Keeping Children Safe and Seen at Quezon City Pride Festival

Children and young people marched alongside families and allies at this year’s Pride Festival on June 28 at Quezon City Memorial Circle. Now in its fourth year supporting the event, Save the Children Philippines helped train over 300 volunteers and engaged more than 300 participating organizations in safeguarding orientations to ensure Pride remains a space where everyone, especially children, feels safe and included.

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Organized by Pride PH, this year’s festival gathered thousands of LGBTQIA+ community members, allies, families, and children to celebrate love and equality. Last year’s event drew over 200,000 participants, and this year’s turnout showed the movement for acceptance continues to grow in the Philippines. However, with larger crowds come greater responsibilities to keep everyone safe, especially children who remain at higher risk of violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

The 2016 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children found that children and young people with diverse SOGIESC are more likely to experience physical, psychological, and sexual harm. This underscores the need for inclusive spaces where they can express themselves freely without fear.

To ensure safety at the festival, Save the Children Philippines and child rights and LGBTQIA+ network KOLAB partnered with Pride PH to conduct safeguarding orientations for volunteers. These covered how to prevent, identify, and respond to abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional, neglect, exploitation, and online risks. Organizers also released guidelines to help participating groups uphold safeguarding throughout the event.

“We celebrate the growing participation in the Pride Festival every year. But it’s equally important that we make sure everyone, especially children, can take part in Pride safely,” said Jude Apolonio, Program Officer at Save the Children Philippines.

This is part of Save the Children’s broader work to protect children’s rights and promote their meaningful participation in issues that matter to them. It includes their right to express their identity, be protected from harm, and grow up in a society where they are safe, seen, and heard.

Click here to read how one family showed their son that being different is okay.