Break

the Silence
Session 1.2
Understanding
Child Sexual Abuse

LAC Session Guides for Teachers on Child Protection DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Message
We all come to face every school year with excitement. As we do, schools must be
prepared to receive Filipino children in their physical or virtual classrooms. All schools
prepare enormously for the opening of classes its physical environment considering
safety and security, health and wellness of everybody especially in times of pandemic
and disaster. They trammel plans, programs, priorities and implementation problems,
strategies, and lessons for integration in all their initiatives.

School readiness becomes the toast of all stakeholders as always, and they can offer
more. Teachers’ professional development complements the schools’ physical readiness.
By equipping them with skills and knowledge on child protection policies and practices,
we improve the schools’ readiness to handle any form of child abuse and nurture
their wellbeing.

The Child Protection policy must be integral in all professional development activities
for teachers such as the Learning Action Cells (LACs), Lesson Study Groups, Communities
of Practice (COPs), and other cliques in the schools. Through this, we increase their
awareness and accountability in ensuring safety and protection in the schools.

As well, the challenge and encouragement for them is having child protection concepts
implemented in the homes. It will require parents and teachers’ assemblies, or home-
room parents’ meetings complemented by the local governments to draw wider influence.

Filipino children are at the heart of this policy. All policies and practices must lead to
growing this path for their future. While doing these, the teachers’ understanding
and practices also grow and align with these policies, and the schools become more
child-friendly.

This is why I am proud and grateful to share with the Philippine schools the LAC Session
Guides on Child Protection made by the DepEd in partnership with Stairway Foundation.
And with the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) in its role out,
we expect the schools and teachers to greatly help decrease, if not eradicate, all
forms of abuses and violence possible in school, at home, and in the community for
a safer Philippines.

Let us continuously protect our learners as we promote peace and order. We count
on all of you. Mabuhay ang mga gurong Pilipino!

DIOSDADO M. SAN ANTONIO

Undersecretary
Department of Education
Office of the Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction

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Message
Protecting our children means saving our future as it holds the foundations of our
children’s well-being that shall allow them to thrive and develop to their full potential.
As a learner-centered public institution, the Department of Education (DepEd) has
always been committed to the continuous improvement of policies, programs, and
projects to ensure that learners can grow up safely in their homes and families and
can be free from all types of neglect, violence, and abuse - which is part of the
Department’s legal, ethical, and moral responsibility.

Pre-pandemic, learners spend most of their time in schools, inside the classrooms
with their peers and teachers, as well as other school personnel. Furthermore, there
are also means of communicating face-to-face with our learners on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, homes eventually
transformed into schools and interaction between teachers and learners decreased
tremendously. A school is considered a learner’s second home and given this health
crisis, safeguarding and promoting the rights and welfare of our children has become
much more complex. However, as educators, we have the duty to urgently respond
and adapt to these changes, especially with the fact that our children can be subjected
to all forms of violence and exploitation anywhere and at any point in time.

In light of this, the Department of Education, in partnership with Stairway Foundation Inc.,
and in conjunction with the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), en-
visions the continuity of child protection professional development resources for our
teachers. Included in these Learning Action Cell (LAC) Session Guides are mechanisms to
further improve how teachers can effectively respond to and address child protection
concerns, and a comprehensive framework on how to develop learners’ self-awareness
of their rights, as well as their vulnerability to exploitation. For our dearest teachers,
I hope that these shall inspire your spirit of serving and promoting the safety of our
learners. Together with the Stairway Foundation, Inc. and the NEAP, we will continue
to reinforce stronger social protection measures, capacity-building programs, and
engagements with communities, parents, and guardians. In this time of adversity, we
must aim to provide a child-friendly, safe, and motivating environment for our learners,
wherever they are and whatever challenges we might face in the future.

Lagi’t lagi, serbisyo para sa ating mga Bata!

ATTY. REVSEE A. ESCOBEDO

Undersecretary
Field Operations, Palarong Pambansa
Secretariat, and DEACO

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Message
My warmest greetings.

