About three out of five Filipino children are experiencing psychological abuse, according to a study conducted by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC).
Elino Bardillon, CWC public affairs and information head, said the study was conducted before the pandemic in 2019 and COVID-19 has even worsened the situation.
Despite being considered as one of the most happy people in the world, he said Filipinos as well as children are beset by issues concerning mental health.
“Even before the pandemic, we had a study done, we interviewed more than 3,000 children, and it came out that three out of five children were psychologically abused,” said Bardillon.
He said many children experienced being cursed, insulted and “they are psychologically abused and that results in stress, anxiety.”
Bardillon also cited a situational analysis made by the United Nations Children’s Fund that showed that 10 to 15 percent of young Filipinos from 5 years old up to teenage years have mental health problems.
The COVID-19 pandemic contributed much to the stress and anxiety experienced by children, especially with the implementation of modular and online classes.
The pandemic also contributed to the increase in the number of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children that mostly happened inside their homes.
