EDITORIAL - OSEC in the time of COVID

The pandemic forced millions of Filipino children to learn online. While this boosted digital literacy, studies have shown that distance learning has been challenging for students and teachers alike.

This week another problem arising from school children’s greater internet access has been highlighted. A global study showed that in the past year as much of the country remained under COVID lockdown, 20 percent of Filipinos aged 12 to 17 using the internet became victims of online sexual exploitation. This means about two million children.

The study was based on research conducted by ECPAT or End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism, Interpol and the United Nations Children’s Fund’s Office of Research – Innocenti. It was released on April 20 by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

According to the report, victims in the Philippines were blackmailed or coerced with promises of money or gifts to engage in sexual activities. Their sexual images were also shared without permission. The online sexual exploitation of children or OSEC was done largely on social media.

Even before the pandemic, the Philippines was already considered a hotspot for OSEC. Child welfare advocates attributed this to poverty, with parents or guardians themselves often the ones trafficking children for sex. Potential victims’ knowledge of English, even if rudimentary in many cases, also makes the country attractive to foreign sexual predators.

The study found that approximately 95 percent of the 12 to 17 age group use the internet in the country. A survey done as part of the study indicated that 79 percent of the children go online at least once a day, even in areas with weak internet connection. Nearly all the children in the survey used mobile phones to access the internet.

While the children were savvy enough to use social media and do schoolwork online, the study found that they had weaker digital skills to protect themselves from OSEC, such as changing their privacy settings or reporting harmful content on social media. The skills are weaker particularly for children in rural areas, the study noted.

There is hesitation in reporting OSEC cases so the extent of the problem could be worse. Victims may also find the issue sensitive and complicated to discuss with persons who can help them. Some victims may also worry about putting their parents in trouble. Pandemic lockdowns aggravated the problem for children in abusive home environments.

Confronting the problem has always been challenging, but there are ways of preventing it and enabling minors to avoid OSEC, as well as assisting victims and catching the predators. The easing of pandemic restrictions should pave the way for a better response.