Children's Rights and SOGIESC

The FAQ Guide on Supporting Every Child with PRIDE is a simple, rights-based resource created by children’s rights and LGBTQI organizations. It answers common questions about SOGIESC and children’s rights, offers guidance for parents, teachers, and communities, and provides practical steps for creating safe, affirming spaces for children with diverse SOGIESC.

This FAQ Guide aims t o equip helpline responders with clear, accurate, and practical information to effectively support children and youth with diverse SOGIESC. It ensures that helpline workers are prepared to provide sensitive, respectful, and rights-based assistance to children seeking information and help.

Despite progressive national laws such as the Safe Spaces Act (RA 11313) and Anti-Bullying Act (RA 10627), students with diverse SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics) continue to face discrimination in Philippine schools. Implementation gaps in gender-responsive policies, compounded by heteronormative and religious school cultures, often result in stigma, harassment, and exclusion. While numerous studies have documented violence and discrimination, few have focused on affirmative and inclusive practices that enable queer students to thrive. This study responds to that gap by highlighting positive experiences and effective practices within secondary education that foster safety, belonging, and empowerment.

In the Philippines, conversion practices are often hidden and disguised as corrective actions by families, religious groups, and communities. These practices are rooted in strong religious and cultural beliefs that pressure LGBTQIA+ individuals to conform to traditional gender roles and heterosexual norms. 

This exploratory study, conducted under Save the Children Philippines' Project PRIDE, examined the existence, forms, and impacts of conversion practices. The research included a scoping review, 26 key informant interviews (11 males, 6 females, 9 genderqueers), three focus group discussions (1 male, 16 females, 1 genderqueer), and a survey of 59 (8 males, 29 females, 22 genderqueers) respondents. Respondents included adults of different ages and diverse SOGIESC who are community leaders, survivors, mental health professionals, educators, and religious leaders.

Children with diverse SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics) face discrimination and exclusion long before adulthood. While child rights organizations and LGBTQI movements share a vision of safety and equality, their advocacies have traditionally operated in separate spheres. Project PRIDE was conceived to bridge these movements, promoting the protection and inclusion of children with diverse SOGIESC in policies, programs, and community interventions in Quezon City and Malabon City (2023–2025). Within this framework, the Learning Team was established as a pioneering mechanism for mutual learning and collaboration between LGBTQI and child rights organizations.