CEBU, Philippines — The Philippines has been tagged as the center of child abuse and the center of production of lascivious content and the best way to solve the problem of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in the country is through a unified effort among sectors.
This was the collective message among speakers and panelists of the webinar organized by Globe for Safer Internet Day last February 8. The webinar was organized in partnership with UNICEF, Internet Watch Foundation, CitizenWatch and Bantay Konsumer, Kuryente, Kalsada.
UNICEF has defined OSAEC as any act of exploitative nature carried out against any child that has, at some stage of the abuse, a connection to the online environment.
Yoly Crisanto, chief sustainability officer of Globe, said the webinar was one of the ways that Globe can deliver its commitment to a safer internet space, especially for children, by educating its public – its consumers.
“As a digital solutions group, Globe recognizes the need to create a safer online space for everyone, which is why we commemorate Safer Internet Day (today) with the intention of raising awareness and educating consumers on how we can stop the continued rise of OSAEC in the Philippines and protect our children from further risks of online violence and exploitation,” Crisanto said.
Philippine situation
One of two children is a victim of abuse, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Citing the 2016 CWC National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children, UNICEF Philippines children protection officer Ramil Anton Villafranca said four out of five Filipino children experience any type of violence and one in two children experience violence online, whether sexual violence or cyberbullying.
Villafranca also cited the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that reported a 209% increase in the cyber tip reports for the Philippines, from January to December 2020 (1,294,750 cyber tips) compared to 2019 (418,422 cyber tips), which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further, Villafranca cited the Anti-Money Laundering Council that, in 2020, reported a 156% increase in suspicious transactions linked to child sexual abuse and exploitation valued at P113 million, from 2019 to the first half of 2020.
In 2018, the Office of Cybercrime of the Department of Justice received 579,006 cyber tips on online sharing, re-sharing and selling of images and videos of child sexual abuse. In 2019, it recorded 418,422 cyber tips and in 2020, saw a 265% increase since the start of lockdowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Challenges
Incidents of OSEAC thrive primarily because of poverty and in the Philippines, high incidence of poverty, both in urban and rural areas, UNICEF said.
This is the reason why authorities saw a sharp spike in the number of reported incidents at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when many people lost their jobs as companies were forced to shut down due to loss of income because of restrictions.
Other factors include a shift in parenting dynamics, migration and incidentally, the high proficiency of English among Filipinos, which has reportedly made it easier for perpetrators to interact with potential victims.
It doesn’t help that the Philippines observe certain social norms that make intervention difficult, including the “My child, my property” mentality, the “There is no physical contact anyway” belief and “It’s a private family affair” argument.
UNICEF also pointed out the weak enforcement of existing laws, the barriers in the wiretapping and privacy laws in the Philippines, as well as the lack of facilities and reporting systems in local government units.
Atty. Tim Abejo, convenor of Democracy Watch and Citizens Watch, agreed. “Fighting OSAEC is something that cannot be won by a technology war,” he said.
Action
Abejo said what is needed is an integrated framework solution beginning with a clear-cut government center that can cater to OSAEC concerns, where victims and those with knowledge of violations can report incidents.
It might also help if the government can help protect whistleblowers to encourage more people to report, especially that many of the incidents take place in neighborhoods, in individual homes.
He pointed out that in the Philippines, OSAEC is a family-based crime.
Because access to the Internet in the Philippines is cheap, panelists in the webinar agree that prevention must begin at home with parents monitoring the online activity of their children.
This is also where the education sector can come in and teachers need to be capacitated so they can help educate both children and their parents about the issue. Teachers can help make parents understand that the effects of OSAEC go beyond the physical – long-term trauma and victim losing their self-worth.
This is the reason why the Department of Social Welfare and Development puts effort into psychosocial intervention among victims.
The Department of Education, with the help of Globe, has undertaken webinars, as well as orientation with both parents and children to promote responsible digital citizenship.
Crisanto said that as early as 2017, Globe has started campaigning actively to make IT safe and invested over US 2.7M dollars in content filtering systems to block websites and online imagery that promoted child pornography and online piracy.
Globe has partnered with global and local organizations in identifying illegal websites and blocking them out of its network.
Advocacy and social and behavioral campaigns are starting points but it takes a community to sustain these efforts to put an end to the OSAEC cycle.
“We call on each one to take a stand and help us in this advocacy. We cannot win this fight alone. Only by working together can we truly end OSAEC in the Philippines,” Crisanto said.