Fighting the Child Sex Industry
Manila Times
January 29, 2000
THE disappearance and abduction of minors by sex gangs is on the increase as we see in recent media reports. This is a strong indication that the child prostitution industry is expanding in this country. There is an increased demand for minors because clients fear they might contract AIDS from older prostitutes, they are cheaper and police corruption reduces risks. Child prostitution is well organized and has strong international connections.
Foreign sex tourists are making the Philippines a destination where they can sexually exploit women and children. It is estimated that 60 percent of the sex industry of Angeles is controlled by Australians and in Olongapo City, German, Swiss and American citizens have a strong grip on the industry.
THE MANILA TIMES reported last Sunday the call of Unicef's Executive Director Carol Bellamy for all countries to fight the child sex trade, especially in Asia where there are over a million children being used as sexual playthings.
"Nations must fight the greed and brutal disregard for human rights which underpin the worldwide trafficking in children and women, most often for sexual exploitation," she told a conference in Tokyo.
Today, nations are judged by the international community according to their record of upholding human rights and especially the rights of children and women.
Transparent, swift and just legal proceedings, where due process is observed, are the hallmark of good governance. So is a nation's compliance with international commitments and obligations. Shame on any nation that fails to protect its own children from the abuse of pedophiles and sex abusers. Some untreated victims of abuse do become abusers and criminals themselves, but most do not.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and now the new approved convention against the worst kinds of child labor set even higher standards in child protection. The Philippines is one of the countries leading the fight against the child sex industry, principally through the work of non-government organizations but also because there are many committed government officials who are working closely with NGOs and share their dedication and comriiitment.
The duty and responsibility of protecting children falls primarily to parents, family and community. Yet it is government officials who have the power and authority of investigation, prosecution and judgment who must implement and enforce the child protection law. The citizens can assist and support their action. The media can help educate the public and heighten public awareness.
That is why citizens have to work in cooperation with government and wade through the swamps of bureaucratic incompetence and corruption to help vicitims of abuse. When officials and police are unresponsive, incompetent or corrupt, frustration and conflict arise within civil society.
Government and police are heavily criticized these days but we must remember that there are many good people in government doing much to advance the rights of women and children.
For 25 years, helping women, children and young people ensnared in the world of vice has been part of my apostolate. It has always entailed working with government officials in drug abuse prevention campaigns, rehabilitation and the investigation of child abusers and the recovery of sexually exploited children.
It has earned me and my Filipino co-workers the ire of foreign and local sex traffickers and their protectors. We damage their business, frighten off tourists. They complain and they are quick to retaliate. The only Filipinos who have opposed our work for children’s rights have been local politicians and their cronies especially those from areas with a thriving sex industry.
After we helped bring pedophiles and women traffickers to jail through the courts their friends, bar owners and other resident sex tourists retaliated by filing false and malicious complaints against myself and co-workers. No doubt to discredit, humiliate and harass us. All to no avail.
The false charges have been dismissed as baseless but the pedophile protectors continue to file more. This is the price that we have pay to protect children and women rights. No one ought to be afraid to take a stand for justice and speak out against abuse. The judicial process can work.
In my own experience and that of my Filipino co-workers, most prosecutors and judges have been honest and unbiased. But some pander to suspected pedophiles, especially foreigners and give us a hard time for no apparent reason.
The just and honest prosecutors judges, lawyers, court administrators and politicians who have helped advance the rights of women and children over the years have been quietly commended by higher authorities and promoted to higher positions where their virtue and moral rectitude will influence the process of good governance. It is a policy of the organized NGO lobby to work for these promotions and to oppose the unjust and incompetent.
We have strong child protection laws but their implementation is poor. The Juvenile Justice bill needs to be passed soon. Let's not forget that there has been gigantic progress made in the past 10 years in developing awareness of child sexual abuse and in bringing child sex abusers to justice, yet much more needs to be done. We are only now realizing just how pervasive and widespread child sexual abuse is. It is a challenge to Filipinos to take this cause to heart and never waiver until the forces of evil have been defeated and all the enslaved children set free.
