Two thousand young people gathered from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao on November 15, to take action on the grappling issue of the Philippines’ severe child protection crisis in celebration of National Children Month.
The I Am Brave National Convention was organized by the Laura Vicuna Foundation Inc. (LVF) and held at the Coliseum of Victorias City, Negros Occidental. Various research in 2022 states that nearly half a million Filipino children have been trafficked to produce child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), making it the hub of child pornography.
The country ranks 7th globally in modern slavery prevalence, with Palawan tagged as a backdoor to Malaysia for human trafficking in 2018. Additionally, bullying in public schools has reached alarming levels, with the Philippines topping the PISA 2018 rankings, the press release said.
The Laura Vicuña Foundation (LVF) of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, for three decades, has taken significant steps to address these alarming issues with the Child Protection Clinic on Wheels to advocate for the prevention of child abuse and trafficking in Luzon and in the Visayas. Sr. Marivic Sta. Ana, FMA, LVF’s Executive Director, said that the initiative aims to bring together and empower young people to become advocates for safeguarding human dignity and protecting themselves and their peers against all forms of abuse.
The launch of the I Am Brave Movement served as a platform to unite voices nationwide and re-creating a respectful, nurturing, and safer world. Speakers shared valuable insights from human rights, theological, gender, and legal perspectives, providing a comprehensive understanding of the issue and the steps necessary to combat it.
Participants pledged to be Buddies — compassionate allies who inspire and uphold the movement’s mission. With their voices amplified, these young leaders bring a message of hope and resilience, ensuring the fight against exploitation and abuse continues beyond this event.
A notable program highlight was the roundtable discussion featuring student leaders whose fresh perspectives and enthusiasm helped chart actionable ways to uphold the movement’s goals. Why Buddies? Sr. Sta. Ana said, Disclosures of abuse are usually done with close friends, so we are mobilizing peers or buddies to reject abuse, violence, and exploitation, which includes trafficking.
This extraordinary event marked the launch of the I Am Brave movement, honored by the presence of LVF’s esteemed Board of Trustees: Francisco Dizon, Vicky and Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Atty. Eric and Bea Puno, Bledes Fores Legarda, Sr. Teresita Padron and Sr. Marivic P. Sta. Ana, FMA.
At the heart of the LVF #iamBRAVE movement is the commitment of young adults to embrace and to promote its fundamental values: protecting oneself and others from any form of abuse and respecting others’ dignity, rights and safe spaces. Sr. Marivic Sta. Ana, FMA stated that this national convention is just the beginning; LVF started provincial and regional initiatives, which went national. She hopes that this initiative will reach other parts of the globe.*