Online sexual abuse mostly perpetrated by parents, relatives—DOJ
Photo courtesy of the PNP Women and Children Protection Center.
The Department of Justice Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking disclosed that victims of online sexual abuse or exploitation of children are usually perpetrated by parents or relatives of the victims.
This was disclosed by DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon sponsored by the Presidential Communications Office yesterday.
He said most of the cases are reported by neighbors since the OSAEC cases the children are victimized by their own parents and family members.
"Those who report the online sexual abuse are neighbors, sadly the children/victims who are abused usually perpetrated by their parents and relatives. They are the ones who made the explicit videos, which are being sold to foreigners abroad. The neighbors usually noticed it and report the matter to us," said Ty.
The DOJ official admitted that parents are the ones who use their children as bait to would-be clients and they are the ones encouraging it.
"Yes, the parents are usually the ones using their children to get involved in sex trafficking which should not be the case. They think that it is just a video, and they are the ones using or having sex with their children, and what they want is to earn, which is wrong," said Ty.
He said the sexual act perpetrated by their own parents or relatives is punishable under the law and the children or victims may develop long-term trauma.
"It is very wrong and punishable under the law plus the victim developed long-term trauma and in their subconscious, they know it's wrong," he said.
The DOJ official said the mindset of these parents is not to do it because it is bad and it is wrong to say that they just want to earn money.
Ty said that through the years there have been thousands of such cases and every year there are hundreds of convictions, and thousands of victims are rescued from a variety of different schemes of human trafficking.
"I can provide you the data but one thing I want to emphasize, human trafficking has many kinds, we have sex trafficking, labor, organ trafficking, and many more.