Save the Children calls for SOGIE Bill passage

Child-rights organization Save the Children on Saturday, Pride March Day 2019, called on the government to take specific actions that would provide children of every sexual orientation, gender identity and expression the fundamental right to have a childhood that was safe, healthy, and free from discrimination.

In a statement, Save the Children called for the passage of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill, as well as the proper implementation of the Anti-Bullying Act.

The organization also called "on the [Education Department] to sustain its efforts to protect the rights of LGBT+ persons in the schools, and to monitor and intensify support for schools in the implementation of the Child Protection Policy."

Save the Children then called on parents, teachers, and caregivers to respect the rights of LGBT+ children and provide them with the understanding, love and support that they needed.

The organization pointed out that these actions were necessary given that SOGIE was identified as one of the drivers of violence against children in the Philippines, based on the 2016 Systematic Literature Review of the Violence against Children.

"In a consultation conducted in 2016 with children on the situation of LGBT+ children, children stated that they are bullied and extorted money from in schools and communities, ridiculed, humiliated, threatened with bodily harm/with weapon, mauled, sexually harassed, and abused physically, verbally and sexually and rejected by their families." — DVM, GMA News