Ninety percent of adolescent girls rescued in Iloilo City acquired sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
This was revealed by Rara Ganzon, focal person of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).
“Ginakasubo ko gid nga may mga amo ni kita,” she said.
The girls were human trafficking victims and found to have violated the city’s curfew ordinance, Ganzon disclosed.
STIs, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), “are spread predominantly by sexual contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sex.”
Ganzon said some of the types of STIs detected in the girls were gonorrhea and syphilis.
Gonorrhea is “caused by nesseria gonorrhea, a type of bacteria that multiply quickly in moist, warm areas of the body such as the cervix, urethra, mouth or rectum.”
Syphilis, on the other hand, is “considered dangerous and life-threatening — the bacteria may affect vital organs such as the heart, spine and the brain.”
The girls underwent tests at the Family Planning Organization of Philippines (FPOP) Iloilo chapter’s Community Health Care Birthing Center and Laboratory.
“We were thankful that naagapan and they were treated,” said Ganzon.
If left untreated, STIs “can lead to serious and chronic conditions, including neurological and cardiovascular disease, infertility, stillbirths and increased risk of contracting HIV.”
“We need to help one another nga tapnaon ini, we cannot just do it alone. It takes a village to raise a child the same way that it takes the village or city to help somebody who is sick, abused or neglected,” Ganzon appealed.
The CSWDO, in coordination with the Iloilo City Police Office, has been running after pimps prostituting minors.IMT
