Trigger warning: Mentions of abuse and exploitation
AFTER revealing her traumatic childhood, actress Liza Soberano spoke out against the abuse and exploitation of women and children in a heartfelt Instagram post on Monday, August 18.
Soberano’s post contains her childhood photos and data on abused and exploited Filipino children. This includes a report from the US Department of State stating that there were 1.48 million Filipino children aged five to 17 who were working “much in hazardous conditions,” as of 2022.
Soberano also mentioned the following figures in her carousel post:
- As many as 100,000 Filipino children are exploited in prostitution, and thousands more in forced labor
- The Philippines is one of the largest known sources of online exploitation of children in the world
- Two out of 10 Filipino internet-using children ages 12 to 17 years were subjected to Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC)
- About 859,000 people in the Philippines are trapped in exploitative circumstances, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual exploitation
While it is her job to entertain as an actress, Soberano highlighted her responsibility “to speak up on the things that matter, from a place that matters.” The Gen Z actress is known as a child rights advocate and ambassador for Save the Children, a humanitarian organization for children.
“All of me dreads sharing the most intimate parts of my soul, just for people to judge and diminish my experiences,” Soberano said.
“But if I don’t speak up out of discomfort or fear, what chance do all the scared and voiceless women and children that are still in dangerous situations have?” she continued.
Traumatic childhood
Soberano was referring to the August 14 episode of podcast-cinema-documentary series “Can I Come In?” on YouTube, where she detailed her traumatic childhood with her biological and foster parents, including physical assault and emotional abuse.
The actress described her biological parents as “Bonnie and Clyde duo,” as her mother, Jacqueline, had “a really bad addiction to crystal meth” and her father, John, was “a chemist, among many other things.”
Soberano’s dad faced “so many different cases,” including drug manufacturing and carrying illegal firearms, and was later arrested. Meanwhile, her mother’s addiction got worse, resulting in her little brother being “born addicted to crystal meth.”
Her mom later got into a relationship with a man named Michael, whom the actress described as “really bad news.” Soberano recalled the time when Michael stole a minivan from off the street and took her, her mom, and her little brother.
Her mom’s family then filed a missing persons report, and they found themselves on the news “for kidnapping” thereafter.
Soberano’s mom and Michael were arrested, leaving the two children parentless. The actress went to foster care and stayed with her mom’s supposed best friend, Melissa, and her family.
Unfortunately, Soberano’s situation did not get better. Under Melissa’s watch, Soberano said she experienced being called the “family dog,” being abused “not just psychologically,” being told to clean up a dump on the carpet using her tongue, sleeping in the garage, and sometimes not being given food.
A social worker later found out the truth about Soberano’s situation, seeing how the latter “was so skinny but my stomach was so big.” She also had bruises on her body and a scratch on her face.
At the age of 10, Soberano and her little brother moved to the Philippines and met their estranged father, who “demanded so much” from her as a daughter.
A message to young Liza, other victims
In her latest Instagram post, Soberano left a heartwarming message to her younger self, who went through hardships but kept fighting.
“To 4-year-old Hope, who’s in the midst of a painful, upside-down world, just trying to stay a child, thank you. Thank you for staying determined and strong, for choosing to keep pushing ahead, to build a beautiful life worth living,” she wrote.
The celebrity also expressed her gratitude to individuals who spoke to her with kind words and thoughtful empathy, following her traumatic childhood revelation.
“The world is a better place because of people like you,” she stressed.
Soberano also encouraged victims of abuse and exploitation not to let others “try to guilt you or shame you for speaking up.”
“Cruel people will try to discredit your story, they’ll say you’re exaggerating or being self-serving, don’t mind them. Only weak people would respond to stories of pain with doubt and interrogation,” she said.
She continued, “Worst of all, some will even try to exploit your story for their personal gain, responding to your pain with gossip and attention-seeking, making it a source of entertainment. They will hijack your hardships to seek attention and self-importance.”
Soberano encouraged them to disregard these people “with no light of their own” and who “need to use the sadness of others as fuel for their egos.”
“You will shine and they will fade away,” she concluded.
The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) earlier commended Soberano’s bravery in sharing her traumatic childhood, encouraging other abuse victims to come forward.
