As the agency mandated to promote and protect children’s rights and well-being, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and its attached agency, the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), call on the public to become part of the solution to prevent child sexual abuse in their own families and communities.

The call was made as the nation observes the 20th National Awareness Week for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAAW) on February 8-13, 2016, with the theme, “I AM THE SOLUTION”.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman stated, “It is the responsibility of every citizen to be vigilant and immediately report abuses committed against children in their families and communities to the authorities.”

Sec. Soliman also reiterated the importance of implementing Presidential Decree 603 which mandates that every city and municipality in the Philippines should have a Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) as one way to help curb all forms of abuse against children.

The BCPC is a council organized at the barangay level that ensures the promotion and protection of children’s well-being and welfare. Ideally, a functional BCPC creates a caring environment wherein children fully enjoy their rights, are protected and reared in a society that provides wholesome and proper child development.

The BCPC shall also be responsible for the proper and effective implementation of public programs for children and the maintenance of database system at the barangay level.

To usher in the week-long celebration, more than 600 children, youth, parents, and officials from Quezon City local government unit, national agencies, and non-government organizations (NGOs) will participate in the kick-off activity of the event on February 8, 2016 at the Liwasang Aurora, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City.

The kick-off will be highlighted by a video campaign with people and stakeholders’ expressions of commitment and support to end sexual abuse among children, and by the presentation of the study entitled “They Shamed Me: A Baseline Study on the Vulnerabilities of Street Boys to Sexual Exploitation in Manila”.

A series of activities will also be held from February 7 to 13, including Safer internet Day Campaign led by the Stairway Foundation, a partner non-government organization of DSWD and CWC; and, a Roundtable Discussion on Sexual Exploitation of Children study in the National Capital Region, among others. ###