As a result of working directly with children for years, Stairway realized a great majority of children in its program had been victims of some form of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.  This sad revelation compelled the organization to confront the reality.  Over the past years, SFI has joined forces with local and international network of partners in the fight against child sexual abuse.

ADVOCACY and CAPACITY BUILDING

Animations against Child Sexual Abuse

The apparent lack of good materials to build and increase awareness on the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation inspired us to create and to produce innovative materials for advocacy and education.  To date Stairway Foundation can be credited for its exemplary works that address the sensitive issue of child sexual abuse.

 

Children’s Rights/Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Workshops

For the past three years, Stairway has offered a range of Children's Rights and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Workshops for children and adults.  The mode of presentation of the workshops consist of the use of the "Daughter" and "A Good Boy" animations as well as other creative and interactive activities used to teach about personal safety.

In 2004 alone, we facilitated a total of 35 workshops reaching 1,069 persons, 638 children and 431 adults. The child participants came from different backgrounds; they were the rural school children, children from the streets, children in detention, children in rural and urban depressed communities, and our resident kids. The adult participants were teachers, social workers, center caregivers, church leaders, health personnel, social work students, parents and also the indigenous people

 

Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse

Stairway has evolved to offer treatment to help child victims of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Our workers have extensive experience and knowledge in counseling and psychotherapeutic techniques.  Further, the multitude of creative activities utilized in Stairway's daily program are also interwoven into the treatment program to effect healing and restoration in a safe environment. 

 

Local Initiatives

Puerto Galera has been known as a popular tourist haven for both local and foreign pedophiles.  With the sudden boom in tourism, there has been an alarming rise in the numbers of child victims of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation in the community, especially amongst impoverished and indigenous children. 

One prime objective in our Advocacy and Capacity Building Program is to reduce child victimization in our community by involving children, parents, teachers, official key organizations and the community at large.  Thus far, all teachers in our community have been trained to teach Personal Safety in their classes.  Over the course of the school year, children and parents will have received instructions on personal safety.

 

Children in Detention

For nearly two years, Stairway has held a number of training and prevention workshops for the children and adult inmates in BBBRC, a detention center near Manila.  The conditions the children live in are unjust and inhumane. Physical, emotional abuse of children by adult inmates is a huge problem, but coupled along with sexual abuse complicates the problem even more so.  Children become more deeply traumatized from the experience that any attempt at treatment becomes moot. This creates an even larger burden on an already overburden system. 

Since working with the BBBRC, we have helped to develop a policy in line with the CRC for the protection of the children.  As a result, children no longer reside with adult inmates and adult inmates, who would have access to the children, must be carefully screened and must undergo a mandatory training workshop on children's rights and child sexual abuse prevention. 

 

Collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development

Stairway works closely with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in training social workers around the region as well as social worker students on the issue of child sexual abuse.  The collaboration provides a rich opportunity for bringing the issue of child sexual abuse to college campuses.

 

 

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