Child porn thriving in RP — Unicef

Lack of stringent laws against child pornography and weak prosecution make the Philippines an easy prey for child pornographers, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said yesterday.

The Unicef raised its alarm over the 70 children, aged five to 12 years old, reported to have been rescued from a child pornography syndicate in Laguna last month.

Dr. Nicholas Alipui, Unicef representative to the Philippines, was concerned that the 70 children may represent only a minority of the victims of such exploitation and that many victims are never rescued.

"The Unicef is outraged that children in the Philippines are being used in pornography. Child pornography is a gross violation of children’s rights and the Unicef is deeply concerned with the increasingly strident reports of child pornography in the media," he said.

The Unicef had commissioned a study on child pornography in the Philippines.

Initials results of the study showed that child pornography was "more widespread than previously thought."

The study showed that the Philippines had become a haven for child pornographers because of the country’s lax laws and failure to prosecute perpetrators.

Widespread poverty, public tolerance of prostitution and pornography, sex tourism and the widespread availability of advanced communication technology were also identified as contributors to the problem.

The study said that in the Philippines the "opportunity to distribute and propagate" child pornography "is boundless."

"Advances in technology have made it possible for the easier production, reproduction and dissemination of pornographic images of children. The Internet’s pornographic sites and chat rooms, digital cameras and cellular phones have facilitated the production and distribution of pornographic images," it said.

The Philippines is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that requires member states to "protect children from being coerced to engage in any unlawful sexual activity, from being exploited in prostitution and from being used in pornographic performances and materials."

The Unicef urged all government agencies to strengthen the implementation of the Convention and other laws intended to protect children. It also called on the private sector to assist the government in this undertaking.

The agency also sought a stop to the "sexualisation and eroticisation" of children in the entertainment media. It called on the public to be vigilant in reporting incidents of child pornography and abuse to authorities.

"Any form of child pornography is simply not acceptable. We must all work together to put a stop to it," the agency said.