Church warns against ‘hidden’ sexual abuse

MANILA, Philippines–The head of the Catholic Church-attached Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children (SPCC) has warned about what she called “hidden” sexual abuse, noting that many victims choose to suffer in silence because sometimes immediate family members are involved.

Sister Adel Abamo, SPCC executive director, in an article in CBCP News, the official news website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said that “many abused women and children are forced to keep silent because they lack support from family members.”

“In some cases, the mothers of the victims themselves keep silent,” she said, where the abusers are their husband and the father of the children.

According to Abamo, “denial on the part of the mother could be very deep, forcing the daughter to choose silence and grief, profoundly hurting the daughter.”

Some mothers, she said, deny the culpability of their husbands, causing the daughters to keep the sexual abuse incidents unresolved and unreported to the authorities.

Church as first refuge

In the article, Abamo said abused women and children had found refuge in the Church, noting a pattern observed over the 13-year experience of child welfare advocates.

“Young people who are sexually and physically abused choose to open up to the Church first rather than to government authorities,” she said.

Sexual abuse experiences “manifest negative behaviors like irritability, fear, hopelessness and even mental breakdowns,” she warned.

But there is “good news” for sexually abused women and children, said Abamo.

Established in 2001 by the Sisters of the Divine Savior, or SDS, the SPCC program has been a “refuge” for victims of sexual abuse.

“In the group, they can unload their emotional baggage, regain hope and rebuild their lives,” the SPCC head said.

Sexual abuse victims are “evaluated by SPCC social workers to determine their needs. They may also file criminal charges or seek temporary shelter.”

Abamo said, however, that “many parish priests do not realize the importance of having women and children’s welfare programs” in their areas.

So far, the SPCC program has been adopted by only six parishes in Novaliches and three in Cebu.

That is why, she said, the SPCC was encouraging every parish to “set up welfare and protection programs for women and children since victims of sexual abuse normally do not go to the barangay to complain.”