The Shadow Pandemic: What Looms Beneath
Trigger Warning: Abuse, Domestic Violence, Sexual Harassment
The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth numerous consequences ever since its onset, with students going into another year of online learning in isolation which has caused the birth of a “shadow pandemic” in the form of domestic and sexual abuse and harassment. According to UNICEF, the pandemic has intensified the risk of exploitation among the youth regardless of the shift to an online learning environment. This threat to students is here even amid these tumultuous times, and it is as clear and present as it has ever been.
Students are no safer online than they were even before the pandemic, as it poses an exposure to risky forms of online behavior; sexual exploitation being a prime example. A teaching staff of the Philippine Science High School — Ilocos Region Campus (PSHS — IRC) faced allegations of sexual harassment committed against several students over the past years, the most recent of which was done through online means with the promise of grades in return. The position students find themselves in is not helped by the fact that among the potential dangers they face with their increased vulnerability, one of them might come from the school itself.
Having been dealt a profound psychological impact, students have never been more exposed and unguarded as evidenced by the country’s higher Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) score compared to neighboring nations. With this in consideration, it paves the way toward being assailable in the face of abuse and online predators, especially when a student’s mental health could mean the only difference between healthy motivation and ill-advised desperation towards their academics.
Domestic abuse gains a higher risk because of movement restrictions, resulting in the confinement to the home setting. Students who are either in violent or in dysfunctional family conditions are only some who fall victim to these household perils as stated in an article by UNICEF on the protection of children under quarantine, most of whom, if not all, are students who are spurred to contend with the consequences of their situation.
In addition, the rise of domestic and sexual abuse and harassment during the coronavirus pandemic is only made worse by the inept response made to address it. Schools, for one, are given the duty to protect students in their charge as noted by personal injury, and it should be no different during current events due in large part to the utilization of the online platform where the students’ vulnerability is most exploitable.
As yet another school year in quarantine begins, the time to acknowledge the looming threat of exploitation towards students and children in general has never been more nigh. Examples set by organizations such as SaferKidsPH, who aim to spread the awareness of the issue, must be followed on a local scale where even schools can contribute by providing students the protection they need and deserve. While the fight against the virus goes on, it would be best to address the lurking threats of abuse and harassment on the way, and finally put an end to this so-called shadow pandemic.
