Manila, Philippines – ChildFund Philippines backs the “War on online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC)” and the efforts led by the President alongside top-level government officials to once and for all put an end to child sexual abuse and exploitation and vows to work closely with policymakers and law enforcement bodies to successfully implement Anti-OSAEC rules and regulations.
This is in relation to the recently concluded National Crime Prevention Week, where multiple government agencies and top government officials pledged to aid law enforcement agencies in curbing cases of crime and abuse in the country. In relation to this timely occasion, ChildFund Philippines urged its partners and stakeholders to continue raising awareness, public discourse, and taking action on OSAEC cases.
“We are happy that our Shutdown OSEC campaign efforts contributed to the passage of RA 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act,” said Mr. Dong Waña, Officer-in-Charge and Country Manager of ChildFund Philippines.
“Now the real challenge begins. We have a long way to go but with the pronouncements of top-level government officials, led by the President himself, in declaring a war makes this pressing and urgent societal issue a legitimate concern for our children and their futures,” he added.
ChildFund also acknowledged that the government cannot fight OSAEC-CSAEM alone, it needs groups and individuals from various sectors to work together in order for this to be successful.
“OSAEC-CSAEM cases aren’t new, they have long existed and this was further perpetuated and amplified during the hard COVID-19 lockdowns. Now, we will continue to join the call for relevant law enforcement agencies to take speedy and decisive action to bring justice to victims,” added Mr. Waña.
Further, Waña emphasized that the government’s recent declaration of war against OSAEC-CSAEM cases is a significant milestone that should be continued until mechanisms and tools to fight these cases are routinely and efficiently implemented.
“At ChildFund, we support initiatives like Project Children AWARE or Children Amplifying Youth-led Advocacy to Work Together Against the Rise of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children,” said Waña. “This type of program enables us to tap into the grassroots-level, involving young people, to give further enhancement on existing government initiatives and institutionalize training programs for the youth at the local level to fight cases of OSAEC-CSAEM.”
Fruits of the #ShutdownOSEC Campaign
ChildFund Philippines is among the children’s rights organizations that proactively started #ShutdownOSEC, or the campaign against online sexual exploitation of children. Further, Project Children AWARE was also able to train youth leaders to participate in the on-going discourse of fighting OSAEC-CSAEM cases, specifically in OSAEC hotspots like Cagayan de Oro.
The project helped children and youth leaders to learn more about socio-emotional learning, mental health, and psychosocial support, as well as undergoing advocacy and communication training.
Project Children AWARE’s participants were also trained on how to develop different communication materials through drawing and storytelling, news writing, mobile photography, and basic videography.
But amid these efforts, the organization also acknowledges the need for more accurate and ethical reporting and coverage of the media of OSAEC-CSAEM cases, with hopes that it can eventually win the war against OSAEC-CSAEM.
“The #ShutdownOSEC campaign stemmed from extensive research with our partner organizations: from categorizing existing OSAEC-CSAEM-related articles from Philippine publications as ethical or accurate to creating mechanisms that can amplify awareness of the media and the public,” Waña explained.
From these steps, ChildFund’s partner organizations were able to craft a media training program on ethical and professional reporting for journalists on how to cover OSAEC-CSAEM-related stories. This led to a heightened perception from the media, government, and the public about the systematic issues concerning coverage of online child abuse and exploitation in the country, until it eventually got the attention of relevant lawmakers to expedite RA 11930’s enactment.
Uptick in OSAEC-CSAEM cases in the Philippines
This year, the Philippines has become “number one for child trafficking and online pornography” with a 280% increase in cases of child exploitation, according to Nikki Teodoro, the Philippines’ Special Envoy to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).1
Data gathered by the International Justice Mission (IJM) and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) showed that the Philippines was the largest known source of OSAEC cases worldwide with 237 from 2010 to 2017.2
These cases were usually family-based crimes, with biological parents facilitating the abuse for 41% of the victims. Further, the average length of abuse usually lasted two years and over 33% of reported cases extended up to three to four years.3
More recent data from 2019 to June 2022 reported a total of 137 cases of sexually-related child abuse through cyberspace, according to the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG). There were also 56 cases of gender-based online sexual harassment and 120 cases of child pornography reported.4
The pandemic also amplified online sexual abuse, as children were forced to stay at home. The US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children noted a 209% increase in cyber tip reports of OSEC cases in the country, with 1,294,750 cyber tips in 2020 from 418,422 cyber tips in 2019.5
References:
International Justice Mission (IJM), U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), and the Philippine Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). (2020). Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Philippines: Analysis and Recommendations for Governments, Industry, and Civil Society
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1180657
ShutdownOSEC Media Guidelines
