The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the European Union (EU) reiterated their commitment to combat the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) during a high-level dialogue with key stakeholders from both countries.
On Monday, June 2, RH 29 Boy Gonzales reported that the DOJ and EU pointed out that nearly half a million children fell victim to online sexual abuse from foreigners in 2022. This was shared by DOJ Undersecretary Michelle Anne Lapuz, echoing the study conducted by the International Justice Mission (IJM) in 2022.
According to the report, the high-level dialogue aims to intensify the protection against online sexual abuse among children.
The press release from the DOJ stated that participants recognized the significant progress the Philippines had made to combat OSAEC, highlighting the successful prosecutions, inter-agency coordination, and victim rescue and rehabilitation initiatives.
Moreover, the EU delegation looked into different avenues to increase the collaboration, specifically with regard to technical assistance and training for law enforcement and judiciary, legislative alignment, and cross-border intelligence sharing to address the transnational nature of the crime.
The discussion also touched on the complexities in handling digital evidence, jurisdictional barriers, and resource constraints.
“We have the same objective, we have the same goal — to protect children against child sexual abuse online and offline. This meeting is an important step towards stronger international cooperation to achieve that goal,” Caterina Chinnici, a member of the European Parliament, said.
“We are united in saying that, it is working, the cooperation is working, but we can do so much more,” said Asec Lapuz. “As long as we have one case that is still happening in our country, we want to push for better cooperation, collaboration with our foreign counterparts,” she added.
According to the press release, the high-level dialogue was a critical step towards “aligning international strategies, reinforcing survivor-centered approaches, and advancing collective action against the transnational crime of online child sexual exploitation.”
