Written by CME, 2013
Short article about Child Exploitation Online: why it happens, how and why to report it.
cnn story about child exploitation
Spiral of Poverty One Cause of Child Exploitation Online
27.9% of Filipino citizens make less than 16,841 pesos (412USD) a year according to data from National Statistics Coordination Board (2012).  16,841 peso/year is considered below the poverty line by Philippine standards.  The Philippines is still a third world country with a  poor quality of life and a poor quality of education that enhances the suffering of many children.
Unfortunately, the strong influence of the Catholic church does more to hurt than heal with its political push to  block laws that  favor of family planning issues such as birth control and prochoice.  Schools do not teach sex education so children grows up without the knowledge of safe sex. They grow up to become very young parents with even less knowledge about family or birth control causing an endless cycle of poverty.
In a family with 5 kids or more, an only one breadwinner, with a job of a minimum salary of less than 300 pesos daily.  It takes a lot of budgeting.  The families diet consists ofporridge, noodles and sardines. 300 pesos is not enough to supply the family’s needs. In order to survive the parents are forced to make their children work for a living. Due to lack of parenting they implant in children’s mind that they must be responsible of taking care of the family specially the eldest daughter or son. Mostly it is the eldest daughter that is obliged to work for the entire family.
Poor Parents Make it worse
In worst case (yet common) scenario parents talk their daughter into prostitution. Some sells their kids for slavery or sent to beg for money on the streets.. Some children are exploited in cities  Luzon Area such as Angeles Pampangga, Cavite and Metro Manila to work as cam girls on the Internet to show their young bodies to the foreigners.  The authorities do investigate and catch the international and domestic sexual predators however the underground market for this activity still goes on even though “cam girl†activity is actually against the law (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
The exploitation of minors is also happening in other poor countries such as Thailand and Cambodia where those in a position to alert the police turn a blind eye for money or participate in what will lead to the scaring of a child that will grow up into life-long self destruction.  Raped of their innocence without the benefit of a childhood and not given the chance to choose for themselves what life they wanted all to satisfy the perverse appetite of people that know better but don’t care.
The parents of these kids are certainly at fault, but if there was no one giving money for these acts, without pedofiles and predator customers paying for the activity there would be no reason to do it.
Only We can Fight against Child Exploitation Online
 There is a that says:  “It takes a village to raise a child.”
 Its our responsibility to report these acts, confront the parents and raise awareness where we can.  These children deserve a bright future and guidance instead of being abused and damned to a life of being used and exploited.  The real disease is poverty this is only one of the symptoms.
Ways to Stop Online Child Exploitation:
If you know of an offender that is doing this report them.  The only way to help kids from being exploited online is the stop the people that give money for the act.  If we don’t help these children, no one else will.
 Europe – http://ceop.police.uk/ – email…enquiries@ceop.gsi.gov.uk
 US
http://stoponlineexploitation.org/
https://www.childwelfare.gov/responding/exploitation.cfm
 Canada:
 Australia:
The AFP investigates online child exploitation which occurs using a telecommunications service, such as computers with internet connectivity or mobile phones. — Â www.afp.gov.au
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www.unicef.org/infobycountry/philippines_46852.html
References:
Leland Joseph R. Dela Cruz, 2009 Philippine Poverty, 9 February 2011, http://www.slideshare.net/ldelacruz/poverty-situationer-2011-8294418 (accessed February 15, 2012).
farivar, cyrus, 2012 New Philippine Law, Sept, 2012, http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/new-philippine-law-outlaws-cybersex/
