The city government has partnered with the division office of the Department of Education and non-government organization Talikala Inc. in crafting policies that will protect children from sexual abuse.
At the virtual launching of the partnership on Tuesday, Mayor Sara Duterte said that children must be provided with education as this has remained the main tool for them not only to succeed but to protect them from the perils that they will meet as they grow up.
In the presentation of the City Social Services and Development Office, there were 284 rape cases in the city in the last two years and that some of the victims were children as young as five years old.
Among the initiatives is the formulation of the Child Protection Policy module which will be launched soon.
Duterte said the modules “shall complement our existing child protection measures, the centers for children managed by the City Social Welfare and Development Office and the programs implemented by the integrated gender and development division in coordination with other government agencies, and the Kean Gabriel hotline.”
The modules will form part of the instructional materials from grade school to senior high school both in public and private schools in the city.
With the module, the mayor said, “children will be armed with appropriate information and awareness,” as it will teach them how to protect themselves from sexual abuse, exploitation and discrimination.
She said this becomes more necessary ” thiin this digital age as young people are exposed to various dangers online and offline.”
“With today’s launch, we reaffirm our commitment to our children and we ask all Dabawenyos for your support and active involvement in all initiatives that protect our children from sexual abuse, exploitation, and discrimination so that they face their future with hope and confidence in who they are and what they will achieve,” she said.
“I would like to remind everyone to report any incident of child abuse to our hotlines and incident of rape to our IGDD (Integrated Gender and Development Division). We have lawyers who are assisting rape victims,” she added.
Present during the launching were lawyer Sharmaine Valentin, Supt Reynaldo Villena of of the schools division and City Police Office Director Kirby John Kraft.
