| Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
The news in the Philippines these days is focused on impeachment, constitutional amendments, and other mundane political matters. The public, Congress, and government agencies are far from addressing the needs of children who are sexually and physically abused by relatives, human traffickers, and online predators, and the seeming social acceptance that allows the abuse to happen.
The country’s justice system needs reform, and while many judges are working hard to deliver justice to child abuse victims, many others are not. Some have overloaded court schedules, causing several child-abuse cases to languish up to two to three years in some family courts. Such manufactured delays prolong the suffering of the child victims. In a letter to the Preda Foundation in October 2023, Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva said that out of 183 statutory family courts, only 106 are organized. They are clogged with many important cases. Child sexual abuse cases are about traumatized children, and they need special and immediate attention and speedy justice. As they say, justice delayed is justice denied.
Special children’s courts need to be established by law, with highly trained prosecutors and judges to bring justice and healing to the abused children. The convictions of their rapists would be a strong deterrence to would-be child abusers.
During a visit some years ago, Mama Fatima Singhateh, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for online child abuse and trafficking, said the Philippines should pass a law setting up a special children’s court. IO is needed to hear and quickly resolve child abuse cases. It is hoped that children’s rights advocates in the Senate would work on this proposed legislation.
Meanwhile, telecommunications corporations and internet service providers (ISPs) must be held responsible for the uncontrolled transmission of images of sexual abuse of children beamed from the Philippines to pedophiles overseas. A corporate policy to deploy effective artificial intelligence-driven software is absent. Those allowing child abuse to happen are as guilty as those committing it.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said as many as 2 million Filipino children have reported being sexually harassed and abused online. Due to stigma and fear of scoldings, most children do not report such abuse. With cheap mobile phones and low-cost internet access, the number of victims is likely to double or triple the known figure. Every child is vulnerable. The statistics for child sexual abuse victims globally are sobering: one in three girls, one in every five boys.
Consider how people abuse their own offspring. What is seriously wrong with the human race? Humans are often regarded as the world’s most intelligent creatures, characterized by their large brains and cognitive abilities. Most, apparently, have very low moral values. We are a damaged species, indeed, waging brutal, senseless wars against ourselves, driven by greed and ambition, with millions of people killed and wounded. Pedophiles and child abusers are waging war against children by raping and abusing them.
Generally unknown, ignored
The great values taught by Jesus of Nazareth to respect, protect, and care for children are generally unknown, and his call to bring abusers to justice is also typically ignored. Sees the significant failure of the institutional Church. With exceptions, it mainly counts success on the number of baptized members, and most of its clerics are isolated and removed from the suffering of people, particularly victims of human rights violations. Most clergy members repeatedly perform rituals and deliver sermons that are often irrelevant to their congregations. As an institution, the Church has lost its primary purpose of transforming society by motivating people to actively do good and oppose every evil with the conviction that they will ultimately prevail. It is faith that aims to create a culture where equality, justice, truth, freedom, human rights, and dignity are experienced on a daily basis.
“Only when a strong movement of people realizes the extent of child sexual abuse and demands action by all authorities would there be hope to reduce it. If not, the abuse will continue to grow.”
Many clerics have abused and are abusing children themselves with impunity and are protected by silence and inaction. It has tarnished the institution’s reputation regarding child protection. Only by the courage of some of its true leaders and dedicated members of the People of God does the light of truth and action for justice for children continue to burn brightly.
A recent UNICEF-Interpol report said 90 percent of the online grooming for sexual abuse of children occurred on Facebook. However, it is still clear that family members do the majority of child sexual abuse acts. Child defenders and nongovernmental organizations are campaigning and educating students, parents, and teachers to report abuse and help child abuse victims get justice.
What people can do is to oppose the seeming social acceptance of and apathy over child sexual abuse by institutions and the wider public. About 40 percent of mothers of the 62 sexually abused children in Preda’s therapy home have chosen to protect their rapist husband or partner rather than stand with their children to demand justice. It is devastating emotionally for the children. When judges postpone hearings, the children’s suffering increases.
Church authorities must act against the abusers in their ranks and end impunity. The Church must become a beacon of children’s rights by cooperating with truly independent children’s rights organizations to pursue justice for the victims. They should end the obstruction of legal action and allow offenders to be brought to justice in the civil courts. The Church’s internal safeguarding program should bring those clerics to justice in those same courts.
Only when a strong movement of people realizes the extent of child sexual abuse and demands action by all authorities would there be hope to reduce it. If not, the abuse will continue to grow.
