Sexual abuse in PH schools: The silent scream of students

Sexual abuse in PH schools: The silent scream of students

MANILA, Philippines—Last week, a social media post went viral on Twitter: Some students of the Bacoor National High School (BNHS) in Cavite province have shared sexual abuse ordeals at the hands of some teachers.

The Aug. 28 post of @eexpresso, which has since gained 37,900 likes and 21,000 retweets, prompted the Department of Education (DepEd) to initiate an investigation, which is now led by its division office in Bacoor City.

Michael Poa, DepEd spokesperson, said the allegations against seven teachers of the BNHS were “very disturbing,” stressing that the department will not take these lightly and will not tolerate abuses in schools.

The teachers, he said, were not given any teaching load while the schools division office is still conducting its investigation on the allegations. The local government, meanwhile, advised the victims to file a complaint.

While Poa said the result of the investigation was expected to be submitted to the regional office on Friday (Sept. 2), he asked for help in encouraging the children to file affidavits “so we would have enough evidence for the cases”.

‘Not isolated’

Poa said Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte already met with the officials of the department’s Child Protection Unit, directing them to strengthen their presence and programs on the regional, division, and school levels.

This, as cases of alleged sexual abuse came only a month since the DepEd asked the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate sexual and emotional violence allegedly committed against students of the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA).

Last June 28, Vice World News came out with an in-depth article regarding students of the state-run high school for artists being abused by teachers, staff, and even a fellow student.

In 2020, present and former students of Miriam College, St. Theresa’s College, St. Paul College, Ateneo de Manila University, Marikina Science High School and Quezon City Science High School have also cried against alleged sexual abuse from some employees.

This prompted Sen. Risa Hontiveros to file Senate Resolution No. 168 to seek an investigation on the constant reports of sexual abuse that are allegedly committed by some teachers in schools.

In the resolution, she cited incidents of sexual abuse at the BNHS, St. Theresa’s College in Quezon City, and PHSA: “I’m certain that these are not the only schools  who have cases of [sexual] violence.”

Hontiveros earlier filed Senate Resolution No. 26 to seek an investigation on the alleged “culture of abuse, harassment, and violence” at the PHSA, which is located in Los Baños, Laguna.

Silence in darkness

There is a high prevalence of sexual violence in the Philippines, with the findings of the 2016 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children (NBS-VAC) revealing that 21.5 percent of the respondents—one in five children—experienced sexual abuse.

It said 17.1 percent of children—13 to 18 years old—have experienced sexual violence while growing up: 5.3 percent of the cases was committed in schools, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said.

Among victims of sex abuse in schools, 3.3 percent said sexual violence happened when they were 6 to 9 years old, 9.9 percent when they were 10 to 12 years old, 22 percent when they were 13 to 15 years old, and 27.5 percent when they were 16 to 18 years old.

But despite the high prevalence of children who were victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, disclosures were low at 10 percent. The Unicef said most of the victims disclosed their experiences to friends and to some extent, mothers.

It said males are more likely to have experienced sexual violence in schools (6.7 percent), compared to females (4.5 percent).

Unicef Philippines’ Faye Balanon had said: “If we look at the numbers, it’s more males who experience sexual violence when most of us assume that the results would tend to lean more towards females.”

The NBS-VAC defines sexual violence as “taking photos or sex videos of being naked or engaging in sexual activities, unwanted touch, forced attempted sex, and forced consummated sex”.

It revealed that 3.2 percent of children and youth experienced forced consummated sex (anal, oral, and/or vaginal) while growing up. The prevalence for males was 4.1 percent, significantly higher than 2.3 percent in females.

The lifetime prevalence of forced consummated sex, or forced penetrative sex, in males was 2.1 percent, double the 1.1 percent lifetime prevalence of forced consummated sex in females.

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1659298/sexual-abuse-in-ph-schools-the-silent-scream-of-students