Sex Education and awareness is still not properly implemented. The prevalence of domestic violence has been shrugged off. People in the slums knew it existed but does not dare speak of it. The support and awareness of the plight of incest victims in the Philippines is still in its infancy and dismal in both material and legal support. Rape or sexual abuse is treated as if non-existent.
Incest in the Philippines is still taboo in discussion, even if the law have sighted several rights of women and children, the economic side of it still plays the big role in controlling the victims in speaking out. Those who are brave to speak out are either thrown out of their own homes or placed in a private care.
Very few organizations have offered a stable place for these victims. Those that houses incest victims have very limited access to personal hygience, education and support. Bahay Pangarap Women Center, Brgy. Tabe, Guiguinto, Bulacan is one of them. Although it is under the Diocese of Malolos, their operation is very dependent on the care and support of private individuals. Orphanages have better support than these type of havens. Some of these cases are very sensitive that children are guarded. Being active on these cases made me realize what we lack as a society being patriarchal in nature.
Bahay Pangarap is basically a halfway house for females in crisis, it is a temporary center for women suffering from abuse. It was meant to be a temporary shelter so that the women will be self-sufficient after being rehabilitated. But from those who understands what they have gone through, with how the judicial system in the Philippines is as slow as a snail in a rat race, the girls turns into woman before she can see and attain her justice. So in the meantime, the center becomes her home instead of a half way house.
The children can stay at the center after their case is litigated but having minimal funds to support their daily needs the center is heavily dependent on private support.
For sustainability, the center are upcycling junk food wrappers to wallet and bags, sell dishwashing liquid, sews rags and create beautiful rosaries for visitors.
This is my third year of involving my Grade 5 students from Livingstone International School and making them aware that an advocacy is not one dimensional. When the care recipients from the center create new things out of the food wrappers they are helping the environment, and in return when they buy the upcycled items from the care recipient's they are helping create sustainability.
