The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) appealed to parents and pageant organizers not to hold beauty contests for minors, saying it puts them at risk of being sexually objectified or targeted by predators.
Angelo Tapales, executive director of the CWS, an agency under the Department of Social Welfare and Development, said the council had received reports that certain child pageants “may have gone beyond the bounds of propriety,” but they are still looking into specific beauty contests where the young contestants were exposed to such situations.
The CWC said last week that it was disturbed by possible exposure of child beauty contestants to physical and emotional dangers. “The contests put them at risk of [exposure to] people who have ill intentions of putting their images up in child sexual abuse and exploitation materials,” the agency said in a statement.
While such events may seem “innocent,” the participants, who are dressed up and made up like adult women, may also be subjected to public judgment based on looks and, worse, to sexual objectification, the CWC said.
These may lead to the youth being pressured into meeting the “toxic beauty standards” of society, the council added. “Apart from the risk of exploitation, joining child pageants can have a harmful effect on a child’s self-esteem, body image, and psychological well-being,” it added.
The CWC urged pageant organizers, as well as parents, to take “concrete actions that will protect the children.”
Earlier this year, the council, along with other like-minded groups, issued a warning on the increasing dangers of child exploitation, particularly on the internet.
As times change and threats to children evolve, so must our attitude towards activities that used to be considered safe for kids. There may have been a time when beauty contests for minors could have been considered adorable, but given today’s concerns, and considering the potential impact on the self-esteem of a child who joins such contests, and the potential for technology to be misused, maybe it is time the pageant-loving Filipino people to leave that kind of activity to the adults who should be able handle it better.*
