10 Feb 2021

In celebration of Safer Internet Day, ECPAT Philippines, in partnership with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) launched eProtectKids, the Philippines’ first global internet hotline against Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) on February 9, 2021 at Microtel – UP Technohub in Quezon City.

eProtectKids is a member of INHOPE (International Association of Internet Hotlines), a network of 47 hotlines worldwide that aims to quickly remove CSAM from the internet since 1999.

Through its advanced and secure system, INHOPE member hotlines can easily forward a verified child sexual abuse material to the country where it is hosted. The host country will then facilitate its removal in accordance with its national legislation. INHOPE also preserves information that may aid law enforcement investigations even after an illegal content is removed online and can no longer be downloaded.

With the pandemic devastating the poor the hardest and young people spending a lot of time online more than ever before, sex offenders worldwide have exploited the situation to prey on vulnerable children. ‘Cyber tips’ received by the Department of Justice – Office of Cybercrime have tripled since the onset of the COVID crisis. Financial transactions linked to Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) in the Philippines increased in March and May 2020, and Filipino students have reportedly sold obscene images of themselves to raise funds for their education and afford gadgets for online classes. ECPAT Philippines alone received nearly 100 reports of social media accounts trading sexual images of minors since March 2020.

“Children victims of CSAM are revictimized every time their images circulate online, available for everyone to see. With eProtectKids and in partnership with the CICC, reports of CSAM in the Philippines can now be processed and removed quicker across different jurisdictions. We also hope that information preserved by the hotline can help in identifying victims who need to be rescued and offenders that need to be prosecuted immediately,” said Ginno Corral, ECPAT Philippines Hotline Analyst.

The public can anonymously report a Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) to eProtectKids by logging on to ecpat.org.ph/report and pasting the URL of the content. They may also email report@ecpat.org.ph

 

 

 

In photos: Representatives from DICT-Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, PNP – Women and Children Protection Center, DOJ – Office of Cybercrime, Deparment of Social Welfare and Development and Comission on Human Rights attended the eProtectKids launching event on Feb 9, 2021 at Microtel UP Technohub in Quezon City.

More event photos here: Facebook

Event video highlights here: Facebook

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ECPAT Philippines is a part of a global network of organizations in over 100 countries, working together to end the Sexual Exploitation of Children (SEC) for three decades.

Contact Persons:

Jenna Serrano, Information and Communication Officer, ECPAT Philippines

+639985678498; jennalineserrano@gmail.comecpatphil@gmail.com

Ginno Corral, Hotline Analyst, ECPAT Philippines

+639178177826; ginnoreycorral@gmail.com