‘Rising incidents of e-violence vs female students alarming’

MANILA, Philippines — Detained Sen. Leila de Lima has expressed concern over the rising incidents of electronic violence against female students through unauthorized recording and distribution of obscene photos and videos in various online platforms. 

“Due to the unregulated nature of social media platforms and other online spaces, young people are now allowed uncontrollable freedom to share abusive content, if not become the victim of online over-sharing themselves,” she said in a statement issued over the weekend. 

She lamented that if the highest leader of the country “has no manners, no respect for women, and makes fun of sensitive issues like rape, and his minions defend him, what can we expect as the consequence to our culture, and the minds of our youth?”

Several cases relating to electronic violence were reported in the past months, including the posting online of nude photos of a number of female students in several Metro Manila schools.  

De Lima believes these are clear cases of electronic violence that, if left unchecked and unaddressed, could lead more children and teenagers to do the unthinkable. 

In the 17th Congress, she co-authored Senate Bill 1251, which defines the crime of electronic violence through the unauthorized recording and distribution of explicit videos and photos through various online platforms. 

Under the proposed measure, inflicting electronic violence and threatening to cause electronic violence against women and children are punishable by imprisonment of five to 10 years and a fine not less than P100,000 but not more than P500,000.

In November 2018, De Lima also filed Senate Resolution 945 seeking a Senate inquiry into the increasing cases of child cybersex abuses in the country despite the existence of at least five laws to protect children from abuses, exploitation and violence.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, for his part, urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to prioritize the hiring of guidance counselors in elementary and high schools to deter bullying and provide support to victims of bullying.

His call came in the wake of DepEd’s revelation of more than 22,000 cases of bullying recorded for the school year 2016 to 2017.

“While the 22,059 cases in SY 2016 to 2017 is a significant decrease from the 32,129 of SY 2015 to 2016, I was shocked that the number of bullying cases was that high. Obviously, there is a large room for improvement in terms of support for the mental well-being of our students and teachers,” Gatchalian said. – With Emmanuel Tupas, Helen Flores, Rainier Allan Ronda