A safe environment for learning is crucial in the holistic development of children in

schools. Since educators are at the forefront of ensuring that this safe learning
environment is achieved, teachers need to be equipped with knowledge and skills that
can support them in helping the learners protect themselves both online and offline.

With or without the pandemic, educators must continuously keep up with the fastpaced
development of digital technology. But with the increased need for Internet use at
present, our learners have become more at risk from its dangers, especially with the
rise in the number of reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in the Philippines
in 2020.1

In order to reinforce the Department’s policy to promote and maintain zero tolerance
to all forms of violence against children, the Child Protection Unit (CPU) was created
with the aim of “establish[ing] a mechanism to fully operationalize, implement, and
coordinate programs, projects, and activities pertaining to child protection.”2

The LAC Session Guides, co-implemented by the Department with Stairway Foundation,
Inc., as part of the accredited training program on child protection of the National
Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) will definitely aid the newly created CPU
in realizing one of its goals, that of enabling educators from all over the Philippines in
matters pertaining to child protection, especially in the context of the pandemic.

It is hoped that through these LAC Session Guides, teachers will acquire knowledge
and skills that will help them gain appreciation of their very important role in the
healthy development of our learners, and inspire them to take action in promoting
the right of the child to special protection.

ATTY. SUZETTE GANNABAN-MEDINA

Officer-in-Charge, Assistant Regional Director
DepEd MIMAROPA and
Officer-in-Charge, Child Protection Unit Head

1. Based on data from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children
2. DepEd Order 03, s. 2021 4
Message
Stairway Foundation envisions a safe environment for all children where their rights
are equally respected. Through innovation, creative excellence and professional
networking, we are committed to continuously learn from our experience and manifest
our gains as a resource to inspire and educate partners to protect and promote children’s
rights. Children have been at the heart of what we do for more than 30 years now.

The COVID19 Pandemic has significantly changed the landscape of education and the
lives of children in the Philippines. With limited or no face-to-face classes, many children
spend more time online to ensure learning continuity. Unfortunately, this also increases
their risk of exposure to online child sexual abuse and exploitation, along with other
online child protection concerns. The challenge to protect our children goes beyond
the real world (offline). It now extends to the online world, also known as cyber space.

This Break the Silence (BTS) – Child Protection Learning Action Cell (LAC) Guide is
another product of a long and fruitful partnership between Stairway and the Department
of Education. The Guide is composed of 6 sessions that aim to further build up knowledge,
attitude and skills on child protection among our educators. We hope the Guide will
help to make educators more comfortable and confident to integrate child online
protection in their lesson plans, with emphasis on child sexual abuse and exploitation
prevention. We use the term “Break the Silence” with reference to the important advocacy
on this issue.

It takes a village to not only raise a child, but to also protect a child. It requires
collaborative effort and action from everyone for child protection to truly succeed.
We are grateful to work with partners like the Department of Education and the
National Educators Academy of the Philippines in pursuit of our shared vision and
commitment to protect children.

LARS C. JORGENSEN
Executive Director
Stairway Foundation, Inc.

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 I. Knowledge, Skills and Attitude
A deeper understanding of the issue of Child Sexual Abuse as a means to
contribute to the implementation of the DepEd child protection policy.

II. Materials and reference

• Meta cards
• Masking Tape
• Marker
• Copy of Republic Act 7610 (anti-child abuse law) 1
• Copy of Executive Summary of the National Baseline Study on Violence
Against Children, 2016 Philippines 2

III. Objectives
At the end of the session, participants will be able to;
• Define what child sexual abuse is and identify how it is perpetrated
• Discuss the factors which contribute to its perpetration

IV. Approximate Duration

2 hours

V. Importance
Say:
As we have discussed in our previous LAC session, child sexual abuse is considered
as a violation of children’s rights to protection. Children, who become victims
of child sexual abuse, are also at risk of having other rights affected, which
include the right to survival, development and participation. As teachers, we
have the responsibility to protect our learners from sexual abuse, through
either prevention or proper response. However, in order for us to do this more
effectively, we must first fully understand the issue of child sexual abuse.

