Basic Concepts of Child Protection

Basic Concepts of Child Protection

Abandoned

A child who has no proper parental care or guardianship, or whose parents or guardians have deserted him for a period of at least six continuous months (PD 603).

Case Management

It is a procedure to plan, seek, and monitor services from different social agencies and staff on behalf of a client. Usually, one agency takes primary responsibility for the client and assigns a case manager who coordinates services, advocates for the client, sometimes controls resources and purchases services for the client (Barker 2003).

Child

It refers to person below eighteen (18) years of age or those over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition (RA 7610).

Child Abuse and Maltreatment

This includes child cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, neglected, abandoned and multiple abuse.

Child Labor

It is a work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development (ILO).

Child protection

The prevention and response of child cases of child abuse, neglect, abandonment, child trafficking, online sexual exploitation, discrimination, children at-risk, children in conflict with the law, children in street situations, children with disability, indigenous children, among others.

Child Trafficking

It is the act of any person who is engaging in trading and dealing with children including, but not limited to, the act of buying and selling of a child for money, or for any other consideration, or barter.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

It is an act which forcing the child to engage in prostitution and any other analogous act.

Children at-Risk

It refers to a child who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing criminal offenses because of personal, family and social circumstances, such as, but not limited to, the following: being abused by any person through sexual, physical, psychological, mental, economic or any other means and the parents or guardian refuse, are unwilling, or unable to provide protection for the child; being exploited including sexually or economically; being abandoned or neglected, and after diligent search and inquiry, the parent or guardian cannot be found; coming from a dysfunctional or broken family or without a parent or guardian; being out of school; being a child in street situation; being a member of a gang; living in a community with a high level of criminality or drug abuse; and living in situations of armed conflict (RA 9344).

Children in Street Situations

Those children who depend on the streets to live / work, who have formed strong connections with public spaces; those who are living in or fending themselves in the streets of urban or rural areas without the care of parents or a guardian or basic services needed for a good quality of life and also those who stay four hours and above in the streets, and engaging in economic activities.

Children in Conflict with the Law

 It refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws.

Children with Disability

Children who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more psychological, physiological or anatomical function or activities; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment (RA 7277).

Emotional/Psychological Abuse

It is an act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being (RA 7610).

Multiple Abuse

It refers to concurrence of one or more type of child abuse and maltreatment such as physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, sexual abuse and the like.

Neglected

A child who has the unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for survival, such as food and shelter and or failure to immediately give medical treatment to an injured child resulting in serious impairment of his growth and development or in his permanent incapacity or death (RA 7610).

Physical Abuse

It is an infliction of pain to a child which is intentional resulting from hitting, whipping, beating, biting, kicking, or any other analogous act that harms the body of the child.

Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC)

It is an act of using the child online to engage in any sexualized act whether live streaming, images, and any analogous act in exchange of money, shelter, drugs and others.

Reporting, Referral and Response Pathways

It is a step-by-step guide to report, refer and response cases of children.

Sexual Abuse

It is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violates the laws of society.

Working Children

The hours of work of a working child should be according to the provision under Republic Act 9231 or an act providing for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor and affording stronger protection for the working child, amending for this purpose Republic Act No. 7610.

  1. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/26/22773
  2. https://www.childprotectionnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ProtocolonCaseManagement.pdf
  3. https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-7610-special-protection-of-children-against-abuse-exploitation-and-discrimination-act/
  4. https://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang–en/index.htm
  5. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1992/06/17/republic-act-no-7610/
  6. https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_9344_2006.html
  7. https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_9344_2006.html
  8. https://library.pcw.gov.ph/sites/default/files/Legislation%20on%20Equal%20Opportunities%20and%20Full%20Participation%20in%20Development%20for%20Disabled%20Persons_%20_%20Philippines(A).pdf
  9. https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-7610-special-protection-of-children-against-abuse-exploitation-and-discrimination-act/
  10. https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-7610-special-protection-of-children-against-abuse-exploitation-and-discrimination-act/
  11. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/resources/publications/en/guidelines_chap7.pdf
  12. https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2003/ra_9231_2003.html