ONLINE CHILD SAFETY

February 11, 2023 Opinion

Now more than ever, we all should strive to protect our children online. A campaign calls on the
private sector and media to help boost children’s online safety. In celebration of Safer Internet Day, Child Fund Philippines will launch the Web Safe and Wise Philippine campaign on February 10,
Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Zoom and Child Fund Philippines Facebook page. The national launch is part of the Web Safe and Wise global campaign led by the Child Fund Alliance.

“Child Online Safety is not a new discussion, especially here in the Philippines,” says Anand Vishwakarma, Country Director, Child Fund Philippines. “Unfortunately, as of last year, the country remains to be the top global source of child sexual abuse and exploitation materials,” adds Vishwakarma. “With the launch of the Web Safe and Wise Philippine campaign, we are hoping to
create a better digital world by collaboratively working with the private sector and the media, to produce safeguards that complement the government’s efforts to make online spaces safer for
Filipino children.”

Child Fund Philippines is a child focused NGO serving children, youth and their families in the Philippines since the 1970s, a program office of Child Fund International, a global not-for-profit
organization with the primary purpose of helping children break the generational cycle of poverty and achieve their full potential. Child Fund Philippines works alongside local partners in over 21 provinces in the country to ensure that children and youth are safe, healthy, educated, and skilled. Its primary advocacy is on promoting children’s and youths’ rights and preventing child labor and online sexual exploitation.

Our recent work with the Philippine government, NGO partners, private sectors, the media, and child protection champions resulted in the #ShutdownOSEC campaign, introducing OSEC-targeted
congressional bills and the increased engagement of OSEC media coverage. According to UNICEF, one in every two Filipino children experienced online abuse and exploitation in 2021 alone. With
the internet’s widespread use, Child Fund recognizes the need for a collective effort to protect children against all forms of abuse, violence and exploitation happening online.

Joy Catagan, 21, OSAEC warrior from Cagayan de Oro, calls on the various sectors to work with them to help keep young Filiipinos safe online. “We, the youth, must be protected, given the
information they need to comprehend dangers and risks online, and given the opportunity to learn how to do so. “ With child participation, stakeholder collaboration, parental control, continuous
online education, and the strict enforcement of Republic Act 11930, or the Anti Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Act, Child Fund hopes to foster digital literacy among the country’s children and youth while protecting them from harmful online content and
perpetrators.

RA11930 is a landmark law that is one of the first of its kind in East Asia and the Pacific. “I am proud that our efforts significantly contributed to the passage of a new law against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children including the online production, selling and distribution of child sexual abuse materials in the Philippines last year,” says Anand Vishwakarma. “Through the
#ShutdownOSEC campaign, and through the collective efforts of the civil society groups that pushed for RA 11930, we created a monumental win for all Filipino children.”