MARAPAIT: a collection of children;s short stories advocating against Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) based on thematic analysis of 21st Century Philippine Multimedia

Date

5-2026

Adviser

John Carlo B. Cabilao

Principal

Buela, Mabel S.

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a propagating societal issue in the Philippines that dehumanizes the vulnerabilities of Filipino youth. ‘MARAPAIT’ serves as a medium of empowerment and advocacy for the existing movement against CSA. It is a collection of six children’s short stories written in Filipino that combines research and creative writing. Our writing process was guided by applying Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis to 45 21st-century Philippine multimedia works. Eight themes were observed upon analysis and a number was selected to make for each story’s content: (1) Vulnerability of Immaturation: Perspectives and Experiences of a Child Victim, (2) Dehumanization of Children as Materials for a Transactional System, (3) External Factors Influencing Perceptions of Sexual Abuse, (4) Respondents and Their Fragmented Actions toward Child Sexual Abuse, (5) Rising Again and Reclaiming Strength: Personal Efforts in Recognizing Sexual Abuse, (6) Careful Hands and Guidance for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, (7) Negligence and Corruption: Failures of the Legal System, and (8) Advocacy and Call to Action: Support Against Child Sexual Abuse. The discussion of themes is validated and enriched by the inputs from the interviews of three professionals who specialize in either child care and protection or mental health. The children’s short stories were subsequently developed through an iterative process of drafting, critique, and revision, wherein the capstone adviser’s feedback was integrated to refine and improve the narratives. Although the collection accounted for the objectivity and sensitivity of the topic, we recommend the active participation of child care and protection professionals in the writing process. Additionally, the multimodality of children’s literature about CSA can be explored further, as ‘MARAPAIT’ is only in textual form due to time constraints.

Language

English

Location

UP Rural High School

Document Type

Capstone

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