dr. Jeff Reading said the study paints a devastating picture.
Of the 605 people who took part in the project, 48 per cent reported they had experienced sexual abuse in their lifetime. Twenty-seven percent said they had never told anyone about the abuse prior to the study, and 65 per cent had never received counseling that dealt with the abuse. Forty-six per cent also reported at least one of their parents had attended residential school.
According to Spittal one of the most troubling findings is the average age when children first experienced sexual abuse, which the researchers cited at six-years old.
"Now they are out on the streets, in pain, self-medicating with illicit drugs, and engaging in sex work for food and shelter."
The Cedar data also indicated that survivors of child sexual abuse were 1.8 times more likely to have been with more than 20 sexual partners, and two times more likely to be HIV positive.
"When your personal, physical integrity has been damaged in such a way, you don't know what real, meaningful, intimacy is, but you crave it, probably more than anybody, so you express it in the only way you know how, which is often in a promiscuous way. Then it's only logical that the risk of contracting STDs is increased astronomically," said Good.
"We have kids who have been repeatedly violated throughout their childhoods, and they transition directly into survival sex work. This is all residential school legacy, this is not normal," said Spittal. "Before contact, First Nations people did not violate their children. There were child protection mechanisms in place, kinship ties, rights of passage, it rarely happened and if it did, retribution from the community was extreme."
"Providing young people with a renewed sense of safety and belonging, be that on the reserve or in places like Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto or Saskatoon, is the responsibility of the Aboriginal leadership," said Chief Christian, who believes the solutions must come from the community.
In light of the recent formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Chief Christian advocates that 50 per cent of those resources be dedicated to young Aboriginal people.
"They have been terribly affected by the residential school system, and now they are the most vulnerable in our Nations."
"Federal and provincial governments must be flexible in supporting community-based solutions," said Reading. "It will take a concerted effort by governments, law enforcement and healthcare agencies, educators, industry, and the young Aboriginal adults themselves to find solutions. Most importantly, if there is a perpetrator in the community and people know, they need to speak out, if they don't, they are part of the problem."
"Given proper support and accessibility to services, Aboriginal young people are amazingly resilient," said Spittal. "Many of those who have experienced sexual abuse have been able to deal with these issues, and are leading healthy and productive lives. Look at actor Adam Beach for example who just recently disclosed his childhood sexual abuse experience publicly."
According to Christian, more and more young people are beginning to embrace their culture, language and philosophies, and are seeking traditional ways of healing. As a chief he said, it is his responsibility to provide that.
"We have the capacity to fulfill that need. In my community for example we have reintroduced newborn ceremonies where everyone, mothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers take responsibility for the children. Some of the things that can be done have a cultural focus like men's gatherings and getting people out on the land. These things may sound simplistic, but they are really powerful tools for healing."
"I have faith in my people," said Christian. "We've talked about it, now it's time to act. It'll be hard work, but that's how our ancestors were, they worked hard. They didn't sit by the road and let things pass by. Something needed to be done, they didn't ask, they just got up and did it."