The Injustice that Leads to Violence

The massacre of 20 elementary school children and six teachers at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut on 14 December  2012  continues to mystify psychologists and social workers, they and most people cannot explain what drove the killer to such wanton violence. He killed his mother some hours earlier that day and as police closed in on him he shot himself dead inside the school. His father said recently in an interview he wished his son had never been born.

    

What is it that brings out such horrific violence  against innocent children perhaps anger at the injustice of being rejected unwanted and unloved. Was 20 year old  Adam Lanza  sexually abused as a child by unknown paedophiles.? Who can say? But one thing is certain rejected and abused children that suffer injustice can easily have a grudge and an abiding anger that can burst out in acts of violence as they grow to adulthood. The pain lingers and festers through childhood and can turn to hate and acts of revenge against perceived tormentors.

The lingering pain is the the  reality for the Filipino children that seek shelter ,peace and therapy at Preda Center in Olongapo City. They want to be healed from the  hurt and pain of  being  abused and raped. The effects of  the traumatic experience of rape and abuse they carry with them is deep anger and resentment  at the grave injustice done to them. They being young (some  3 to 16 years old ) they are weak, powerless and needing protection from  their abuser who in most cases is their own father, brother relatives, or the live-in partner of their mother, a paedophile .The child victims are distressed,depressed and even suicidal.

    

Some are abused in child care centers like that recent expose and arrest of an American donor and his three mangers of the Sankey Samaritan orphanage home in Lucena City. Which was a fake orphanage as discovered by the DSWD and the testimonies of the victims to the NBI revealed that it was a house of sexual abuse. What is more shocking is the  fact that the the accused foreigner went free and the alleged rapists got bail and can intimidate the victims.

Victims of sexual abuse so betrayed by rapists and the justice system can carry a deep sense of distrust and buried anger and even hatred of adults. It is a challenging task for the Preda therapists and social workers to befriend and reassure them that they can trust a human being again. They have suffered the worst betrayal possible to a human person. They bury the memory of that terrible crime committed against them in their hearts and souls, in their body and their minds.

They live in fear of the adult world. Some victims and survivors carry the pain and fear all their lives. Their abuser has threatened them and the members of their family. They cannot speak, silence is the only world they know. This fear and sense of abandonment by the adults who should be there to protect and help them have told them that they are worthless human beings and even blame them for seducing their abuser.

They are told that they had it coming. Their destruction as a person is complete, none, but a few, can ever live a normal life again and we should not be surprised  that some might grow into disoriented adults.

What is even worse is that few people believe or listen to them and the plight. There is no justice for them. This is the worst pain they can suffer. This can drive some victims to acts of violent revenge. Others are so damaged that a loving relationship and marriage is almost impossible. Violence and abuse and a broken family can be the likely outcome for many. When they seek justice their complaint is frequently left for months even years without action by the prosecutor. Then it is dismissed and the  sex abusers or traffickers go free with impunity.

In 2010 two Australians , Peter Nemes and Frances George Wood were charged before the  Regional Trail Court, Branch  26 in Laguna court with the rape of a 7 year old child, the evidence was strong and no bail should have been allowed yet the prosecutors recommended it and the judge complied. It was deemed legal but was it morally right?  Of course the accused disappeared back to Australia and arrest warrants were issued but never served despite the appeals and requests of the parents, For the damaged and abused child justice was defeated ,denied and the child betrayed.

There are most likely thousands of betrayals of justice for children and women in recent decades. Judgements that favor the child rapists and denies justice to the rape victims blackens the name of Philippine justice. The injustice has to be opposed  protested, spoken and written and broadcast about. The cries of the victims and the truth of their betrayal must be spread around the social media and the public must demand the  prosecutors and judges be brought to justice themselves.  Only when we break down the wall fear and silence will the truth be revealed. Don't be afraid, speak out. 

The Internet and Orphanage - Scenes of Child Abuse

Two major child abuse stories broke last week. The exposé of the deviant criminal behavior of paedophiles in the UK, America, and Australia and the Philippines who are sexually exploiting Filipino children through the internet, has been revealed in a BBC report which staff of the Preda Foundation in Olongapo city help them make.

