Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

04 Aug 2023

UP System

Continuing ignition practices have transformed Tau-Buhid Indigenous lands into “territories of fire”

The article challenges the assumption that land tenure is contingent on acquiring a land title. It argues that for Indigenous...

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02 Aug 2023

UP Los Baños

Occupational therapists can be tapped to design age-friendly cities and communities

Urban planning for age-friendly environments is an important issue, and occupational therapists and occupational scientists could contribute to planning such...

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31 Jul 2023

UP Manila

Injuries suffered by workers on the job such as from falls and contact with sharp objects had been fatal

Although Occupational Health and Safety has been introduced as early as 1971, the protection of workers remained insufficient globally as...

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27 Jul 2023

UP Cebu

Human population growth threatens the largest and only protected key biodiversity area in Cebu Island

The continuing pressure on the natural environment exerted by human activities such as land conversion has been threatening to drive...

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25 Jul 2023

UP Diliman

The seaweed Saccharina japonica, an important aquaculture crop, shows increased photosynthetic activity under blue light

Saccharina japonica kelps grow naturally in the subtidal zone up to more than 20 m, where blue light (400–500 nm) is...

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21 Jul 2023

UP Los Baños

Teachers are influenced by their own beliefs in how they promote scientific argumentation in class

This qualitative multiple-case study discusses the importance of investigating the alignment of four biology teachers’ beliefs and practices when teaching...

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20 Jul 2023

UP Mindanao

Future solid waste management system in Davao City should prioritize plastic waste treatment

To reduce adverse environmental impact, municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practices in developed countries are adopted in developing countries without...

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19 Jul 2023

UP Los Baños

Pesticide residues were found in commonly consumed vegetables and those labeled “organic”

Pesticide residues on vegetables pose food safety concerns. In this study, an assay called the Rapid Bioassay for Pesticide Residues...

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19 Jul 2023

UP Diliman

Surface constraint approach optimizes the design and trajectory of solar sails that are constrained to move on surfaces

Solar sailing is a propulsion technology that uses the solar radiation pressure of the sun as a source for thrust....

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18 Jul 2023

UP Diliman

Studies on disasters can only be inclusive if scholars and practitioners “decolonize” themselves

The discussions on the decolonization of knowledge in disasters are not entirely new and have been the subject of inquiries...

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14 Jul 2023

UP Diliman

“Filipinized” system that aims to make online learning accessible to nursing students and teachers presented at international conference

The project “Development of a Filipinized Learning Management System” (FLMS), funded by the Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Program of the the...

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10 Jul 2023

UP Los Baños

Transgender poet reflects on what it means to live under the new presidency

Now is no longer the time for poets is a suite of three poems with the following titles: “To write
another...

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Research

This article focuses on sex abuse and abuse of power in Catholic schools in the Philippines.

I used a theological approach in my analysis of sex abuse cases in Catholic schools. A critique from an internal perspective seems apt. Here is one theological point: the notoriously unhelpful and inaccurate “few bad apples” explanation for abuse feeds into an unfortunate tendency to trade on cheap grace. One practical recommendation that is not necessarily tied to any theological view is to have structures and policies in place to protect the vulnerable. Structures and policies should be combined with an openness to counter-storytelling by victim-survivors and survivor advocates. Their counter-narratives are necessary for the reform and renewal of the patriarchal culture that perpetuates abuse. This culture is insidious in its tendency to “get ahead” of stories told by critical voices. Reliance on the putative virtue of persons in authority is not enough. Their virtue is beside the point, and should not be used to draw attention away from survivors’ stories. Furthermore, character or virtue is not a sufficient bulwark against misdeeds or catastrophic omissions.

The research described in my paper provides an incisive analysis of what went wrong in schools’ response to sex abuse cases that happened under their watch. The compilation of victim-survivor narratives and documentation on schools’ missteps also contributes to the effort to break the silence about such cases. Most important of all, I provide some suggestions on how schools and communities around them can do better. My suggestions are as follows:

1. Schools must recognize that the twin evils of sex abuse and abuse of power are associated with social structures and organizational culture. Schools need to implement policies that incorporate lessons on grooming, sex in the forbidden zone, and other hard-won lessons from the church’s experience with abuse.

2. Instead of using reputation or track record as a protection against further scrutiny, persons in authority must take on a humble stance. This means allowing their decisions to be regularly examined by a critical audience that enjoys a measure of independence.

3. Community leaders must allow for and engage with counter-narratives, especially from individuals or groups that advocate for victim-survivors and speak about problematic patriarchal tendencies in Filipino Catholic communities.

Author: Jacklyn A. Cleofas (Department of Humanities, University of the Philippines Los Baños)