DUMAGUETE CITY – The local government has recorded a staggering rise in the number of sexually abused minors in the first six months of this year.
Compared with 33 cases in 2018, there have been 28 cases reported in the first six months of this year alone.
The number of barangay or villages with reported cases also grew from 13 in 2018 to 18 in the first six months this year, out of the city’s 30 villages.
The Child Protection Unit (CPU) of the City Social Welfare and Development Office reported that 15 out of the 28 victims were 3-14 years old, while 13 victims were 15-17 years old, all female. Most of the offenders were relatives of the victims, others were their neighbors and strangers, including a foreigner.
What alarmed the CPU was that five of the suspects were minors. They attributed this to easy access to internet pornographic materials through the cheap and popular “Piso Nets.”
Roselyn Frejoles, CPU social worker, said the local government would conduct lectures on the protocol in handling these cases.
She has recommended to the city government the hiring of a full-time psychologist to conduct regular psycho-social interventions on victims, their families and even the minor offenders. (Rommel F. Lopez with PNA)