Among the key findings of the report on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA), jointly designed and implemented by the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking organization, International Criminal Police Organization, and the United Nations Children’s Fund, and funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, the “Disrupting Harm” project found that 55 percent of children surveyed in the Philippines do not know how to report harmful content on social media.
Additionally, the report found that 44 percent of children do not know where to get help if they or a friend were subjected to sexual harassment or abuse, 13 percent had sexual images of them shared without their permission within the last year, 36 percent did not know who shared their images, and 31 percent of children did not tell anyone when their sexual images were shared without their permission.
Thirteen percent of children surveyed had also been threatened or blackmailed to engage in sexual activities within the past year.
“None of these children reported what happened to any formal reporting mechanisms though over half of those children did disclose to friends or caregivers,” the report said.
Despite being the most common and logical targets of sexual predators, which through the internet have achieved global reach, Filipino children somehow remain ignorant and uninformed on what constitutes harmful content and behavior on social media and the internet, along with what actions and avenues for protection are available to them.
Protection is something that the government can and has tried to provide. However, the key remains with the parents and guardians, who have the unenviable job of educating and informing our vulnerable kids, which necessitates “the talk” that many adults may have been squeamishly avoiding when it comes to their charges.
If we are going to protect our children from sexual predators, exploitation, and abuse, they have to be made aware of what those threats are, where they could come from, and who they can go to to report it so action can be taken. Government and parents will need to join hands to gather the courage and wherewithal to face our kids and have that conversation where we tell them what the dangers are and how ready we are to protect them from such threats.*
