Lawyers offer help to victims of online sexual harassment

MANILA, Philippines — Several lawyers and IT practitioners have offered assistance to victims of online sexual harassers and bullies on social media.

In a Facebook post, lawyer John Molo said that students, professors, lawyers and IT practitioners have volunteered to hunt down trolls who have been posting lewd comments.

"From what we have seen, online sexual harassers, bullies and, perverts better be afraid," Molo said.

Four full-service law firms, 14 individual lawyers, two IT organizations and several IT practitioners, three law student organizations and almost 100 law students have volunteered.

"With volunteers from as far as Agusan, Bacolod and Laoag, we have the means, machinery and motivation to hunt down lewd trolls - Wherever they are," Molo said.

Meanwhile, Data Privacy and Cybercrime Prevention co-author Cheska Montes has offered to help in filing a complaint with the National Computer Emergency Response Team against online bullies.

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Montes called on the public to take screenshots of lewd comments on the internet and track the profiles.

"If you know any of the children or women who were subject of misogyny, sexual vexation or abusive comments in the internet, take screenshots of the comments, profile page, mark the timestamp, if the profile is attached to a mobile number, get it," Montes said in her Facebook page.

Ateneo de Manila University instructor Nathania Chua has started a campaign against online harassment over the weekend.

Chua launched the #TakeNoShit campaign on Facebook and Twitter after seeing degrading comments made online against women who joined protests opposing the burial of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Victims of online harassment may file cases before the DOJ Cybercrime Division, National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division and Philippine National Police Cybercrime Group.