With this LAC session, we shall further understand the issue of child sexual
abuse, including how it is being perpetrated. Since we shall be discussing sexual
violence as a topic, it is important for every one of us to be sensitive to how the
topic might affected us during the discussion. If you feel extremely uncomfortable
about the discussion, you may opt to excuse yourself from the session, but you
must also ensure that you seek support.

1. https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-7610-special-protection-of-children-against-abuse-exploitation-and-discrimination-act/
2. https://www.unicef.org/philippines/media/491/file/National%20Baseline%20Study%20on%20Violence%20Against%20
Children%20in%20the%20Philippines:%20Results%20(executive%20summary).pdf 6
 Note to the facilitator:
In the course of this LAC session, specific cases of learners might be discussed.
Ensure that learner’s confidentiality shall be protected. If the case example to
be shared by participants has not entered into the case referral protocols of the
school, one must ensure that this will be entered via the official DepEd case
referral protocols.

VI. Sharing Session

Welcome the teachers and thank them for coming to the LAC Session. Prepare
them for the ice breaker called “I felt, I learned, I want”.

Ice breaker
1. Provide participants 3 metacards each. For each metacard, they will
write one sentence starting with the following phrases;
a. I felt (what you felt during the last LAC session)
b. I learned (what you learned from the last LAC session)
c. I want (what you are expecting for this LAC session)
2. Give participants 10 minutes to complete the 3 phrases.
3. After completing the 3 phrases, ask each one to share what they have
written in their metacards, and post in any in open space in the session venue.
4. Complete the activity in 30 minutes.

Processing
After the plenary sharing, ask participants the following questions via a
plenary discussion;
1. What did you feel when you were sharing your answers within your group?
2. What were the common things you noticed based on the sharing of your
co-participants?
3. As teachers, how important is it for us to have discussed Children’s Rights
in the last LAC session?

Tell participants:
It’s important for all of us to remember that our work in protecting children
should always be based on children’s rights.

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VII. Discussion
Introduce the session. Say: We are now going to dive deeper towards under-
standing the issue of child sexual abuse, including the factors that contribute
to its perpetration. I invite everyone to have an open mind in this LAC session,
as some of the topics might be uncomfortable to discuss. However, it is important
that we are able to discuss this openly and constructively in order to be in a
better position to fulfill our mandate as teachers to protect our learners and
to promote children’s rights.

Trigger Material/Activity: “Alligator River Story”

1. Ask participants to divide themselves into 2 to 3 groups.
2. Inform them that you will be reading a story (or if resources allow, print
copies of the alligator river story).
3. There shall be 5 characters in the story, and as a group, they have to rank
these 5 characters from rank 1, most to blame, to rank 5, least to blame.
4. Further, explain that most to blame pertains to having caused most harm
and problems in the story.
5. Ask them to write their group rankings via metacards (with one character
written per metacard).

Alligator River Story:

Once upon a time, there was a 15 year old girl named Abigail, who was in love
with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived
on the opposite shore of the river. The river, which separated the two lovers
was teeming with man eating alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be
with Gregory. In order for Abigail to cross the river, she had two choices. One
was to take a wooden bridge, and another was to take the only boat, which
dared cross the river. She decided to take the bridge, since it was faster, and it
was free. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out the day before, so
she had no choice but to take the boat. So she went to ask Sinbad (an adult),
the river boat captain, to take her across. She was wearing a tight skirt and a
low-cut blouse, because she wanted to look sexy for Gregory. Sinbad said that
he would take her across; however, the look in his eyes frightened Abigail.
So, she excused herself, telling Sinbad she forgot something, and went to her
friend Ivan and explained her plight to him. She asked Ivan if he could accompany
her, because she felt safer this way (she didn’t want to be alone with Sinbad).
Ivan said he loves her as a friend, but did not want to be involved at all in the
situation, since Sinbad had a certain “reputation” in the community. Instead,
Ivan gave Abigail the advice that she should just wait for the bridge to be repaired.
Abigail nodded, but she still wanted to see Gregory badly, and she felt that her
only option was to take the ferry, even though she did not trust Sinbad.

