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Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Forum on prostitution, trafficking on Nov. 29
THE Network Opposed to Violence Against Women and Children (NO-VAWC), a multi-sectoral support group on prostituted women and children in General Santos City, will hold a forum on prostitution and R.A. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 at the covered court of the Notre Dame of Dadiangas College Lagao campus on November 29.
The forum is in response to the alarming incidents of women and child prostitution in all key cities in Mindanao including General Santos City.
While Davao City has its own "Buntog" and "Vitamin C" in Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos has the "Batang Tun-og".
It hopes to shed light on the cause and effect of prostitution so that the people in the community, youth and students will know how to prevent it.
Studies show that there are about 600,000 prostituted women (PW) in the country, 25 percent of which are children.
General Santos City has an estimated 500 registered PW and similar number of unregistered PW, excluding the number of prostituted children and transient PW, according to Talikala Inc., an institution working on PW for a long time.
Talikala noted the increase in the number of prostituted children and cases of trafficking in persons in Mindanao for the past three years.
The forum shall also discuss on the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, a remarkable piece of legislation to help curb sex trafficking, illegal recruitment, prostitution, mail-order-bride, and many more.
"It is important for us to study the new law because many women are forced into prostitution due to trafficking in the guise of work, marriage to foreigner or adoption", says Lalaine Malapit, area coordinator of Talikala-General Santos City.
NO-VAWC is a newly formed multi-sectoral support committed to work against prostitution and violence against women and children in GenSan. For more information, please call or visit: Talikala Drop-In Center, Door 6, Villareal Apartment, Laurel East cor. Sampaguita St., General Santos City, Tel. 553-2431. PR
(November 26, 2003 issue)
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