In Lucena City, an orphanage, Sankey Samaritan Mission for poor children and youth was raided by the NBI and an American, Tom Randall and orphanage manager Toto Luchavez and his son, Jake Luchavez, were arrested and are charged with trafficking and child abuse based on strong testimony of some of the 31 victims.

The web-cam internet investigation, carried out by Tony Smith and Angus Crawford of the BBC shows that these paedophiles not only have thousands (one had 4 million) indecent images of children on their computer hard drives but pay gangs in the Philippines to get children to perform sexual acts online for them to watch. They traveled around the Philippines interviewing police, victims and social workers helping the children. Their next report will be to investigate the companies that allow this to happen and enable and abet the crimes against children through the internet.

The report that caused international reaction showed that even some relatives and parents  of the children allowed them to be trained to perform so as to earn money. The report showed cyber-dens in Cebu city slums where poor children are the most exploited. Some people think that such acts before a computer-connected camera will do no harm as the customer is far away but one child victim said that it makes them loose their dignity, innocence and purity. In other child web cam crimes, the children are not alone and sex acts between young boys and girls are ordered up.

The children are persuaded that it is just play and fun, but this is severely damaging to children. Besides, the criminals doing this use the web-cam sessions to make child pornography which they transmit across the internet for money to paedophile who will pay for it.

It is clear also that web-cam crime against children is a warm up for sexual assault. The paedophiles  soon get so aroused, they will abuse children in their own locality. This is not an evil done far away against Filipino children only but it is putting the children, where the paedophile is residing at greater risk. It is estimated that thousands of children are abused in this way.

Philippine police blame the Internet Server Corporations and cell phone companies for flouting the anti-child pornography law which mandates filtering of child pornography and any sexual images of children or illegal content passing through their servers. Republic Act 9775,under Section 9, says "The duties of  Internet Server Providers (ISPs) to monitor the content passing through their servers, notify the police of illegal content and provide the authorities the particulars of users who gained or attempted to gain access to an internet address which contains any form of child pornography.  All ISPs shall install available technology, program or software to ensure access to or transmittal of any form of child pornography will be blocked or filtered"

The National  Telecommunications Commission ((NTC) is supposed to oversee this also. The law says the ISPs at fault should pay a fine and have its license to operate revoked for non compliance.  But  the law is allegedly ignored, flouted and disobeyed. If so, it is a grave injustice to the Filipino people and the children worldwide.

The other child abuse scandal broke last week was that of a wealthy American Evangelist preacher, Tom Randall, and his Sankey Samaritan Mission orphanage house manager Toto Luchavez and son Jake Luchavez. The three were arrested by the NBI agents and charged in the multiple sexual abuse and exploitation of 31 children and youth.  The orphanage is in Lucena city, south of Manila. Seven of the 31 victims are minors; three boys and four girls. Those minors and youth over 18 years have made strong statements to rescuers and to the NBI that they were systematically, sexually abused since childhood in the orphanage.

Charges based on the strong sworn statements of the many victims have been filed with the prosecutors. The accused deny all wrongdoing. From the holding cell at the NBI headquarters, they amazingly have access to the internet and cell phones and are organizing a defense campaign on social media Facebook, proclaiming they are being set-up and persecuted by the Philippine authorities. Five previous investigations were allegedly squashed by higher authorities in Lucena city.

The victims say they were abused by the manager and his son and begged Randall to save them but allegedly he did nothing. Police suspect that Luchavez may have secret video evidence against Randall. This has yet to be ascertained. He might try to turn state witness to cut a deal with the prosecutors. Assistant Secretary of Justice Geronimo Sy is monitoring the case. The victims are under the care of the DSWD although they are asking to go to a private care center where they can get help to finish their studies and get professional therapy. This case is a challenge to the Philippine government, the people and defenders of human rights to see justice done for the victims without compromise, bribery, or skulduggery.