Study: Violence prevalent among Filipino teenagers

CEBU, Philippines - A recent study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund has found an alarming condition of physical abuse in the country, citing 65 percent prevalence among 13-17 years old within their households.

Doctor Lotta Sylwaner, representative of UNICEF Philippines, in her presentation during the “Ako Para sa Bata” conference, said that parents were found to be the most common perpetrators while male and female siblings contribute 18 percent and eight percent of the abuse, respectively.

The study also found out that siblings are main penetrators of sexual violence in the household, citing that 10 percent of the cases are caused by male siblings, while cousins contribute eight percent of the said crime. Female siblings are seven percent. Most of the cases are forced in nature, according to the study.

The research also revealed that most cases, physical and sexual, are experienced by males in many settings such as the household and school. On the other hand, bullying is 63 percent prevalent among the same age group, which often victimizes girls.

Cyberviolence, which consists cybersex, is 50 percent prevalent with 32 percent of the victims are boys while 19 percent are girls.

 The Philippines was also cited in the UNICEF study to be among the Top 10 countries worldwide with rampant child exploitation cases between ages 10-14. Father Fidel Orendain of the scientific committee of the Child Protection Network said that awareness on cyber space abuse should be advocated.

“We need awareness about cyber reality. It is the new culture and like every other culture, it affects people but because there are different sectors in society like there are the adult, but also the children. The children are the ones most affected,” Orendain said.

The Child Protection Network, a non-government organization that centers on child protection, conducted a two-day international conference called “Ako Para sa Bata” which discussed the present condition of cyberviolence in the country and the possible solutions to protect the children against the harm of cyberspace abuse. The seminar ended yesterday.

Local government units, non-governmental organizations, doctors, nurses, social workers, judges, students, and some international NGOs were present during the conference.

The event also consisted of simultaneous symposia about cyberspace and the harms inflicted by cyberspace abuse such as cybersex.

Terre des Hommes, an international charitable institution protecting children’s rights, made a virtual Filipina model named “Sweetie,” which tracks online sex penetrators, warns and gets information about them.

Since 2013, Sweetie has able to track 750,000 pedophiles online coming from 71 countries worldwide.

“They love to concentrate on Filipina women,” said Dr. Alwin De Leon, the community manager of Terre des Hommes, explaining why they developed Sweetie to be a Filipina instead of other nationalities.

De Leon also said that foreign pedophiles concentrate on Filipinas because of their ability to speak English.

Dolores Alforque, director of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, said that they are concentrating more on the advocacy and education about cyberviolence.

“We are working on the issue but we are on the advocacy,” she said. — (FREEMAN)