BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
THERE are few people in the world or in the Philippines that have not been physically, verbally, psychological or sexually hurt and abused in their childhood. They have been emotionally damaged and they carry the hurt and do not totally forget it. They are the brave victims/survivors- children and adults- of human family life. Their parents are likely to have been abused also and vented their pain and anger onto their children. The cycle of domestic violence and child abuse continues into the next generation.
The damaging impact of a cruel relative, parent or pedophile robbed the victim/survivor of their childhood and condemned them to a life of misery with buried, repressed memories of rape and sexual assault as their nightmarish companion for a lifetime and they cannot do anything about it. The victims of abuse are forbidden to complain, to ask help, to get justice. There is no refuge for them to flee to, they cannot escape the pain and memory and their abusers.
There is no place to feel safe, protected and there are no Emotional Release Therapeutic healing centers for them save one that I know of at the Preda Foundation. Here, more than fifty children at any one time have found healing, refuge, empowerment and justice against their abusers. There are countless clinics to heal the wounds of the body but almost none for the inner soul.
The brave victims/survivors grew up with buried memories or believing the false story that such abuse is just the dark and difficult part of life. The abuse grows because society has the narrative that childhood abuse is the occupational hazard of childhood where it’s regular practice for many parents, brothers or sisters, guardians, relatives, teachers, and priests to sexually, physically, and emotionally abuse children with impunity. There are many families that love and care for their children but many do not.
There is a dark culture of childhood suffering and no way to resolve it. The child victim of sexual abuse has been told to shut up and not to complain and they are frightened by threats. Many victims run away to the streets and become sex workers by pimps and traffickers. Some victims are conditioned to cooperate with their abusers and are offered incentives and conditioned or groomed to become teenage sex workers and earn money for their pimps, trafficker or even for the support of their family. They receive a small share for themselves.
Instead of outrage, protest, and condemnations of child abuse by all sectors of society and by Church leaders, silence and tolerance has been the response. This has been ignored and tolerated and even applauded by many in a society dubbed the international hub of online child sexual abuse.
The culture of abuse and trafficking of children must be vigorously challenged and denounced and remedied by action for healing and justice by Church and State.
Witness the horrid Philippine law that for 87 years allowed 12-year-old children to be sex partners for older men. The children were abused with impunity until this year when progressive congress people led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros passed a law raising the age of consent to 16 years of age. Now, any act of sexual abuse (except between teenagers) of a child below 16 years is statutory rape. Consider the approved history of abuse when for 87 years 12-year-old children were legally fair game for pedophiles. How could society allow it? It was tolerated and still is by some who say the child victims want it, like it and ask for sex with adults. That is a monumental lie, blaming the victims to justify child abuse and satisfy their lewd desires. (To be continued)/PN
