This was my first question to Anna (photo on the left), a 15 year old high school student who just attended a CSAP session conducted by our Silang partner trainer, Ate Bing. Anna then told me that it was quite a pleasant surprise that the subject was about Child Sexual Abuse prevention, as they don’t talk about it in the school too much not within her family.  She also said that she liked the animations, in particular “Daughter” as it shows something that is not commonly talked about openly. She then states that she thinks CSAP sessions should be given to all students, from 1st year to 4th year as it would help them have raised awareness regarding this issue.

Anna is just one of the several students that undergo CSAP sessions done by the local Social Welfare and Development office in Silang, Cavite using Stairway's animations.  The said sessions started when several stakeholders from the municipality, including the local Social Welfare and Development office, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Police attended a CSAP training, wherein, they all agreed that this is something that should be actively advocated in the locality.

The sessions are facilitated using Stairway's animations, and are non-formal in nature.

Discussions form a large bulk of the process, wherein children and youth are given the opportunity to speak out what is on their minds with regards to the issue. Ate Bing notes that there is still a substantive number of cases being handled by their office, but the difference is that they are not lost in the dark on how to address it, and more importantly, partners such as schools welcome them openly whenever they conduct CSAP sessions as the schools themselves also see the need for active prevention work.  

And as what Anna said after the interview, sessions like these should be done because children like them don’t have the opportunity to discuss openly issues such as these.