Feb 14, 2018
17-year old youth advocate: A child is not someone’s property.
In observance of the National Awareness Week for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, Plan International held a dialogue between youth representatives and lawmakers at the House of Representatives on February 12.
Read the speech of ECPAT Philippines youth advocate Malen.
I am Malen, 17 years old, a youth advocate from ECPAT Philippines. It is our goal to end abuse of young people and to end stories like the one I witnessed. I grew up with two friends who were twins. They were the product of a broken family and they told me how they survived when their parents left them on their own. They would hail taxis or cars. With a little touch here and there, they were able to buy food. They would also use social media. They said they would chat with different men and meet up with them to have sex for money.
I saw in their eyes how much they pitied themselves while they were telling me that they had to do these things to have money to buy food, decent clothes and other things. They also admitted to me that one of them got pregnant and she had to get an abortion because she couldn’t take care of the child. They were both crying in front of me and because I was I child, I didn’t know what to do to help them, and that hurt me. I thought I couldn’t do anything but I was wrong. That’s why I’m standing in front of you now, to deliver a message for every young victim of sexual abuse.
A child is a human being and not someone’s property, not a toy that when you get tired of, you throw away. Children are not to be used to pay for debts or fulfill sexual desires. They are people. They have rights; to be free, to live, to thrive, to be heard, to participate and to be protected from different forms of abuse. This does not seem to not be the case these days, and oftentimes, the very people that should be protecting them are the ones that damage them.
Rape culture is getting worse and this includes victim blaming. Rape is also being used as a joke. Children who experience exploitation and other forms of sexual abuse stay silent because instead of finding understanding, they get comments like “it’s because of what you’re wearing” and “you were out way too late”. We are in a tropical country, it’s hot. He or she could just be comfortable wearing that outfit. And what if that person is on the night shift or s/he got hungry late at night and just went out to eat? No one wants to get raped or to become a victim of sexual exploitation so why do we blame the victims? They were the ones who were mistreated and yet they’re still the ones who went wrong.
It’s not funny that for us to make light of these serious issues. I see a lot of memes on social media that make jokes of these topics because they are not equipped with enough information about the subject. All children and youth can become victims of abuse.
According to UNICEF’s National Baseline Study sa Violence Against Children a lot of abuses are being committed against boys too. And according to a study by Plan International, it’s not only the poor who engage in prostitution and pornography because there are cases wherein children and youth from the middle class are part of it. Additionally, suspects also prey on young people who have mental, emotional, and physical disorders.
The saying “the youth is the hope of the country” is popular but how can we say that about a child who is behind the bars of abuse, battered from the bruises and wounds s/he has received, and cannot even glimpse a shadow of his or her rights.
That’s why to our lawmakers here today, we need your time so that you can listen to us. More than that, we need your understanding and protection. To our government officials, we ask that you strictly implement the laws and set into motion the mechanisms to raise awareness on this issue. We hope that the Human Trafficking Preventive Education Act is passed into law because this is a part of the solution to prevent the rise of the number of victims. We need action and we need it now.
About Malen:
Mary Lynn, 17 years old, is known to her family and friends as Malen. She is a member of Sali Ka Bata, a community-based mobile theatre group organized by ECPAT Philippines. With this group, she conducts awareness-raising activities on commercial sexual exploitation of children in schools and communities within Metro Manila using theatre arts.
ECPAT Philippines is one of the partners of Plan International Philippines under the Girls Advocacy Alliance. The Alliance aims to eliminate gender-based violence, especially trafficking, worst forms of child labour and commercial sexual exploitation of children and reduce the economic exclusion of girls and young women.
