Man who hung, hit son nabbed

Philippine Daily Inquirer | December 28, 2018

Government social workers are preparing a complaint for child abuse against a tricycle driver, who was
seen in a viral video hitting his four-year-old son as the child hung upside down by a window in the
family’s house in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna province.

The 31-year-old father, also a rescue volunteer in the city, was arrested on Thursday noon, said Supt.
Eugene Orate, Sta. Rosa police chief.

Elizabeth Dumalag of the City Social Welfare and Development Office said the incident happened on
Dec. 24 at Barangay Pooc.

The man videotaped himself as he tied his son upside down with handcuffs by their window. He then
began punching and slapping the child, as shown in the video that ran for almost three minutes.

“[The man] was heard saying, ‘Are you happy now?’ apparently addressing the child’s mother,” Dumalag
said in a telephone interview.

Orate said the man sent the video to his partner who left him weeks ago.

“He used the video to blackmail the mother into coming home to them,” he said.

As of Thursday, police and social workers said they had yet to hear from the mother, who was
reportedly in Iloilo province.

Dumalag said the mother sent the video to a sibling in Sta. Cruz town, Laguna, who then sought
authorities’ help in rescuing the child. Social workers took custody of the boy on Christmas Day.

“So far we see marks (left by the handcuffs) on the child’s left leg. He seems OK except that our foster
parent has [found it difficult] to put him to sleep because he cries at night,” Dumalag said.

“If the mother decides not to press charges, then we will file the case,” Dumalag said.

CHR Region 4A launches probe on child hung upside down, beaten up by dad
GMA News | December 28, 2018

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Region 4A on Thursday will conduct an investigation into the
"disturbing" and "abominable" treatment of a child in Santa Rosa, Laguna on Christmas Day.

The CHR was referring to the video showing a child who was hung upside down and hit several times by
his own father.

In a statement, CHR Region 4-A Director Rexford Guevarra lauded concerned government agencies that
assisted in the swift rescue of the victim.

The agency, however, decided to launch their own probe to ensure that "the perpetrator is brought
before the bars of justice with dispatch."

The CHR also wants to make sure that "the child-victim is provided with appropriate assistance,
including the physical and psychosocial treatment."

Guevarra emphasized that no child deserves such treatment shown by his own father who vented his
frustrations by stringing him up and repeatedly beating him on Christmas day.

"The CHR reiterates that due to their special condition, children are entitled to special care and
assistance as a matter of right, and that no child deserves such abominable treatment from anyone,
least from the very people that law and society expects to endow them with love and nurturance,"
Guevarra added.

The boy is under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The DSWD’s Community Programs and Services Bureau said it coordinated with the DSWD office in Sta.
Rosa to assist the boy.
”We have tasked our field office in Calabarzon to facilitate the immediate referral of the child to an
accredited child-caring agency or placement for foster care to properly address his needs,” DSWD
spokesperson and assistant secretary Glenda Relova said.

Relova appealed to the public to stop sharing the video on social media.

”To concerned citizens who want to to report a case of child abuse, please coordinate directly with us by
sending private messages to our Facebook and Twitter accounts... You may also report to other
government agencies, including the CHR, Philippine National Police and National Bureau of
Investigation,” she said.

The video has more than two million views and 250,000 shares on Facebook and Youtube.

Physical injuries top child abuse cases in C. Visayas

Manila Bulletin | July 16, 2018

Physical injuries, rape, and acts of lasciviousness are among the top three abuses committed against
children in Central Visayas during the period of 2015-2017, said the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) in region 7.

Grace Yana, DSWD-7 assistant regional director and focal person of the Regional Council for the Welfare
of Children (RCWC-7) expressed the agency’s concern on the high rate of child exposure to both physical
and sexual violence in the region.

Physical injuries and intentional mutilation, rape, and acts of lasciviousness are some forms of violence
and the most prevalent ones, based on the statistics of Police Regional Office (PRO-7), Yana told Manila
Bulletin.

According to Yana, based on police reports from 2015-2017 there were a total of 6,732 cases or crimes
of violence against children in the region with 2,980 in 2015; 1,919 in 2016 and 1,833 in 2017.

Yana said these statistics are alarming because children are vulnerable to violence that has both short
and long-term effects on their growth development and they may not recover from the physical and
emotional trauma.

Incidents of physical injuries committed against children in a three-year period from 2015-2017 totaled
to 2,834 which is about 42.29 percent of the total crimes on physical injuries, Yana said.

Rape, on the other hand, totaled 1,387 from 2015-2017 that is equivalent to about 21.27 percent of all
crimes and violence against children in the region. Acts of lasciviousness and other acts of abuses
against children recorded 2,341 (2015-2017) which is 33.57 percent of the crimes against them, Yana
added.

