Menace Against Minors

The scene has become frighteningly familiar. A mother starves her own children. A drunk Father comes home and beats up his nine year old son usual- but on this occasion He uses a hammer. A teenager, babysitting for young nieces and nephews, gets irritated and throws a child against a wall. A Grandfather wanting to fullfill his lust, rapes his own grand daughter.

How shocking to our moral sensitivities is the growing epidemic of child abuse. In 1995, a total of 3,040 cases of child abuse was reported by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 75 percent of these being sexual abuse. In the US that same year, a total of 2,000 children died at the hands of their parents or caretakers. Some 18,000 suffered permanent disabilities from abuse or neglect while 141,700 sustained serious or near-fatal injuries. Philippine government estimates that 2.9 million Filipino children are especially difficult circumstances today, suffering from neglect or physical and sexual abuse. To that may be added the exploitation of minors in child labor and the child sex trade patronized by pedophiles.

What are the causes of child abuse?

alcohol and drugs, poverty, loss of moral values and the breakdown of the family system are often cited as culprits. In the midts of the outcry againts child abuse, we can be thankful that society today views child maltreatment not merely as a social problem, but a criminal issue. The root causes have to be addressed seriously and swiftly.

There are several ways you can personally help minimize, if not curb, the problem of child abuse:

1. Support broad and comprehensive child abuse policies such as REPUBLIC ACT 7610:

This new law is mandated to protect children against abuse, prostitution, trafficking and exploitation. This viral piece of legislation needs resolute enforcement and cannot be left to the PNP and the NBI alone. We need help to the citizenry, the community. Report to the police or the DSWD for any sign of major trouble against minors. If we only act as our brothers keeper, this will be a deterrent against would be abusers.

1. Stand up against bigoted behaviour or comments:

No longer use violent and abusive language. Verbal abuse usually precedes physical abuse. Its an indicator that should not be ignored. Stand against it courageously. But first, remove your own verbal garbage. Victims need no longer be intimidated by the culture of silence that keeps them from speaking out. Dont be muted by this great evil. Call it by its right name. If technology conquered the speed of silence. For to be quite now is tantamount to being an accomplice. The boldness of the predator is in no small part due to the silence of lambs.

1. Assess and address the level of violence in your personal relationships:

Change in society must begin in us, and no other person knows you better than yourself. While the community must take a united front againts child abuse, each person in that community must assess his own personality and check for abuse-proneness in his behaviour.

Government, the church, media or the private sector alone would not be able to halt the menace against minors. It will require personal vigilance and accountability on our part.