Victim Profiles

Pia Corvera

Pia never had the chance to know her parents.  Living a life of abject poverty, Pia only has memories of slum life in Metro Manila.  At the age of 8, a woman befriended her with food and little gifts, and Pia soon found herself sold by the woman to foreigners.  She cannot remember how many men abused her, but she does know that there were many. 

Pia was so young when the abuse began and she did not realize that she was a victim of sexual abuse.  Every time that the women brought Pia to a man, the women received p120.00, but she received p4000.00 after she brought Pia to a man in a hotel room.  This was witnessed by the hotel staff who knew what was happening, but chose to turn to a blind eye.  Once the abuse was over, Pia would go home and give the money to her grandmother, who assumed that the child had earned the money from begging from tourists on the street. 

One day, Pia was brought by a German man to a Beach resort, where she stayed in his beach house with him, his friend, and another girl.  She and the other girl were with the German man and his friend at a restaurant, when a concerned woman reported seeing two children with two adult foreigners to the police.  After an investigation, the two foreigners were arrested, and the two children were rescued.

Frightened and crying, Pia was taken to a children's home in Iloilo and was then brought to the PREDA Children's Home, where she, for the first time in her life, experienced respect and love.  Pia was then asked to travel to Germany to testify against the German abusers, who were brought to justice.

Pia, now 22, is giving back to the PREDA family by working as the project officer/facilitator for the PREDA Home for boys in conflict with the law.  She graduated fromSubic Bay College in Nursing, and she is taking a two year course on Practical Nursing.  Pia shares her story and speaks out against the commercial sexual exploitation in the hopes of protecting other children.

Marlyn Capio

At the age of 12, Marlyn ran away from a life of poverty in Mindoro, an island south of Manila.  She had been a victim of rape at the hands of her stepfather who threatened to kill her and her mother if she told anyone.  After months of abuse, Marlyn told her mother, who refused to believe her.  Feeling hopeless and unwanted, Marlyn found a job selling cosmetics on an island resort where thousands of foreigners flock to for sex tourism.

The island was populated with night clubs and bars for tourists.  It was here where Marlyn was first approached by an employee of one of the bars and introduced to Bernard, a French bar operator.  He offered her a job, and after a few days of working, he raped Marlyn in a little cubicle at the back of the restaurant.  Marlyn was told that this was a common occurrence and that he expected young girls to co-operate if they wanted to get ahead in life.  Marlyn felt like a slave, having lost her dignity and self-worth. 

One day a sex tourist from Holland paid a large sum of money to Bernard and bought Marlyn for himself for a week.  She was taken to Manila, and brought to an up-scale hotel.  No one took notice of the foreigner taking the young girl to his room.  It was here that he met a German friend of his who had an even younger child with him. The man had video equipment and had made videos of Patricia, who was only 13.  They left and and together returned to Boracay.  There, the mayor's wife was shocked that Patricia, so young, was with a sex tourist, and the woman demanded that they be arrested.  The abusers however, escaped back to Europe due to police and judicial corruption.

Marlyn and Patricia were brought to the PREDA home where they received the care and education they deserved.  The PREDA legal action team traced the abusers toGermany and Holland and both were put on trial.  The two girls traveled to Germany to testify, and both men were imprisoned.  Today, Marlyn is a social worker and strives to help other abused children.