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Abigail went back to Sinbad and clearly told him that the only reason she was
taking his boat was to see her boyfriend Gregory at the other side of the river.
After leaving the river shore, Sinbad told Abigail that she was so beautiful and
sexy, and that he couldn’t control himself, and he had to go to bed with her.
When Abigail refused, Sinbad said that he was a reasonable man, and that she
had 2 options. Sleep with him and he would deliver her safely to the other side,
or refuse to sleep with him, but this would mean he did not want her in his
boat, and she had to jump into the river. Sinbad promised that no one would
know about it if she slept with him, and that he would deliver her safely to the
other side. Abigail was afraid of being eaten alive by the alligators, and she did
not see any other alternative for herself, so she did not resist Sinbad. After the
sexual act, Sinbad delivered her to the other shore where Gregory lived.

When Abigail told Gregory what had happened to her, he viewed her as asking for
it, because of the way she was dressed. He saw her as unclean and cast her aside
with disdain. Gregory also felt insulted, because another man had “used” his girl.

Heart struck and dejected, Abigail turned to Slug, who was a black belt in Karate.
Slug felt anger for Gregory and compassion for Abigail. He sought out Gregory
and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed at the sight of Gregory getting his
due. As the sun set on the horizon, we could hear Abigail laughing at Gregory.

Note to the Facilitator

One may print the story, or even better, retell it orally. In reading the story, you
must ensure that you do not express any bias. The story was made to ensure
that cues of Abigail being the victim is not overly emphasized, ensuring that we
test participants’ own judgement on victimization and sexual abuse.

Processing
1. Ask each group to report back their rankings, explaining why and how
they arrived at their ranking.

2. After the group discussion, inform participants that a short workshop

shall be facilitated. Post 4 metacards in any space in the session room,
with the following words written in the metacards;
a. What can you say about Abigail?
b. How can we best describe what Sinbad did to Abigail?
c. Was Abigail a victim? Why do you say so?
d. Was Sinbad’s behavior normal as a man? Why do you say so?
e. Did Abigail give consent to what Sinbad did to her? Why do you say so?
f. Who does each character represent in our society, especially in the
context of the lives of our learners?

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Note to the Facilitator
Complete the whole activity within 30-45 minutes (breakout group plus discussions).
Expect that there shall be difference in opinions once you facilitate the discussion
on the alligator river story, thus, it is important to remind them to discuss the
issues, rather than “attacking” their co-participants if they have conflicting
points of view.

The following are the specific inputs that you as a facilitator can provide after
having asked all the questions. Also, based on the provided answers, you may
provide follow up questions, or ask other participants, what they can say about
the answers of their co-participants.
a. What can you say about Abigail?
• Although at first, a common reaction might be to blame Abigail, we
must remember that she is still a child (a child is legally defined as
someone below 18 years of age, or those above 18 but might not be
able to take care of themselves because of certain conditions such as
a disability). Abigail is a victim of child sexual abuse.
• Possible follow up questions with corresponding answers;
o Is Abigail still a child?
- Yes, she is, as children are defined under our laws
as anyone below the age of 18 years old, or those older, but cannot fully
take care of themselves because of certain conditions.
o Why did Abigail act the way she did? – It is hard to tell because of other
missing information, but considering that she is a teenager, it is natural
for them to be impulsive, as they have not yet fully developed their critical
thinking skills. The important aspect to remember here is that Abigail
lacked the proper support systems and was manipulated, and then later
coerced by Sinbad.
o Was Abigail a victim? Why do you say so? - Yes, Abigail was a victim, which
is clearly defined under Republic Act 7610.

b. How can we best describe what Sinbad did to Abigail?

