The Great and the Good Defenders of Children

By Fr. Shay Cullen
The Preda
December 7, 2012

www.preda.org/en/news/fr-shays-articles/the-great-and-the-good-defenders-of-children/

It’s great to have the good news of the rescue of children from sexual exploitation. The rescue this week of six trafficked and commercially exploited children by police of the Criminal Investigative Detection Group(CIDG) from a sex bar in Isabela, Quirino, a remote town in the Philippines, just shows that police can make a difference.

It also shows just how widespread the sexual exploitation of children is. Not only in the red-light districts of many cities but in small towns and beach resorts, it is a money-making business. The trafficking of children and women is a multi-billion dollar business world-wide. Over two million are trafficked each year and most never get back home, they are lost forever.

Good that CIDG Director Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr. and his team are serious minded about saving children from this horrific, life destroying experience. The rape and murder of a 7 year old child in Laguna this week is like that of 7 year-old Mykie Prado, raped and murdered in Aklan over two years ago and whose suspected murderer is still at large ought to cause public outrage. But it does not.

These heinous crimes are becoming more frequent due to the depravity of the abusers influenced by child pornography, the laxity of enforcement, the influx of big paying sex tourists and the bad influence it has on local communities. If the foreigners can do it without being arrested local men may say, then it’s OK for us. Government must review the permissiveness of local authorities that give permits and licences to dens of prostitution and the havens of child traffickers. It’s a blight and a shame on the dignity and respect of our nation.

In past years during martial law, the media and this column exposed the commercial exploitation of children and the rampant paedophiles among the sex bars catering to US Navy personnel. The local officials declared this column persona non grata for allegedly destroying the good name of the city instead of thanking us for trying to save it.

Censorship raised its ugly head and this writer was put on trial to be convicted and deported. They failed, thanks to the defenders of human rights and the brave and God- loving publisher who never bowed to martial law or the ire of the dictator but exposed the evil trade in children as young as 9 years old.

Today, the evil trade it is still flourishing. We need more courageous journalists with a commitment to investigative journalism, so many have been murdered already. Despite the dangers, we need to expose the truth and help form public opinion with the truth and let this persuade the law enforcers and good politicians to really close down the trafficking syndicates and protect children and women.

Women’s groups in Europe are calling on the European Parliament to ban paying for sex .This proposed law is not to criminalise women but to protect them and prosecute the exploiters and buyers of sex. “Prostitution is a form of violence, an obstacle to equality, a violation of human dignity, and of human rights”, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) said recently to the European Parliament. They advised the members to look at the Swedish law that penalizes the procurers and pimps but not the women. It has reduced prostitution by 50% since 1999 in Sweden whereas it almost doubled in other nearby Scandinavian countries without such a law.

The women’s group pointed out that up to 95% of the women trafficked into prostitution were first demeaned and broken by being raped, sexually abused and exploited as children. They are deprived of their dignity and self esteem at a very young age and see themselves as worthless and despised and rejected by their families and friends. They are so demoralized and hopeless, they surrender to the power of the pimp and resign themselves to their fate with no one to turn to for help and relief. This is so very true of the Filipino children at the Preda Foundation Shelters for abused children and those rescued from traffickers and rapists.

Their path to recovery is through gaining respect, affirmation, friendship security, education and emotional release therapy in a happy vibrant family setting. We must recognize, praise and admire the good active prosecutors and judges who scorn the bribes and inducements and embrace the hard dangerous work of going after the child abusers and traffickers. May there be more of them and may they save many children.



Contact: shaycullen@preda.org