A PHILIPPINE senator has filed a resolution that seeks to probe the spike in cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children and the use of chat platforms and electronic wallets in soliciting these illegal services.
Senate Resolution No. 1307, which Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros filed on Feb. 3, urges the committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality to look into the use of digital financial systems for transactions linked to online sexual abuse of children.
Citing a 2022 study by the International Justice Mission, nearly half a million Filipino children were trafficked to produce child sexual exploitation material for profit.
“The rise of end-to-end encryption, while providing privacy and security to regular conversations, has led to the impunity of sexual predators, whose illegal activities can fly under the radar and below law enforcement security,” based on a copy of the resolution.
In a separate 2022 study, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said about 20% of children aged 12-17 were prone to online sexual abuse and exploitation, with 23% of children not telling anyone of the harm they experienced.
The Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act, which established the National Coordination Center against Online Sexual Abuse Against Children, lapsed into law in July 2022.
Its implementing rules and regulations were released in May 2023, which mandates the creation of an online sexual offenders registry for foreigners and Filipinos.
“While the passage of the law has provided many additional policy tools for law enforcement agencies to investigate online sexual abuse of children related offenses the advent of emerging technologies… has proven challenging for even the most committed law enforcer,” Ms. Hontiveros said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
