MANILA, Philippines — A number of Filipino youths are now unwittingly providing material for online pornographers as various voyeurs now harvest daring ‘selfie pictures’ posted on the net, a non-government organizaton (NGO) said.
“Traditionally when we say child pornography, a syndicate is behind it. But what is happening now is that the children are now the ones producing material,” Ysrael Diloy, advocacy training officer of Stairwell Foundation, Inc., said at the National Conference on Child Protection in the Cyberage in Manila.
Diloy said that online perverts now archive public personal photos on the net which they then swap with other pedophiles in their network and community.
“It is similar to how sex videos are spread,” Diloy said.
The danger therein lies when online pedophiles become as bold as to make online, and even offline, advances to the person in a photo. In some cases overseas, some pedophiles go as far as stalking and harassing their victims.
The trend, according to Diloy, is being fueled by how the practice of “sexting,” or sharing explicit photographs through mobile phones, has now migrated to social media. As many children do not understand the importance of internet privacy, pedophiles are in turn having a field day collecting photos by accessing public profiles.
In a nationwide survey of 3,500 respondents made last year by Stairwell, four out of 10 respondents age 10 to 12 and six out of 10 respondents age 13 to 17 said that they add online strangers on Facebook. Overall, five out of 10 of those surveyed have public Facebook profiles.
The challenge, Diloy said, is to build up the “protective capacity” of children by making them aware of the risks of online activity.
“The challenge is to make them realize that the Internet is just like reality and that online danger may also translate to offline danger” Diloy said.
The best way to protect children against such exploitation should be to foster dialogue at home and at school, Diloy said. The problem, however, is that majority of parents and teachers do not engage children regarding the perils of technology.
“The digital divide is neutral but it becomes negative when it hinders dialogue between adults and children about online child protection,” Diloy said. –Jose Bimbo F. Santos, InterAksyon.com
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
