Down to Zero / Building Back Better - Philippines SUMMARY
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in the Philippines. To strengthen child protection systems and mechanisms, and build back better from the aftermath of Covid-19, the Down to Zero alliance will implement the Building Back Better programme. It is implemented by Plan International, Terre des Hommes and DCI ECPAT and we will work with children and youth, parents and community leaders, actors in the child protection system and businesses. We will push for specialized services for victims and will support children and families by raising awareness, improving life skills and increasing economic resilience. The programme will help ensure that reporting, referral and coordination happens safely and effectively and that services are gender sensitive. Plan will work on the harmonisation of laws and policies and will collaborate with the Child Rights Network and Joining Forces Alliance to lobby and advocate for the elimination of SEC. This activity forms part of the Building Back Better (BBB)  in times of Covid-19, Fighting SEC on the Rise programme. The programme will work in 12 countries in Latin America and South and South East Asia: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, and the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The selected countries have particular high risks of SEC as well as compromised capacity of the child protection system. They are highly affected by the Covid-19 related trends, with the impact of travel and tourism being an integral part of their context. The programme will also address cross-border SEC such as along the Colombia Peru, Brazil-Bolivia-Peru and India-Nepal-Bangladesh borders. In the BBB  Programme the overall goal is to ensure that children and youth are better protected when at risk or victim  of sexual exploitation in times of crisis, such as currently with Covid-19. This will be achieved through five (5) outcomes:
1.	Children (in particular victims and those at risk of SEC) are able to access specialised services that protect them, help them rehabilitate, reintegrate and reduce their vulnerability to SEC in the context of Covid-19.
2.	Children and youth are able to advocate for continued SEC prevention and response in the context of Covid-19.
3.	Parents, caregivers, and community leaders are strengthened to provide a protective shield around children against SEC, in the context of Covid-19.
4.	Actors in the Child Protection System are strengthened in multi-stakeholder settings to prevent and advocate for protection from SEC, in the context of Covid-19.
5.	Intergovernmental bodies at regional and international level, governments and the private sector prioritize SEC within the wider child protection agenda in building back better during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It contributes to a functional, inclusive, gender and age responsive Child Protection System. More efficient and effective services will be delivered by promoting coordination and networking and catalyzing joint actions between actors working on child protection and violence against children (including health care, law enforcement and judiciary, and education). The Building Back Better programme in the Philippines builds on the Girls Advocacy programme and will build and expand on the Alliance’s collective achievements to date, scaling up the 2016- 2020 Down to Zero (DtZ) programme and being complementary to the 2020-2021 Voice for Change (VfC) programme. This will allow the Alliance and its partners to effectively address SEC in the rapidly evolving context during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In the GA programme, capacity of CSOs has been built to address SEC and youth have been supported to become active agents of change and youth advocates. 
Plan International Philippines has joined the Down to Zero alliance as a new member and brings to the country team a rich experience of working with large Internet Service Providers, schools, children and youth, local communities, government at local and national level, CSO networks, and service providers. The key target group (and final beneficiaries) of the programme are girls and boys up to 18 years old, who are victims and survivors and those at risk of SEC. We will mostly work with them through children and youth groups. Under the 5 outcome areas the following activities will be carried out:
-	Mapping and dissemination of information on available specialized SEC services for children;
-	Development, production and dissemination of IEC Materials on SEC;
-	Assist and provide PSS and other recovery support to victims of sexual exploitation;
-	Provide  Lifeskills training to victims and vulnerable girls and boys, young women and young men;
-	Link to potential employment opportunities through Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Employment Service Office and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority;
-	Capacity-building, inclusion and participation of children and youth in the Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC);
-	Mobilize children and youth for agenda setting;
-	Consultations and dialogues with City Youth Councils, Local Government Unit departments, and Local Council for the Protection of Children;
-	Community orientation on SEC and its aggravating factors during the COVID-19;
-	Distribution of info materials in partnership with Barangay Local Government Unit officials;
-	Development and dissemination of information materials through social media platforms;
-	LCPC orientation on SEC prevention including reporting and referral mechanisms;
-	Conduct of financial literacy sessions;
-	Organize capacity-building and learning sessions on livelihood skills i.e. urban gardening, recycling and others;
-	Provision of post training support i.e. materials and mentoring support;
-	Dialogues with CPS actors to ensure the implementation of child-friendly COVID-19 response plans;
-	Orientation to enhance reporting, referral and coordination/collaboration  to different CSP actors;
-	Conduct gender sensitivity orientation among Child Protection System Actors;
-	Support policy advocacy work on SEC with Child Rights Network and Joining Forces Alliance;
-	Conduct policy review and recommendations for a harmonized SEC law and policies;
-	Support government-led celebration that encouraged private sector/industry participation in protecting children against SEC;
-	Collaboration with Joining Forces Alliance on EVAC, Child Rights Network, Civil Society Coalition on the UNCRC to lobby and advocate for the prevention, response and elimination of SEC

The Alliance sees capacity building as a key intervention strategy and achieves this in multiple ways. We continue to build the capacity of our implementing partners on e.g. gender (including implementation toolkit boys and SEC), child safeguarding and adaptive programming. We are strengthening the capacity and role of CSO’s, e.g. in influencing and holding duty bearers accountable, monitoring the implementation of child protection policies and gender responsive SEC response services. We are strengthening the capacity of local government actors to budget and implement policies in a gender responsive and inclusive way. We are strengthening the environment of children by building the capacity of families to provide care and protection. We are supporting communities to work together to protect children through community based child protection mechanisms. We are empowering children and youth to take on an active role in their own protection, strengthening their advocacy skills and peer-to-peer work. Lobbying & Advocacy is built into the programme at all levels, focusing on the urgency of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and building on the L&A achievements of 2016-2020. Where safely and meaningfully possible, children and youth collaborate with partners in advocacy, or even lead advocacy themselves. Together with, or led by our local partners, we aim to influence stakeholders at various levels. 

The programme will mobilize and influence parents, schools, community leaders and service providers to ignore this role in SEC prevention and response, including reintegration of victims and promotion of community based CPS. The programme will influence governments including LEAs and private sector actors through multi-stakeholder collaborations to jointly prevent and respond to SEC. We will influence regional and international intergovernmental bodies to prioritize the issue of SEC. We will bring local perspectives to the regional and international stage, and followup on international and regional developments in-country. Capacity strengthening: The programme strengthens CPS (at national and community levels) to deliver positive lasting change for children at risk or victims of SEC and their families, beyond the programme’s lifetime. Strengthening the agency of children, parents and community child protection committees will last beyond the programme as well. 

Policy and practice change: The programme works towards institutional monitoring, referral and coordination mechanisms across stakeholders, e.g. by developing National Action Plans to which partners commit. It further aims for policy change and implementation. Businesses adhering to The Code will do so beyond the duration of the programme. 

Social change: The programme contributes to dismantling the culture of silence and impunity surrounding SEC and promotes attitude change among communities and stakeholders in support of zero tolerance for SEC. Instilling new social norms around preventing and eradicating SEC, including deeply entrenched taboos around boys and SEC, will create an environment in which children, their families and communities oppose to and stand up against SEC.