BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
THE TRUTH is what sets them free. The two sisters were referred by the municipal social worker to the Preda home for abused children and their healing and recovery began. Eventually, the two sisters filed their complaint before the prosecutor and it was elevated to court.
We await the outcome of the judge’s decision. Will the abusers walk free or get a just punishment and the children get closure and healing and justice?
According to a report by Unicef, IJM and Ecpat in 2021, about 2,000,000 children are sexually abused every year in the Philippines. More than 70 percent of the sexually abused children are between 10 and 18 years old. Among those victims, 20 percent are under six years old, the report said.
One in five children aged between 12 and 17 were subjected to grave instances of online sexual abuse while using the internet in the Philippines in 2021, this study found. The lockdowns and pandemic added to the already existing problem.
The abuse of the children is fueled through the uncontrolled, easy availability of the internet that does not install blocking software. This allows transmission of online sexual abuse images of children.
The likes of Facebook, Tiktok and other platforms as well as the telcos and internet service providers must be held accountable and have to be made to obey the law to protect children.
As part of the study conducted with the help of the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, as many as 950 children were interviewed and they learned that that one fifth of that number were sexually harassed and abused online in one year.
Children are also put on a sexual show for foreigners over the internet. Teenagers are groomed and lured to expose themselves online. This leads to blackmail and extortion of children.
The uncontrolled internet, a magnificent tool for communication, is gravely abused. It is time to crack down, time to control the other media platforms that allow the ISPs to enable the flow of the abusive material and implement the law.
As for Tess and her sister, they are at school, living freely, unafraid but unable to return to the abusive family. They have to stand on their own with the help of the Preda Foundation.
They are on their way to independent living and are finding a new happier life. (preda.org)/PN
