Zamboanga Sibugay –The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office IX through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) – Municipal Operations Office of Payao held an orientation-seminar for the prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation of children on Friday (May 15).

Through the monthly Youth Development Session (YDS) held by the 4Ps Program, adolescents in the said municipality were able to attend the seminar on Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Materials (CSAEM), held at Tribal Hall, Barangay Balungisan.

The session aimed to provide a deeper understanding on OSAEC-CSAEM to keep children away from online activities that make them vulnerable to such offenses.

A Resource Person, Local Youth Development Officer from the Local Government of Payao, Francis Jan Leparto, RSW highlighted the importance of protecting children and youth from online sexual abuse, exploitation, and harmful online activities through awareness, guidance, and responsible digital engagement.

In analysis of the data of the Balay Dangpanan sa Kabataan (Home for Girls), a residential facility of DSWD Field Office IX for girls in extremely difficult circumstances, it has been found that children who belong to the poor sector are more likely to become victims, albeit not limited to OSEAC-CSAEM, but rather of sexual abuse of children, in general.

In the said facility, 5 out of 10 children are from 4Ps households.

4Ps Regional Program Coordinator in Region IX, Flordeliza A. Atuy, pushes to intensify efforts and campaigns on the protection of children through the Program’s Family Development Sessions (FDS) and Youth Development Sessions (YDS).

“We continue to create platforms that provide avenue for issues like this to be discussed, especially among young adolescents. It is important that they are aware and that they take action to protect themselves as much as adults do,” said Atuy.

DSWD extends its gratitude to its local counterparts in Payao, the local government unit and City Social Welfare and Development Office, for the collaborative efforts in YDS and support given to the 4Ps Program and its beneficiaries.

The YDS is a complementary learning to the Family Development Session (FDS). It provides additional learning intervention to adolescent children of 4Ps households by ensuring that they are capacitated to perform supportive functions in the achievement of the over-all well-being of the family.

YDS aims to engage the youth so that they become active and involved in their learning and development, and so that they acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will prepare them for adult life.