Warning: Sharp Edges
To be locked inside our homes where we thought we are safest is a sigh of relief for the privileged but a weep of blood from the lifeless eyes of the oppressed youth. With the looming threat amid the pandemic, the aftermath of the economic and labor shock has undoubtedly faltered the revolutionary strides against child labor. A glimpse of greased faces and calloused hands instead of books on grasp is the hammering reality in some of today’s youth.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the unemployment rate climbed up to 17.7% in April 2020 resulting from an economic shutdown. It cannot be denied that households in dire need will exhaust all means to survive even to the extent of child exploitation. In fact, the 2011 PSA Survey on Children showed that there are 2.1 million child laborers in the country. This exploit extends even in middle-income countries as Asia and the Pacific region ranks second across the world concerning this stigma.
Not all are born in a cozy and nurturing nest for some youth are forced to engage in hazardous works. Even worse, the online sexual trade of children has escalated, in which it is truly inhumane for parents to allow their children to be harassed by perpetrators, even just through photos and videos being sold on the internet. Undeniably, such juvenile oppression is something we should not turn a blind eye upon for every child deserves a safe space free from being objectified and demoralized.
In relation, lockdowns have propelled economic insecurity and paralyzed supply chains across the world, as published by United Nations Children’s Fund and International Labour Organization. In informal family-based enterprises, production grows inside homes making the youth vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. Along with the surge of cost-cutting, some children are in danger of being taken advantage of while businesses reopen. Aside from scant and unjust pay, child laborers are exposed to the risk of being infected with the virus.
With the existing contagion, the crisis pushed schools to close their doors for months and pulled impoverished children back to ill-fated underage employment. Bearing in mind the released enrolment turnout by DepEd that comprised only 90.14% of the previous school year, some children who may have dropped out of school for the shift to distance learning may be inapplicable to the unprivileged that lacks the necessary equipment or study area at home. That is why the education sector must strengthen monitoring systems for out-of-school youths and enforce programs to ensure learning continuity that is inclusive for all.
Despite movement restrictions, no crisis should be a barrier in providing social protection for children. Adhering to the Philippine Program Against Child Labor and laws that govern it such as Republic Act No. 9231, the government should continue upholding children’s rights through protection policies and providing cash assistance to poverty-stricken families.
To ask children to paint a picture depicting how they see the world is to wander through a room adorned with artworks from different walks of life. Every brush has its own story, every stroke tells different tales, and every color radiates different hues of emotion. A canvas may be painted with luxury or with despair, but every child dreams of a world free from tears and fears. I refuse to see the same monochrome of daunted heartbeats in the next generation for you and I can start coloring the shadows of the unseen and unheard into a vibrant one.
By: Louiel Jay Concepcion
