Cyberspace a playground for porn, child molesters

CLARISSA V. MILITANTE, GMANews.TV There are over 100,000 websites in the world today with thousands of images of child pornography and abuse, according to a study by Microsoft-Philippines. Even more tragic, in a broad search of the Internet for a rapid appraisal study of the problem, the University of the Philippines-Center for Integrative Studies (UP-CIDS) found pornographic images of children aged 11 to 17 years old, “positively identified as Filipinos," wearing popular Philippine-produced underwear. Another set of pictures showed Filipino teen-agers doing oral sex and penetration. In one picture, a girl of 16 and a man in his ‘20s were portrayed engaging in sex. The UP-CIDS study determined that most of the perpetrators are foreigners who are getting more organized and setting up businesses in the Philippines. They solicit their child subjects or victims through Filipino accomplices. The websites carrying the pornographic materials had internet protocol (IP) addresses originating from the United States or Europe, but the photos and other graphic images have been taken in the Philippines. UP-CIDS’ 2004 study has been published in the book Child Pornography in the Philippines with funding from the United Nations Children’s Fund or Unicef. The study’s findings were discussed at a recent conference in Manila dubbed “Building Alliances to Combat Child Pornography." The conference drew participants who are just beginning to understand the workings of the Internet, or web activities like chatting, surfing, downloading and uploading of information. To the last, they agreed that child pornography has become a scarier, more daunting phenomenon. A Microsoft study bolsters the UP-CIDS findings. “Online child exploitation is growing exponentially," said Laurie Mae Rivera-Moreno, Public Relations and Community Affairs manager of Microsoft-Philippines, at the conference held last June 29-30. “[There are] over 100,000 websites with thousands of child abuse images," she said. According to Moreno, Internet-based networks of pedophiles and child sexual predators have proliferated due to advances in information technology. Investigations have yielded “massive amounts of data and information" showing how children are being exploited on the Internet, she said. “The internet is the predators’ primary means to share information, pictures and videos of their abuse of children," Moreno added. About 50 participants from Luzon provinces who are engaged in child rights advocacy work in government and non-government offices attended the conference organized by Unicef. Christopher O’ Connor of the Victoria Police Sexual Crimes Squad in Australia, who has dealt extensively with both victims and offenders, affirmed Moreno’s statements. O’Connor said the Internet provides child molesters “reinforcement" by facilitating the exchange not only of materials but also of their personal experiences. “They live and thrive on support or encouragement," said O’ Connor, adding that there are “closet pedophiles waiting to act on their fantasies" and are just on the lookout for reinforcement from those who are actual molesters. In the 2002 Optional Protocol to the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, child pornography was defined as “any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child, the dominant characteristic of which is depiction for a sexual purpose." The UP-CIDS study, however, cited this as an “evolving definition," noting that the phrase “whatever means" remains open to varying interpretations and must thus be clarified and detailed. (See related link for the salient points of the study) Mobilizing the young But there is no escaping it: information technology is the reality. Not only is cyberspace the main venue now for producing, accessing and disseminating pornographic materials, O’Connor avers that the situation is, “once In the Net, forever in the Net." Ironically, he cited that the Net has also become the young generation’s universe, the place where they find and build friendships, search answers to their school assignments, ‘travel’ to previously unreachable places and keep in touch with the rest of humanity. Unicef has seen fit to engage young people in the campaign against child pornography and abuse, and in the language and platform they best recognize: the Internet and text messaging. Young members of the non-government group End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) are launching text messaging campaigns to propagate Internet rules. The Unicef, in consultation with its local partner organizations, has come up with a list of 10 rules. They plan as well to e-mail business groups and government offices about making the Net safe for children. Internet cafes are places they will visit not only to access the Net but to encourage owners to help in the campaign. E-groups will be set up to serve as venues for youth discussion on the issue. A website has been launched, too, for this purpose — www.make-it-safe.net. On this issue, the adults are the ones in greater need of empowerment and capability-building. Anjanette Saguisag, a lawyer and project officer of Unicef’s section on child protection, stressed that technology is and should not be the enemy. “Technology is neutral, it is how we use it that matters," she pointed out to the participants who are mostly in their mid-40s to 50s. Microsoft’s line-up of approaches also encourage maximization of the technology: preparation of digital literacy curriculum to aid in education, software called Child Exploitation System (CETS) and installation of parental control features in the Windows vista. The digital literacy curriculum can be downloaded for free (www.microsoft.com/digitalliteracy) and contains sections on computer security and privacy. Netopia café, which maintains about 200 branches nationwide, also made a commitment to participate in the campaign by putting up Unicef’s posters in its branches. A Netopia café representative was one of the conference’s participants. The molester’s mind The UP-CIDS study counts among the main perpetrators in the Philippines foreign pedophiles and international pornography syndicates. Officer O’ Connor of Victoria, Australia, calls the perpetrators “preferential child molesters" — another word for pedophiles — as opposed to “non-preferential child molesters." The latter are either “impulsive or circumstances allow them to have access to children" as in the case of a stepfather who sees the opportunity to abuse a girl child in the family. The former are no nut cases, and their abnormality, behavioral, explained O’ Connor. “They act on their fantasies…sexual preference for children, which develops early on in their lives." Understanding how these molesters behave and think is a key peg in child pornography intervention, the Australian police said. The preferential child molesters seek their victims and are methodical in their ways. They have a “grooming process" that includes, according to O’ Connor, wearing down the inhibitions of target victims rather than physically assaulting them. These are good talkers here and relate well to children, O’Connor underscored. They are familiar with anti-child pornography literature. “They’ll even learn about what Unicef is saying," he said. A child molester in Australia, she recalled, once found out that his favorite phrase “This is our secret…" has been divulged in an anti-child pornography material. It is now “This is between you and me…" that he uses. A library collection of mixed titles, from the purely informative health books and parenting magazines to the explicitly pornographic was once seized from a molester. But even an ordinary reading material, O’Connor stressed, “is perceived differently by a fantasy-driven molester." Access to the child is very important to the molesters. Chat rooms, group sites on the Net revealing profiles of users and web-cams have made access to potential victims easier. Wooing them is no longer a problem, too, even if the molester is in another part of the world. Through Net-based purchases, “flowers and chocolates can be delivered on the doorstep of the child’s house," said O’ Connor. He shared the story of a young female victim in Australia who, because of depression, sought solace on the Net and found it in a senior male who expressed concern. Before she knew it, the victim was manipulated into undressing before the molester through a web camera. The molester said he wanted to let the victim know that she is “a beautiful person." In the Philippines, O’ Connor said, parents tend to cooperate believing that there is no “touching" involved because the children are merely photographed. Advanced technology has made child pornography a much more covert, much more nebulous, and certainly, much more intractable problem, the UP-CIDS study said. Officer O’ Connor maintains, however, that everyone must take the first step — parents, children, governments and NGOs must never, even for a minute, relinquish control of cyberspace to child molesters. GMANews.TV