‘Hellholes of subhuman conditions’: the Philippine youth detention centres that imprison children as young as eleven

Proponents of the government-run ‘Houses of Hope’ claim they are places of reformation and education

But watchdogs say they are little better than prisons for children – ‘schools of crime’ where abuses are rife

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Children being held at a juvenile detention centre in Malolos town, Bulacan province, gather for roll-call. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:52pm, 22 Jul 2019Updated: 11:04pm, 22 Jul 2019

Eleven-year-old Jerry’s crime was breaking curfew laws after fleeing violence at home. His punishment? Being sent to a youth detention centre, where he says he endured sexual abuse.

Officially called “Houses of Hope”, proponents in the Philippines say such facilities are places for reformation and education, but critics slam many of them as “hellholes” where children are treated like caged animals.

Houses of Hope are primarily meant to hold young offenders aged 15 to 18. Photo: AFP

Rights’ groups say Jerry should never have been detained under current laws, but warn a proposed bill to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12 will mean thousands more children are sent to overcrowded and underfunded centres – leaving them vulnerable to mistreatment.

“I felt so dirty. That was the first time it happened to me,” Jerry said, as he recalled the night he was pulled from his bed, forced to the bathroom and attacked by older boys at a decaying detention centre in Manila.

“I cannot forget the sexual abuse,” he explained, adding that he left home to escape beatings from his father and ended up sleeping on the streets. His mother works in Kuwait.