BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
IN A GROUP of children as young as six to 16, in every three or four, one will have suffered an act of sexual abuse.
Many have been sexually abused many times by parents, relatives, live-in partners of their mothers, neighbors and friends and sex tourists.
Many sexually abuse their children online in live sex shows over the internet, allowed and enabled by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), all for filthy money and enabling the sexual gratification of foreign pedophiles.
An abhorrent business so prevalent that the Philippines is the hub of this evil trade. The executives and employees of PLDT, Globe and Dito allow the passage of child sexual materials apparently without a qualm of conscience, through their servers. They refuse to install blocking software despite the anti-child pornography law of 2009 also known as Republic Act (RA) 9775 telling them to do so.
What could be more shameful to the human race, to any nation, every community or family that vulnerable, helpless children can be sexually exploited, abused, sold and raped with impunity?
That shame is what the world is still trying to hide, deny and ignore but others try to cope with the horrible truth and expose it. It’s a challenge to all to accept that this heinous crime is a common event, a secret crime, in families, on the street in brothels and hotels where hundreds of thousands of acts of child sexual abuse and violence is happening every minute, every hour, every day, in every country.
No nation or community can say it does not happen. According to the charity Liberate Children, it is estimated that 10 million children are trafficked for sexual exploitation around the world today and they have an average age of 12 to 14 years old. The abuse of the Internet enables and allows this.
The victims of domestic sexual abuse can be estimated also in millions. No one knows how many since the crimes are committed in secret and children are threatened not to talk or report abuse. It is only years later they find the chance and opportunity to reveal what they endured. The #MeToo movement is helping a lot. Social workers in the Preda Foundation have rescued and healed victims as young as three and six years of age. There are 52 girls recovering from sexual assault at present.
We help them heal and recover and to file their legal complaint against their abusers. The brave courageous children testify strongly after having Emotional Release Therapy. They win an average of 16 convictions every year. As many as 35 court cases are on-going; others are archived as the cowardly abusers are in hiding. Bringing the abusers to justice is closure and victory for the children.
The child victims/survivors are mostly victims of domestic sexual abuse or online sexual exploitation and become street children to escape the abuse and are then recruited by human traffickers and pimps. (To be continued)/PN