According to the World Report on Violence and Health in 2002, violence against children is described as
the “physical maltreatment, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, or
commercial and other forms of exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health,
survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power”.

Yana added that children who are exposed to violence are more likely to suffer from attachment
problems, regressive behavior, anxiety, and depression, and to have aggression and conduct problems.

Violence against children can happen even in the safest haven for a child, which is the home. It also
happens in schools, the community, workplace, in public places and even in cyberspace, Yana noted.

She went on that statistics likewise show these children are victims of people they know – their father or
mother, extended family members, guardians, neighbors, teachers, and employers.

Yana also stated that violence committed by strangers also figure, especially with the advent of the age
of internet where perpetrators such as the sexual predators and trolls can come from other parts of the
world.

UNICEF: Social norms can leave children vulnerable to abuse

Rappler.com | October 10, 2018
Poverty, conflict, and natural disasters often leave children in harm’s way, but some Filipino social norms
may also deprive children of their rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Department
of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Tuesday, October 9.

In a press briefing on the sidelines of a report on the Situation Analysis of Children in the Philippines
launched Tuesday, UNICEF representative to the Philippines Lotta Sylwander explained long-held beliefs
and practices have contributed to children’s vulnerability, particularly when it came violence against
children.

“In so many fields we encounter social norms are the barriers, (rather than) services or poverty,”
Sylwander said.

Among the key findings on children in the Philippines were that 2 in 3 children experienced physical
violence, 2 in 5 psychological violence, 1 in 4 sexual violence, and 2 in 3 peer violence. According to
Sylwander, violence against children often took place at home. (READ: The effects of sexual harassment
on children)

Finding also showed that more males than females experienced sexual violence both at home and in
school with about 1 in 4 boys reporting some form of abuse while about 1 in 5 girls did.

“Majority of the abusers and perpetrators are mothers, fathers, siblings and cousins. In most cultures,
that’s unacceptable, it’s called incest and I’m sure it is here – no, I know it is here and its going on,”
Sylwander said, noting this was the case for children across all social classes.

She added, “And so there is something very seriously wrong with social norms if that’s going on at that
scale in the Philippines.”

Sylwander also pointed that such was the case when it came to disciplining children.

“Physical violence in itself – that it seemed to be the only resort in terms of disciplining children. That
there is no other way as a parent or a teacher to make your message heard as a child. That’s one
example where we believe we really need to work on the social norms,” she said.

Silence and stigma

According to DSWD Assistant Secretary Glenda Relova, social norms also affect child protection when it
comes to reporting cases of abuse.

“The culture of violence isn’t reported because of the stigma that once this child reports, it’s
unacceptable for the family…this “mahiyain” or shyness type, prevents children from articulating whats
really happening to them,” Relova said. (WATCH: Stop the silence)

Health and education, too

Apart from violence against children, Sylwander also said social norms could affect the health and
education of children.

This was seen in perceptions around sexuality and reproductive health, which have contributed to a rise
in teen fertility and new Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(HIV-AIDS) infections among the youth.

Data cited in the study showed a reverse in declining rates of birth rates with 59.2 among 1,000 births
occurring among those 15 to 19 years as compared to 49 births recorded in 1997. Between 2011 and
2015, there was also a 230% increase in newly-diagnosed HIV cases among adolescents and teenagers.

“At this rate that we have, the number of teenage pregnancies, the number of HIV infections, its going
to be devastating for the country. Unless people understand that it is really necessary for young people
to have access to both information and the services, its going to be very difficult for them,” Sylwander
said. (READ: WHO urges PH to 'give more attention' to growing number of HIV-AIDS cases)

Simple practices in hygiene such as washing one’s hands, which could reduce infections by 25%, she
said, were also not commonly practiced.

When it comes to education, the report noted boys were at a disadvantage as more dropped out of
basic education compared to girls.
Government data from 2013 showed 71.2% of girls were enrolled in secondary education as compared
to 58.9% of boys.

“So it’s not only enough, for example, for the 4Ps to be there because boys still don’t go to school. There
is something else. It’s not enough for the K-12 program to be established, to be available, there are
other stumbling blocks to that,” Sylwander said.

Fostering a pro-child environment

To address this, Unicef recommended government and institutions to build a “pro-child” environment.

This included creating laws that promoted children’s rights, better implementing policies in place, and
providing adequate funding to government agencies that worked to serve and protect children.
Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the situation of children would also help to improve their
position.

Sylwander added,”We can’t just cut corners in doing what’s best for children.”