Transcript Child Pornography

BEST EXPERIENCE IN
THE USE OF NATIONAL
LEGISLATION TO
COMBAT ONLINE CHILD
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
ATTY. JO-ANN SUAREZ-PABRIAGA
Children’s Legal Bureau, Inc
CHILDREN’S LEGAL BUREAU
“The right of every child is our
concern”
VISION
A just world for children.
MISSION
CLB is committed to empower communities to promote
justice for children through legal assistance, training
and advocacy
MAIN PROGRAMS
Laban Bata
MAIN PROGRAMS
Focuses on prosecution of child
abuse and exploitation,
investigation and rescue of
exploited children, trainings for
prosecutors, judges, police,
social workers and the
community, policy development
and advocacy and networking.
MAIN PROGRAMS
Child’s Rights Protection Unit
(CRPU)
MAIN PROGRAMS
• Organizes the five pillars of justice
in selected areas as a mechanism for
the prevention of child
abuse/exploitation and CICL and
coordinated intervention in cases of
child abuse/exploitation and CICL.
CRPUs have been organized in 12
municipalities/cities of Cebu.
CRPU AREAS
Lapulapu City, Danao City, Minglanilla,
Compostela, City of Naga, Balamban, Mandaue
City, Talisay City, Cordova
New Areas: Toledo City, Argao and Moalboal
FUNDING PARTNERS
Emerging Problem
Child Sex Tourism (CST)
• Cebu is known to be one of the top five areas
for child prostitution and sex tourism in the
country.
• In a research conducted in Cebu in 2004, all the
taxi drivers surveyed responded that they had
had an encounter with a foreign tourist
accompanied by a Filipino minor.
• Interviews conducted in a drop-in centre for
victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)
showed that 70 % of the girls assisted were
aged between 11 and 17 years.
• Cebu is a prime tourist destination in the
Philippines, and is advertised on websites
providing information on where sex services are
available. (Source: ECPAT)
Emerging Problem
Child Cyber-Pornography
National Level….
• Passage of several laws:
– R.A. 7610 Child Protection Act
(punishes child prostitution)
– R.A. 9208 Anti-Trafficking in Persons
Act
– R.A. 9775 Anti-Child Pornography Law
PROBLEMS/LIMITATIONS BEFORE
R.A. 9775 WAS PASSED
• Only those who used/employed
children can be prosecuted under
R.A. 7610.
• It excludes those who publish,
access, transmit, sell, distribute,
etc,. child pornographic materials
PROBLEMS/LIMITATIONS BEFORE
R.A. 9775 WAS PASSED
• Under the Revised Penal Code of the
Philippines, publication is punished
but it is a too general definition
under obscene publication.
Anti-Child Pornography Act
of 2009 ( R.A. 9775)
• Answers the lack of a law of the
Philippines to combat online sexual
exploitation of children
Anti-Child Pornography
Act of 2009 ( R.A. 9775)
• Child Pornography- refers to any
representation, whether visual,
audio, or written combination
thereof, by electronic, mechanical,
digital, optical, magnetic or any
other means, of child engaged or
involved in real or simulated explicit
sexual activities
Anti-Child Pornography
Act of 2009 ( R.A. 9775)
• Explicit Sexual Activity-
includes actual or simulated
1) As to form:
(i) sexual intercourse or lascivious
act including, but not limited to,
contact involving genital to genital,
oral to genital, anal to genital, or oral
to anal, whether between persons of
the same or opposite sex
Anti-Child Pornography
Act of 2009 ( R.A. 9775)
(2) bestiality;
(3) masturbation;
(4) sadistic or masochistic abuse;
(5) lascivious exhibition of the
genitals, buttocks, breasts, pubic
area and/or anus; or
(6) use of any object or instrument for
lascivious acts
HOW THE LAW WAS USED/
MAXIMIZED?
• Advocacy for Prevention
– Capacity building activities.
– Advocacy activities and information
dissemination.
– The CRPU areas supported the
campaign led by TDH (Project Redirect)
by passing resolutions in support of the
campaign and joining the walk against
child pornography.
