SC: Child sex abuse rose 265% during pandemic

SC: Child sex abuse rose 265% during pandemic | Daily Tribune

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo has urged family court judges to acquire the necessary skills and the sensitivity to assure the welfare of children involved in cases they are adjudicating.

Gesmundo issued the call as he disclosed how online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, or OSAEC, worsened during the pandemic, increasing by a whopping 265 percent at the height of the lockdowns.

Aside from poverty, the availability and ease of access to technology opened new threats and vulnerabilities for children, while perpetrators grew more sophisticated in their tools and approaches, he said.

Gesmundo highlighted the importance of strengthening the skills of judges dealing with family law. He expressed optimism that judges will translate what they have learned into tangible improvements in the protection and advancement of the rights and welfare of children.

The Chief Justice also commended the family court judges for their important work and assured them of the Court’s determination to bring to life the guarantees and protection for children under the Constitution and the laws.

He said the SC will extend the necessary support and assistance the judges need to dispense justice effectively, especially for the victims of child exploitation and abuse.

The message was relayed by Gesmundo during the two-day “Judicial Congress: A Townhall Meeting on Child Protective Strategies and Consultation on the Strengthening of Child Protective Topics” organized by the International Justice Mission Philippines for Family Court judges held at the Roma Salon, Manila Hotel recently.

“As the digital landscape continues to shift in the years ahead, threats and vulnerabilities will continue to find new forms; it is incumbent upon us, then, to keep pace with new technologies, to constantly upgrade our knowledge and capabilities, and to continue building on both skill and sensitivity so we can ensure unhampered access to courts and the efficient delivery of justice for those who need it the most — especially children,” Gesmundo said.