A CENTER to accommodate men who are victims of abuse and violence is underway, an official from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) XI revealed.
Jovelyn Trajano, DSWD XI Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking Violence Against Women lead secretariat, said abused men cannot share the same shelter area as women considering the trauma suffered by victims from the opposite gender.
Trajano noted the agency runs a male facility but it’s limited to children in conflict with the law.
“As of the moment, we are still in the process of putting up a center for them. We have one center already established, but is not yet operational,” Trajano said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw, on March 11.
The official said they conducted a rescue operation for a boy victim survivor of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) last month.
She said there were fewer exploited men than women since only two clients for OSAEC and trafficking have been received by the office for 2023 and one so far this year.
The male victim-survivors were rescued through operations, meaning they did not report their cases. Trajano said the rescue materialized through the help of law enforcement agencies.
“If there is still stigma, I still consider that there really is stigma at the moment considering the data showing zero number of men who reported their case,” Trajano added, stressing that complaints started from the law enforcement and not from the victims themselves.
DSWD urged the public to report to their local government units as gender development does not only emphasize women but the entirety of the population.
