EDITORIAL — Protecting children

Aside from being the month for remembering the dead, November is also marked as National Children’s Month. Sadly, the situation for millions of Filipino children is grim.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that at least 18,756 cases of child rights violations, many involving physical and sexual violence, were recorded nationwide in 2023. These were only the cases that were reported. Child welfare advocates say that many cases of domestic violence and sexual exploitation of children go unreported because the perpetrators are the victims’ parents or guardians themselves.

A 2020 study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund reported that the Philippines “has emerged as the center of child sex abuse materials production in the world, with 80 percent of Filipino children vulnerable to online sexual abuse, some facilitated even by their own parents.” Child welfare advocates say the COVID lockdowns worsened the problem, with children confined at home with their abusers.

The victims are typically too young to resist or understand that they are being abused. Among children who are old enough to understand, there are also those who genuinely believe they are helping their families survive, even if their parents are the ones subjecting the children to online sexual abuse and exploitation.

Apart from physical and sexual abuse, millions of Filipino children suffer from serious malnutrition and undernourishment. Food poverty starts at the womb, when the mothers themselves lack the essential nutrients for healthy child-bearing. Lack of proper nutrients leads to physical and mental stunting. UNICEF reported this year that a third of Filipino children are short for their age. As of 2020, the Philippines ranked fifth in East Asia and the Pacific, and among the 10 countries worldwide with the highest stunting prevalence.

Stunting affects learning capabilities beginning in early childhood, which in turn impacts adult life. In too many cases, stunted children don’t even reach adulthood. UNICEF points out that stunting after age two can be “permanent, irreversible and even fatal.” The agency reports that 27 out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday.

Despite rosy economic growth figures and increased budgets for public health, UNICEF has noted that little progress has been made to reduce stunting in the Philippines. Fighting domestic violence, sexual abuse and exploitation targeting children is also an uphill battle. Children, however, are the nation’s future. The challenges should spur the government and stakeholders to press on and do better in saving the children.