Disrupting Harm in the Philippines: Evidence on Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, through its Safe Online initiative, ECPAT, INTERPOL, and UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti worked in partnership to design and implement Disrupting Harm – a research project on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA). This unique partnership brings a multidisciplinary approach to a complex issue in order to see all sides of the problem. OCSEA refers to situations that involve digital or communication technologies at some point during the continuum of abuse or exploitation; it can occur fully online or through a mix of online and in-person interactions between offenders and children. The Disrupting Harm research was conducted in six Southeast Asian countries, including The Philippines and seven Eastern and Southern African countries. Data were synthesised from nine different research activities to generate each national report which tells the story of the threat, and presents clear recommendations for action.

Key findings in the Disrupting Harm in The Philippines report include:

• 55% of children surveyed did not know how to report harmful content on social media.
• 44% said they did not know where to get help if they or a friend were subjected to sexual harassment or abuse.
• 13% of children surveyed said they had had sexual images of them shared without their permission within the last year. 36% did not know who had shared the images. 31% of children who had their sexual images shared without their permission did not tell anyone.
• 13% of children surveyed had been threatened or blackmailed to engage in sexual activities within the past year. None of these children reported what happened to any formal reporting mechanisms though over half of those children did disclose to friends or caregivers.