The Thomson Reuters Foundation released a report yesterday that paints the Philippines as the growing epicenter of the cybersex trade in the region thanks to a combination of technology, Filipinos’ high proficiency in English, and poverty. Minors are often the victims of cybersex in the country.
According to the article, the Philippines receives around 3,000 reports of possible cases per month from other nations, yet arrests are rare mainly because crimes were perpetrated by the children’s families themselves. A culture of silence, as well as high incidences of sexual abuse within the families, stop victims from speaking out, said the report.
Perpetrators of the abuse can receive up to US$100 (PHP5,335) per show. Shows sometimes involve having the children appear naked on cam, but some involve torturing them in front of their overseas clients.
Communication with potential buyers has been made easier due to the use of various social media sites and video call apps.
The country also has a well-established network of money remittance services which makes it easy for culprits to receive payment from buyers. These wiring services have been in place due to the reliance of some families on money sent home by overseas Filipino workers.
The report comes at the heels of the high-profile conviction of Australian Peter Scully for trafficking and rape. Scully allegedly lured the girls, aged 10 and 12, into his apartment where they were chained on the neck like dogs.
In some way, cybersex is the evolution of sex tourism that the country used to be known for. In the 1980s, the town of Pagsanjan in Laguna became a hotbed of pedophilia. Foreigners would travel to the town to have sex with underaged children, many of whom were pimped by their own parents. Some families were even financially supported by the pedophiles by giving them their own houses.
