EDITORIAL - OSEC for gadgets

Even before COVID-19 strictly confined minors to their homes, child welfare advocates were already expressing concern over rising cases of online sexual exploitation of children or OSEC.

Like the world’s oldest profession, OSEC is mainly driven by the need to earn a living. So it’s not surprising that child welfare groups have reported a spike in OSEC during the COVID quarantines. Parents and guardians, who are often the ones who drive children to online sexual exploitation, have lost their sources of livelihood during the pandemic. Desperation can drive them to use even their children to put food on the table.

With the shift to distance learning, many children from low-income households have been given access to the internet, with thousands of computers provided for free by local government units and civic groups. Despite this, over two million students failed to enroll this school year, and among the biggest reasons was the lack of the needed gadgets and internet connectivity.

Those in need have apparently found a way to raise funds. The news portal Philippine Online Student Tambayan or POST has reported that students are selling their sensual photos online. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the money was intended to buy gadgets for the sellers’ siblings and pay for internet service. He said that during the holidays, the purveyors offered a Christmas bundle containing photos and videos, some of which reveal the faces of the sellers, for a sale price of just P150.

Sexual trafficking of children is big business. The Anti-Money Laundering Council reported that in the first half of 2020, suspicious transactions linked to the sexual abuse of children amounted to P113.1 million – nearly double the P65.8 million recorded in the same period in 2019. The AMLC said the number of suspicious transaction reports reached 27,217 from January to June last year.

The Philippines has been identified as a global hotspot for OSEC; the suspicious transactions tracked by the AMLC were from all over the world. Child welfare advocates are pushing for legislation to deal specifically with OSEC, with internet service providers mandated to cooperate in the campaign. The AMLC report, combined with the POST report, should lead to legal remedies to curb this scourge.