With the growing availability of digital devices, more and more children are being born into a world where using the internet is second nature. In the Philippines alone, 85 percent of children have access to a mobile phone. While the internet has allowed children to form social connections with their peers—especially during the lockdown—it has also become a hotspot for violence and abuse.
World Vision Philippines Project Against Child Exploitation Director Daphne Culanag defines online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC) as “the use of information and communication technology to abuse and/or exploit children sexually.” Cases of OSAEC include the online grooming of children and the production and distribution of child sexual abuse or exploitation materials (CSAEM).
Although Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Act penalizes child abuse offenders, OSAEC remains prevalent in the country. One in every 100 Filipino children experience some form of online abuse everyday, and potential victims could easily fall victim to abusers hiding behind unsuspecting avatars and icons.
Behind closed doors
OSAEC has become a fast-growing, borderless crime. With a camera, free internet access, and international money transfer centers accessible in local neighborhoods, facilitators could easily setup OSAEC arrangements at home. As many Filipinos can speak English, foreign perpetrators can also easily communicate with local facilitators online.
State counsel for the Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC) Atty. Antoni Pauline Pascual classifies OSAEC into two categories: facilitated and self-generated. Adults, and sometimes even the parents of the victim, facilitate the abuse and connect with the perpetrator through online platforms. Meanwhile, unsupervised children who self-generate CSAEM directly talk to perpetrators about the materials.
Val Rindel Suban, a computer science student from Mapua University, explains how perpetrators and facilitators exchange information under the radar. Users can create alternative accounts to browse the deep web, such as Tor, and join chat groups for buying and selling CSAEM. Mainstream websites, such as Twitter and Reddit, are also sources of online child pornography.
Aside from using child-friendly aliases, perpetrators also cover their tracks by taking advantage of the security features provided by virtual private networks. Pascual adds that the IP addresses in the Philippines are dynamic, which can be a challenge for law enforcement to catch any suspicious activity online. However, cooperating with international money transfer centers has been effective in identifying perpetrators, as IDs are required to make transactions.
Continuous cycle
Police Colonel Vina Guzman, the Chief of Staff of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), emphasizes the need for collaboration between local and international law enforcement authorities in resolving OSAEC-related crimes. For instance, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency and the Australian Federal Police assess and report cybercrime incidents to PNP-ACG, especially if the identified victim is a Filipino. Thus, it becomes their priority to rescue the child and help these agencies prosecute the perpetrator.
In hopes of breaking the cycle of abuse, PNP also works with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to provide shelter and therapy to the rescued victims. Subsequently, the victims will be returned to their community upon evaluation of their condition by a psychologist.
However, Culanag adds that OSAEC has long-term effects that may prevent the victims from taking control of their life, including low self-esteem, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Guzman worries about the possibility that the victims will “return to whatever it is they [were] doing” if their trauma has not been thoroughly addressed.
Poverty is another factor that leaves victims vulnerable to coercion. With increasing poverty rates from the COVID-19 pandemic, creating CSAEM has been an easy way to make ends meet. Rescued victims in need of money may become facilitators themselves and perpetuate the cycle of abuse. Another case would be the parents committing this offense, which adversely affects children as they might be “oblivious to what is happening to them,” Subaan explains.
Uncovering the virtual world
Aside from enacting laws criminalizing online sexual abuse, public sectors and civil society organizations must work hand in hand to prevent online sexual abuse with the Whole of the Government Approach initiative. A cyber hygiene webinar of the DOJ-OOC, for instance, discusses pertinent issues on cybercrime threats and trends related to online sexual abuse. In this way, law enforcement authorities are informed on how cybercrime operates in the virtual world and ways to deal with it.
Culanag also underscores the importance of making livelihood programs accessible to parents, especially to poor families, to avoid cases of exploiting their children. Similarly, educating parents, guardians, and children about internet safety will protect them from this cybercrime. Bolstering her statement, Subaan further states that this “will strengthen people’s views on online security and privacy.”
Reaching out
Cybercrime-related offenses, such as OSAEC, have made the digital space bleak and dangerous for children. With the exhaustive efforts of national and international agencies and organizations to address this borderless crime, it is imperative that families and communities also work together to prevent the recurrence of OSAEC and raise awareness of it to protect the welfare of children.
In any case that people experience or witness OSAEC, they are encouraged to contact authorities to report this incident.
Contact Details:
Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OCC)
[email protected]
National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD)
[email protected]
Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Hotline: (02) 87230401 local 7491
09688674302
09671360322
09929893889
https://www.facebook.com/anticybercrimegroup
PNP-ACG Women and Children Cybercrime Protection Unit
[email protected]
0968-896-4759
https://www.facebook.com/PNPACGWCCPU
PNP Aleng Pulis
[email protected]
0920 907 1717
Council for the Welfare of Children Makabata Helpline
0919-354-1383
0915-802-2375
