DepEd alarmed over reports of students selling sensual photos, videos

The Department of Education (DepEd) has expressed alarm over the increasing cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation among children amid the pandemic.

On Monday, DepEd said that these include the reported online sex “Christmas sale” activity where students allegedly sell sensual photos and videos to fund distance learning-related expenses.

“We are deeply alarmed by the rise of cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children during the pandemic, including a reported students’ online sex ‘Christmas sale’ activity,” the department said in a statement.

On Sunday,  Senator Sherwin Gatchalian expressed concern over reported proliferation of sensual photos and videos being sold by students in social media to raise funds for their expenses in studies.

Gatchalian called on the Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime and the Philippine National Police's Anti-Cybercrime Group to intensify their probe and crackdown on such activities.

Citing a report from the Philippine Online Student Tambayan (POST), a news website on the student sector, some students #AlterPH, #AlterPinay, and #AlterPhilippines in selling their sensual photos and videos on Twitter to buy gadgets for their siblings and pay for internet bills.

A Christmas bundle of these photos and videos, which are sold in bulk and revealed the faces of the sellers, is priced for as low as P150, he added.

The DepEd reminded that gadgets or internet connections are not requirements for distance learning.

“Depending on the available resources, public schools are also implementing other alternative distance learning modalities such as modular, radio, and TV-based instruction,” it added.

DepEd said it will cooperate with the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography (IACACP) and other government agencies in efforts to prevent and address pornography among learners.

“We have conducted cybersafety training programs in schools to protect our learners from online abuse, violence, exploration, discrimination, and bullying,” DepEd said.

“We also developed and distributed materials related to child online protection, among others,” it added.

It also urged public and private schools to establish and strengthen their respective Child Protection Committees (CPCs), which initiates information dissemination and organize activities to protect children.

“We have initiated efforts to strengthen CPCs in schools by creating a Child Protection Unit/Office (CPU) in the Central Office with counterparts in the regional offices and schools division offices that will support these school CPCs,” DepEd said. -NB, GMA News