– Ordinances to regulate internet café
were passed. Some areas are also
contemplating of passing ordinances to
regulate internet in the homes.
HOW THE LAW WAS USED/
MAXIMIZED?
– The Child Protect Movement (CPM)launched by
CLB in August 2011
– The formation of a network against Child Sex
Tourism include the issue of child pornography
as part of CST as well. ( Cebu Against Child
Sex Tourism)
– CLB is also part of the Campaign led by Terre
des Hommes against child pornography which
culminated in the Day to Stop Child Cyber
pornography, “Subgo Lihok Batok
Pornograpiya” on August 1, 2012
HOW THE LAW WAS USED/
MAXIMIZED?
• Case Filing and Litigation
HOW THE LAW WAS USED?
The CORDOVA Experience
• The Municipality of Cordova is located in
the 6th district of the Cebu Province
in the Philippines.
• The mainland of Cordova lies on a separate
island, in front of the south side of Mactan Island
It is connected to the main island of Mactan over
three bridges.
• Its territorial area comprises some 740.86
hectares (1,830.7 acres) land mass and 48.75
hectares (120.5 acres) of islets
• The total population in Cordova is 50,353
( based on the 2012 census)
 Regarded as a 3rd class municipality
( average annual income of Php30Million or more
but less than Php40 Million
The Cordova Experience
• Cordova is a sleepy town, known for its local product
“bakasi” or salt-water eel, which preparation in its shores
attracts local tourists excited over this exotic food offering.
• There are no big commercial establishments in this locality,
in sharp contrast to its neighboring cities – Cebu City
across shore and the adjacent Lapu-lapu City. There are
also no known controversial issues, save for the purportedly
thriving drugs trading, which are likewise known in other
towns.
The Cordova Experience
• Three (3) areas were identified as
“hotspots”
• “SHOW” or popularly labelled as
CYBERSEX.
The Cordova Experience
CASE 1
• A poor family buys a computer set on
installment, get an internet connection, and set it
up in a private area in the house. There is at
least one operator conversant with the use of the
computer, and who is usually the one who has a
foreigner contact, claimed to be a boyfriend.
• The operator would chat with this foreigner
contact as their viewer-client, who directs the
‘show’ telling the performer what to do and what
part to undress; If the foreigner wants variety,
he can order for children of any age. The
neighbourhood children are recruited to do the
‘show’.
The Cordova Experience
CASE 1
• In the “show”, the children are asked to
show/exhibit their breasts, genitals, buttocks,
breasts, pubic area and/or anus.
• They are also asked to insert a “toy” ( dildos)
inside their anus or genitals and lick each other in
those private areas
• The foreigner pays through local money transfer.
The operators are usually paid $50-$200
depending on the length of the show. That is
around P1,200-P8,000, which is quite a lot of
money for a single day’s work. The children are
paid P50-200.00 by the operator.
The Cordova Experience
CASE 1
• Through the help of the three minors who
were victims of their neighbors, we were
able to file a case for child pornography
and child abuse against the respondents.
• The perpetrators are all in jail while the
case is pending in court.
• The children were housed in a safe and
secure shelter and received pyscho-social
interventions
The Cordova Experience
CASE 2
The Cordova Experience
CASE 2
The Cordova Experience
• CASE 1 versus CASE 2
– Commonalities
– Differences
LEARNINGS
The Cordova Experience
• The Cordova experience is proof that
with community awareness of the
law/s protecting children and local
cooperation, the community can help
fight against cybersex and prevent
the promotion of local children as
tourism come-ons within our
respective jurisdiction.
SUCCESSES
• Awareness created among the five
pillars of justice
• Support of the local government
units, the police, and the social
welfare officer
• Community whose awareness was
raised
CHALLENGES
• Lack of support from some police
forces and some agencies
• Problem with the parents or the
complainants themselves who
sometimes lose the heart in
continuing with the case
• Problem in prosecuting the case
especially if the parents are the
perpetrators
IMPORTANCE OF THE LAW
• Advocacy is strengthened
• Cases can be filed and hopefully set
this as deterrent to future
perpetrators.
THANK YOU!!!!