“With these two hands, my mother holds me, cares for me, this I love.
With these two hands, my mother hits me – this I hate.” – Girl, East Asia and the Pacific 2005
From UN Report on Violence Against Children in the Home and Family
Home is where the heart is. But perhaps not anymore, or not always so.
A UN report on “Violence Against Children in the Home and Family” reveals that children, particularly babies and younger kids, are more vulnerable to violence in the home. Families, it adds, can actually be dangerous places for the young.
Documented cases worldwide show that parents and close family members are often the perpetrators of physical, sexual or psychological violence against children. It has also been established, according to the report, that “everywhere that sexual violence has been studied, it is increasingly acknowledged that a substantial portion of children are sexually harassed and violated by people closest to them.”
When the hand that nurtures is also the hand that maims, what becomes of the notion of family as home and hearth? Or of parents and siblings as safe anchors in a turbulent world?
The report acknowledges that abuse is most difficult to address within the context of family and therefore societal intervention is needed.
According to Dr. Bernadette Madrid, executive director of the Child Protection Unit Network Inc. (CPU-Net), a non-government organization that trains doctors and social workers in handling child abuse cases, the prevalence of child abuse in the Philippines and worldwide is around 11 percent.
This figure, however, could be misleading, says CPU-net legal consultant Katrina Legarda, as most child abuse cases are not reported and remain undocumented, therefore are part of statistics. Child abuse, like rape and domestic violence, is still mired in a culture of silence and secrecy, she points out.
In the Philippines alone, Legarda discloses that children who suffer from any form of physical, sexual or psychological abuse and deliberate neglect run up to an estimated three million every year, based on the prevalence rate of 11 percent of the country’s 31 million children.
The surveys present a different view, however. One such survey conducted by the Department of Health in 2000 among adolescents show that 85.1 percent of respondents had experienced physical abuse in their lifetime. A high 59.7 percent reported having experienced psychological abuse, while 82.9 percent said they were victims of physical violence. Around 11.9 percent said they were sexually molested and 1.8 percent said they were raped.
Madrid explains that surveys usually present higher percentages because respondents are merely interviewed – and may be generally more truthful – compared to having to actually report a case to the police or bring a case to court.
Madrid believes that even with these findings, authorities are merely scratching the surface of this silent crime.
“Even the 1.8 percent who admitted that they were raped is a huge number,” says Legarda. “That 1.8 percent easily translates to around 600,000 children forced into sex every year.”
Is there ever a way out of the dark?
It used to be shameful, unspeakable, and often, it still is. When fathers, uncles or grandfathers violate their daughters or granddaughters, a community is enraged but society acknowledges that more concrete action is needed. But how can justice be obtained and where can the healing process begin when the oppressor exercises absolute authority over the child, in law and by tradition.
In 1997, the Philippine General Hospital set up a Child Protection Unit to address the needs of maltreated and abused children.
According to the CPU-PGH report, “the largest groups of patients are those referred from law enforcement agencies, followed by walk-in patients and those referred from other hospitals. The overwhelming majority are sexually abused children.”
In 2005 alone, the report added, the CPU cared for 972 new cases, 81 percent of them had been sexually abused.
Madrid says there are now 26 CPUs set up in public hospitals all over the country. The target is 81 such centers or at least one for every 10 million population. Aside from the CPU at PGH, there are four other centers in Metro Manila which serve as model for other CPUs to be set up in other areas.
According to Legarda, the CPU-Net targets unserved areas such as the Bicol region, and most parts of Mindanao.
“All that is needed is a small room with a bed, a doctor and a social worker willing to be trained in handling child abuse cases, and a camera,” says Legarda.
Currently, CPU-Net provides free training to doctors and social workers to ensure that the same standard of care are given to patients wherever they are in the Philippines.
“After their training, they become part of CPU-Net and receive further support and continuous assistance and training in the best practices in the field,” says Madrid.
Child abuse, says Legarda, is called the silent crime not only because of the reluctance of victims and their families to file a case but there are also few doctors willing to testify in court and that is one of the greatest stumbling blocks why child abuse cases do not prosper in court.
“Doctors generally consider going to court to help a person in need a waste of time,” she discloses. “I teach medical jurisprudence at UP Manila and teach future doctors to be expert witnesses.”
However, it is only now that this is becoming integrated into the medical curriculum but it is an integral part of the training of doctors and social workers at CPU-Net.
“When a child-patient comes into a CPU, he or she (or the accompanying family member) fills up a form, is interviewed by a social worker and examined by the doctor. All interviews are recorded on video tape because this can be used as the testimony of the child in court,” explains Legarda.
This way, she says, the child is not traumatized by having to retell his or her story all over again in court.
“It is wonderful that the Supreme Court came up with this because even if the mother decides, for example, not to pursue the case against the child’s abuser, the case can continue.”
Actually, according to Legarda, there have been great strides in Philippine law and in law enforcement in recent years that have made it easier to pursue child abuse cases in court.
The first of this, Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law, mandates government doctors and hospitals to extend assistance to child victims. There is also a memorandum circulated by the Department of Health in 1996 enjoining all hospitals to have a women and children’s desk.
More recently, a memorandum of agreement was signed between the Philippine National Police and the Department of Health to train the police to provide support to child abuse cases. And more importantly, the Department of Justice has released an order stating that no fiscal can file a case of kidnapping or any other such cases against a social worker who has taken a child under protective custody.
These are important developments, Legarda says, because it institutionalizes help for children, who are otherwise powerless and helpless to protect themselves or assert their rights.
“What we are doing now is we are trying to put together court-appointed special advocates groups composed of volunteers who will help abused children and their families do the legwork to pursue a case in court,” she explains.
As far as the expenses are concerned, it is free for a child to go to court, Legarda emphasizes.
The local multi-sectoral effort to combat child abuse has its counterpart internationally and the Philippines is taking on a very active role.
Last week, a regional conference organized by the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), in collaboration with CPU-Net, was hosted by the Philippines.
With over 500 attendees from all over the world, the Asia-Pacific conference dubbed “Ako Para sa Bata (I am for the Child)” discussed four major themes in fighting child abuse: child trafficking and child sexual exploitation, children in conflict with the law, child protection during times of disasters and child abuse and neglect.
Legarda, who is also the conference chair, says that the conference was attended by key players in the field of child protection – medical, legal social work, judiciary, law enforcement – and by survivors of child abuse themselves and the youth.
“The goal is to share best practices, new research and techniques for intervention and prevention and anything that can make a difference in children’s lives,” Legarda says.
According to Madrid, this is the first time that an international conference on prevention of child abuse was hosted by the Philippines and it speaks well of the local effort to bring this silent crime into the open and for that global collective outrage to be translated into meaningful concerted action.