Pedo. Bugaw. Manyak. Mamboboso.
Ideally, innocent children should not need to know these hideous terms. The Philippines, however, has been identified by international law enforcement agencies and NGOs as a “global hub” for live streaming of sexual abuse on children.
Online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) surged during the pandemic when many Filipinos lost their jobs. Tech companies reported more than 1.29 million images and videos of child abuse materials were produced in the country in 2020—triple the number in 2019. Most of the images were coursed through Facebook or through gaming apps.
These figures do not include sexual predators who are not online, but instead live near the children – in the same community or even in the same home. UNICEF reports three out of five Filipino children are being physically and psychologically abused, bullied, and almost one in five children being sexually violated.
“Children do not understand what constitutes sexual abuse in the first place,” said Chary Mercado, former Smart Parenting columnist and children’s rights advocate. “Many times, the predators are people the children already trust, which makes it a bigger crime.”
The Gasera ng Paglingap series is published by Istorya, the education thrust of famed Filipino artists Marina Cruz and Rodel Tapaya.
Read full article here via Manila Standard