• What Sinbad did, as an adult, is clearly child sexual abuse. Child Sexual
Abuse is considered a crime under Republic Act 7610, under the defini-
tion of child abuse. Child Sexual Abuse or Violence, is defined under
the National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children as “an act
which is sexual in nature that is committed against a child without her
consent, which includes the following; taking photos or sex videos of
being naked or engaging in sexual activities, unwanted touch, forced
attempted sex, and forced consummated sex.”
• Possible follow up questions with corresponding answers;
o Was Sinbad’s behavior normal as a man? Why do you say so? - We should
never normalize sexual violence or coercion amongst men. Normalizing
the said behavior, unfortunately, affects the perception of the act as a
lesser crime, and reduces the accountability we are placing on offenders.

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 o Was Abigail “asking for it”? – No. The way one dresses is not a license for
anybody else to commit sexual violence to the person. Regardless of the
dress, the blame should be on the perpetrator. If it was the dress, then
we have to consider the fact that there are many rape victims, who were
sexually violated even if they were wearing “non-revealing” clothes.

c. Did Abigail give consent to what Sinbad did to her? Why do you say so?
• Consent is defined as the act of voluntary agreeing to something (eg
an act). However, in the case of Abigail and Sinbad, the circumstances
necessitated for Abigail to choose between 2 options – to have sex
with Sinbad, or to jump into the river, which would mean death. Both
options led to harm, which can’t be considered consent, but rather,
coercion or manipulation.
• Possible follow up questions with corresponding answers;
o If a child agrees to have sexual activities with an adult, does this mean consent?
– No. A child can’t give consent to sexual abuse regardless if the child
actively agrees to the said situation. It is still child sexual abuse.

d) Who does each character represent in our society, especially in the context
of the lives of our learners?
• All of the characters represent people in society.
o Abigail represents victims of child sexual abuse. They are children at risk,
those who might lack the judgement and guidance of adults, those who
might engage in risk taking behavior, and those who might lack the knowledge
and know-how to protect themselves from abuse.
o Sinbad represents the perpetrators. They use their power as adults to
manipulate, groom or coerce children for sexual abuse.
o Gregory represents the family that might engage in victim blaming,
instead of supporting child victims.
o Ivan represents bystanders – people who have the opportunity to help
prevent, or respond to child sexual abuse cases, but unfortunately, turn
a blind eye.
o Slug represents people who are willing to help, but doing so in the wrong
way. Unfortunately, this might lead to more problems later on.

Tell participants
As teachers, we might have “Abigail’s” amongst our learners. “Sinbad” can come
within our school, or outside the school. We shall encounter parents who will
act like Gregory, and we ourselves, might become like “Gregory”. Sometimes,
some of us might become “Ivan’s” or “Slugs”, and thus, we must ensure that we
fulfill our roles appropriately.

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VIII. Articulation of insights
Start the activity by providing the following information culled from the 2016
National Baseline Study on Violence against Children;

Lifetime prevalence of overall sexual violence in the home

Children 13-<18 years old

13,7% 1,3% experienced unwanted touching

1.3% have had sex videos or photos taken without their consent
1.9% reported forced attempted sex
1.6% experienced forced consummated sex (oral, anal or vaginal)

The prevalence of overall sexual violence in the school

The incident of sexual violence happened when they were
5,3% 03,3% 6 to 9 years old
09.9% 10 to12 years old
0,22% 13 to15 years old
27.5% 16 to 18 years old

2016 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children, Philippines.3

Ask the participants to answer this reflection question;

1. Have you encountered child sexual abuse cases wherein learners disclosed
to you? Are you willing to share examples, and if so, can you also share
what you felt during that time, and what did you to help the learner?
2. We all know that child sexual abuse happens at home, but what are
your reflections/insights with the 2nd set of data provided in the study,
indicating the prevalence of sexual violence in the school setting?
3. Do you have any other insights that you want to share?
Remind everyone to practice confidentiality by not divulging identifying information
of any learner.

Tell participants
Child Sexual Abuse is a very sad reality. It can happen in any context, and as
teachers, we are usually recipients of disclosures from our learners, thus, it is
very important for us to address the issue, both at the level of prevention and
response, which we shall further unpack in our next LAC sessions.

