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November 30, 2022

Andrew Campbell 

From November 28 to December 8, Mama Fatima Singhateh, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography, and other child sexual abuse material, will visit the Philippines. Among other things, the Special Rapporteur would look into child marriage, child trafficking for sexual exploitation, exploitation of street children, and the sale of children through illegal adoptions.

According to a recent UNICEF and Save the Children study published in April, up to two million Filipino children, or roughly one in every five, are currently at risk of sexual exploitation. According to the report, 20% of Filipino children aged 12 to 17 who use the internet have been victims of serious crimes involving online sexual exploitation and abuse. 

The country has long been the world's center for producing materials that promote child sex abuse. Bongbong Marcos, the newly elected President of the Philippines, has declared an all-out war on child sexual abuse and the industry that has resulted from it. The Philippines, on the other hand, is not winning this war.