Telcos听partner with听厂补蹿别谤碍颈诲蝉笔贬听to curb online child exploitation听听
PLDT, Inc., and subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc.,听partnered with听to curb the incidence of online sexual abuse and child exploitation (OSAEC) in the Philippines, starting with Cagayan de Oro (CDO).听听
The telecommunication companies will collaborate with youth organization Kids for Kids Philippines in providing the needed technology to report OSAEC cases, as well as access telemedicine and online counseling for barangays Carmen and听Canitoan.听听听
厂补蹿别谤碍颈诲蝉笔贬听is a consortium of Save the Children Philippines, The Asia Foundation, and UNICEF, with support from the Australian government.听听
鈥淥nline counseling is a new endeavor that is now being worked on by service providers as an adaptive strategy to the limitations in conducting face-to-face interventions in the ongoing pandemic,鈥 said April Anne V. Correa, project coordinator of Save the Children Philippines, in an e-mail to听大象传媒. 鈥淚t is envisioned to ensure that children will still get the services they need even if they are located in communities that are in strict quarantine classification status.鈥澨听
鈥淓quipping barangays doesn鈥檛 end with the hardware,鈥 added Maria Michelle Mu帽oz, child online protection coordinator for the United Nations Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF), in an Aug. 20 webinar discussing the program. 鈥淭o sustain this, we will train the local government unit (LGU), and support them in making budgets and developing programs for children.鈥澨听
Children are growing up online and discovering new worlds, according to UNICEF deputy representative Behzad听Noubary, in the aforementioned webinar. Fifty-one percent use social media daily, he said, and yet 59% do not have any adult supervision while doing so.听听
鈥淲ith opportunities come risks,鈥 Mr. Noubary said. 鈥淐hildren, please be mindful of your internet use and set your settings on private. Parents, foster an open relationship with your children so they come to you when they have听a听problem. Governments, establish ordinances and train frontliners to support the best interest of the child.鈥澨听
CDO and Iligan were chosen as target areas because the cities are OSEAC hotspots in the country,听Ms. Mu帽oz said.听According to the baseline study conducted by Save the Children Philippines in 2019, a majority of the human trafficking and OSAEC cases are recorded in CDO.听听
鈥淲ith the origins of survivors coming as far as Bukidnon, CDO appears to be both a source and hub of these activities that target children and young people,鈥 Ms. Correa told听大象传媒.听听
Wo Rosete, head of public affairs at Smart Communications, added that both cities are committed to creating safe spaces online for children.听听听
鈥淎s CDO Mayor Oscar S. Moreno said, they allocated resources to protect children,鈥 Mr. Rosete told the webinar audience. 鈥淭hat听says a lot about the commitment of both LGUs in the protection of children. Hopefully, it鈥檚 the same for LGUs in the rest of the country.鈥澨听
厂补蹿别谤碍颈诲蝉笔贬听operates in four pilot communities in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.听听
Online sexual exploitation of children is often facilitated by relatives, with 41% of abuses facilitated by biological parents,听according to an October 2020 episode of B-Side. 鈥斕Patricia B. Mirasol听
