The sexual exploitation of children has been a pressing concern in the Philippines for years, but the crime has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sexual predators are stuck at home, pushing the demand for more child abuse materials, which poor Filipino families supply, as they are forced
to find ways to earn money while in quarantine.
In this first episode of a special series produced in collaboration with ABS-CBN News, we will hear from government agencies and a
trafficker about how social media has aided these crimes against children.
Because of the nature of the subject, some parts of this podcast will be graphic and may be triggering to some listeners. Discretion is
This episode was written by Cherry Salazar of PCIJ and produced by ABS-CBN News. Neil Jayson Servallos of PCIJ and the UST Journalism
School and Chiara Zambrano of ABS-CBN News conducted the interviews. Podcast cover art by Alexandra Paredes.
This episode is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute’s Asian Stories project, in collaboration with ABS-CBN News, the South China
Morning Post, The Korea Times and Tempo in Indonesia.
If you want to learn more about the extent of the online sexual exploitation of children and efforts being done to curb it, you may please check PCIJ’s website, pcij.org, for our complementary multi-part investigative report.
The ABS-CBN News Channel will also premiere a documentary on this issue in June.