Modern technology has provided a means for the live-stream sex abuse trade, which is rife in the Philippines.
Christian churches in the Philippines are working with the government to shut down “all forms of child violence,” especially online sexual exploitation.
Online sexual exploitation of children has become a major problem, says Bishop Ruperto Santos.
“What we need is partnerships [with various groups] and more prosecutions.”
One of Santos’s particular concerns is for children being exploited online by their own parents or relatives.
Records from the Christian church groups helping to combat the live-stream trade show that 72 percent of the perpetrators during the rescue operations were found to be parents or relatives of the victims.
An ecumenical summit on how to protect children from online sexual exploitation took place in Manila last week.
“We are worried that without jobs and livelihood opportunities, more people will resort to doing something negative,” Santos says.
Rescue and arrest operations related to the cybersex trade in the Philippines went up from 17 in 2015 to 51 in the first nine months of 2018, according to the International Justice Mission.
“Girls and boys are forced to perform sex acts on themselves or each other, are molested by an adult, or are abused in other degrading ways,” says Sam Inocencio, national director of the International Justice Mission.
In 2016, UNICEF said the Philippines is the “epicentre” of the live-stream sexual abuse trade and the “number one global source of child pornography.”
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