Saving our children from online predators

By BusinessMirror, 9 Feb 2021

The Internet can be a risky place, especially for children or minors. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, concerned parents had a tough time keeping their kids off the Internet. When home quarantines were mandated and classes moved online, the challenge of monitoring children’s Internet activities multiplied. From The Associated Press: “Study: Philippines a global hot spot for online child abuse.” The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund has confirmed that the Philippines has become the global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade, and many of the victims are children.

From the Unicef: “The Philippines is one of the top global sources of child sex abuse materials. In 2018 alone, 600,000 sexualized photos of Filipino children were bartered and traded. The Philippine Kids Online Survey found that 90 percent of Filipino children can access the Internet whenever they want or need to, and 59 percent connect to the Internet without supervision. It also revealed that 2 in 10 children are vulnerable to be victims of child online sexual exploitation and abuse.”

Online predators are making money by exploiting Filipino children. In a public bulletin titled “Child Pornography in the Philippines,” the Anti-Money Laundering Council reported suspicious transactions worth P113 million related to child pornography in the first half of 2020, almost double the P65.8 million reported in 2019.

To protect Filipino children from online predators, the Philippines joined the Safer Internet Day (SID) celebration in 2013 when Stairway Foundation (www.stairwayfoundation.org) became the country convener for SID Philippines. The celebration sees hundreds of organizations get involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

Globally, Safer Internet Day is celebrated in over 100 countries, coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, and national Safer Internet Centers across Europe. The day offers the opportunity to highlight positive uses of technology and to explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online community. It calls upon young people, parents, teachers, social workers, law enforcers, companies and policy-makers to join together to create a better Internet for children.

In 2016, the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography adopted the Safer Internet Day Philippines in the National Response Plan for Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children 2016-2020. The Council then envisioned to institutionalize the advocacy through the massive nationwide information dissemination drive by securing a proclamation from the Office of the President.

On February 5, 2018, President Duterte issued Proclamation 417, declaring the Second Tuesday of February of Every Year as Safer Internet Day for Children in the Philippines. On February 13, 2018, DSWD as the chair launched the Safer Internet Day Philippines in coordination with the Council’s members and partners.

In this year’s Safer Internet Day Celebration, Stairway Foundation is spearheading a national network conference dubbed “Break The Silence.” All of us can help make the campaign against exploitation of children succeed. For example, those who witness online sexual abuse of children must report immediately to child support organizations such as Action Against Human Trafficking (1343 for Metro Manila; 021343 outside Metro Manila), Bantay Bata (163), and Philippine Red Cross (143).

Online sexual exploitation violates our children’s rights, which affects their well-being and deny them the opportunity to reach their full potential. Let’s do everything we can to keep our children safe online.