I saw a horrific report this lunchtime on the ITV Lunchtime News about Filipino children kept in subhuman conditions in jail cells. Apparently the report was a follow-up on a previous report from August, where empty promises from the Philippines government and their embassy staff in London have led to little being done in the 6 months that have elapsed.

Children are locked up in overcrowded jail cells, often with rapists and paedophiles. Subject to sexual abuse and beatings, the children have little or no exercise, ventilation, or healthcare. They are malnourished, struggling to survive on food that is worth just 30p a day. Many end up with emotional and mental health problems from the degrading living conditions.

Photographer Hazel Thompson’s graphic photos have highlighted the issue of child imprisonment - go here to see photos of the appalling conditions the children must live in.

Most of the children are detained for trivial offences because there are often long delays in the justice process. Some are held on a mere suspicion of a crime having taken place.

Some 20,000 children are thought to be kept in such disgusting conditions in the Philippines. And this kind of child imprisonment is happening all over the world.

The charities Jubilee Action and Preda are working in the country to try and bring an end to this situation by pressuring the government to pass a Juvenile Justice Bill, and are fighting hard for these children’s rights.

Please help them by visiting their websites and making a donation to help fund the work they do.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2006 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Human rights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.