A girl receives a direct message on Instagram. The messenger compliments her looks and claims to run a modelling agency in Dominica eager to fly her over for work. Aware her family won’t approve of the “opportunity”, she plans a quiet escape, departs, and arrives on the Nature Isle. But as the days unfold, she becomes painfully aware that she’s been deceived. There’s no contract, no work, and no modelling agency.
Researcher Corey Sandiford shared this anecdote at a UNICEF research presentation on Wednesday. He says it emerged during qualitative research for the 2025 UNICEF study into violence against children, conducted across the OECS, Barbados and the British Virgin Islands.
It’s one example of how minors can be groomed, coerced and exploited, particularly online. It’s also the kind of situation UNICEF is determined to confront, by identifying vulnerabilities, incidents that expose children to violence, and the broader systems that enable such harm.
In 2021, the organisation conducted a separate study that pointed to increased online activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, which created a climate of concern around grooming, stalking and cyberbullying.
“You saw all kinds of perpetrators of child sexual abuse, attempts to groom children via WhatsApp, and other forms of social media. So, it’s something that the public needs to be aware of,” Sandiford said.
According to UNICEF’s latest study into violence against children in the region, 37 per cent of people do not think grooming is a major problem in their country, 27 per cent consider it a minor issue, and 36 per cent are unsure whether it is a cause of concern.
When asked about children being stalked, 17 per cent saw it as a major concern, 30 per cent labelled it a minor problem, 22 per cent believed it wasn’t a problem at all, and 31 per cent were unsure.
Beyond grooming and stalking, the study also explored public perceptions of cyberbullying, child sexual abuse, and children in conflict with the law.
Understanding these perceptions, researchers say, is critical in determining where efforts should be concentrated where legislature and policy are concerned. Also, public awareness and sentiment is believed to be closely linked to the prevalence of child sexual abuse and to the effectiveness of how cases are treated in the judicial system and during investigative procedures.
Increasing awareness could make for a more child-friendly justice system, particularly, as in many islands reports go unfiled or linger in the system for years.
“It [extends] to the person who answers the phone to get a report,” said a UNICEF representative. “It is important that they’re trained in terms of how to respond in a way that people will continue to report.”
Looking ahead, UNICEF reps aim to increasingly support regional governments in updating legislation and policies based on their research findings, as has been done by assisting the Barbados government with the implementation of its Child Justice Bill, supporting Grenada’s new school legislation and in the expansion of caregiver and positive parenting programmes across the region.
Addressing concerns about research being conducted but not acted upon, AbdulKadir Musse, UNICEF Representative for the Eastern Caribbean, acknowledged that while the UN agency’s influence on policy is sometimes limited when working with government ministers, urgency remains vital.
“Otherwise, we will do another survey in five years’ time. And then we will refer to this one. And nothing happens. We will just see the cycling of the violence that children in the Caribbean are facing,” Musse said.