Notes to the Facilitator

If the cases brought out were not responded to via a formal referral to the
school CPC or social welfare/law enforcement authorities, ensure that they
are later on referred to the school CPC for proper referral and identification
of intervention strategies.

3. https://www.unicef.org/philippines/media/491/file/National%20Baseline%20Study%20on%20Violence%20Against%20 12
Children%20in%20the%20Philippines:%20Results%20(executive%20summary).pdf
IX. Application
1. Say: Given what we have learned and discussed today, let us now gather
general ideas on how we, as teachers, can better address the issue of
child sexual abuse.
2. Provide participants metacards of 2 colors. For color 1, ask them to individ-
ually think of strategies they can employ to help PREVENT learners from
being victimized by child sexual abuse. For color 2, ask them to individually
think of strategies that they can employ if they receive DISCLOSURES of
child sexual abuse from their learners.
3. After they have written down their answers, ask everyone to stick their
metacards in an identified space in the session room. You may ask a few
volunteers to share their outputs, time permitting.
4. After the participants have shared their responses, invite everyone to
participate in comparing what they have written down and what is stated in
the prevention provisions under DO 40, series of 20124, specifically under
sections 7 (duties of schools) and section 8 (duties of school personnel)
5. For inputs which might not fall under Do40, advice participants that this
might fall under other DepEd issuances related to child protection, such
as DO 55, series of 20135 and DO 18, series of 20156.

X. What will we do next

Tell participants
Thank you very much for participating in our LAC Session. I would like to thank all
of you for actively engaging with one another even if the topic is quite sensitive.
As teachers, we have further developed ourselves to become child protection
advocates. The things we have all written in the PREVENTION and DISCLOSURE
portions in the previous activity, we shall discuss in the 2 upcoming LAC sessions
on child sexual abuse prevention.

4. https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DO_s2012_40.pdf
5. https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/DO_s2013_55.pdf
6. https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DO_s2015_18.pdf 13
XI. Options for non-face to face LAC sessions:
Because of the inherent limitations in terms of interactivity in non-face to face
sessions, one can explore the following options;
• Transfer the talking points, guide questions and inputs to PowerPoint to
serve as a visual guide for online synchronous LAC sessions.
• Transform the interactive activities by utilizing various online training
tools, such as;
- Zoom breakout rooms - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/arti-
cles/206476093-Enabling-breakout-rooms
- Mentimeter - https://www.mentimeter.com/
- AHA slides - https://ahaslides.com/
- Kahoot - https://kahoot.com/
- Quizziz = https://quizizz.com/

XII. Additional Resources for further study:

• https://www.stairwayfoundation.org/resources/online-resources-on-
child-sexual-abuse-and-sex-trafficking/nature-of-child-sexual-abuse/

• https://www.stairwayfoundation.org/resources/online-resources-on-
child-sexual-abuse-and-sex-trafficking/child-abuse-offenders/

• https://www.stairwayfoundation.org/resources/online-resources-on-child-
sexual-abuse-and-sex-trafficking/effects-of-child-sexual-abuse-on-victims/

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Acknowledgements
Dr. Leila P. Areola
Director IV, Bureau of Learning Delivery
Department of Education

Dr. Rosalina J. Villaneza

Chief, Teaching and Learning Division
Bureau of Learning Delivery
Department of Education

Writers
Ysrael C. Diloy
John Michael Matibag
Edgar Marshall Briñas
Nanette M. Macaguiwa
Isabelita Ceraon
Darryl C. Correa
Richard Allan Viñas

Reviewers
Carmencita A. Aguas
Ernani Ofreneo Jaime
Annalyn Aquino

Creative Director
Monica D. Ray

LAC Session Guides – Break the Silence – Child Protection

Permission to use or reproduce this publication or parts of it in hard or digital
copies for personal or educational use is granted free, provided that the copies
are not reproduced or distributed for commercial purposes, and that proper
credit is given to Stairway Foundation and the Department of Education.

Copyright - 2021