MANILA, PHILIPPINES – JULY 29, 2020. IJM outlined key findings and recommendations from their three research papers about Aftercare during an online event, “Caring About Caring: A Conversation for Aftercare Providers for Child Survivors of Online Sexual Exploitation.” The event was co-hosted with the DOJ-Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and had select provincial governors, city mayors, social workers, and related agencies as participants.

In response to the recommendation from IJM’s research study on online sexual exploitation of children released in 2020, literature reviews and more research were conducted to address the issues and gaps in the Philippine case management system and reintegration of survivors of online sexual exploitation of children.

The three papers are:

“A Study on Online Sexual Exploitation of Children for Aftercare Reintegration”

As reintegration is recognized as a critical step for a survivor’s restoration, this study examined the risk factors that cause online sexual exploitation of children as the foundations to determine the factors that contribute to successful reintegration as well as to identify alternative care options for those who cannot be reintegrated to their families and community.

Literature Review: “Best Practices in Case Management and Their Suitability for Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Philippines”

This study identified a range of best practices which may enhance case management of online sexual exploitation of children. The study also identified critical systemic gaps which are inhibiting effective case management and highlights the importance of trauma-informed care in every component of the case management. The study concludes that the Philippine Government is in an opportune position to adopt best practices, however systemic gaps must be addressed if this is to become a reality.

Literature Review: “Psychosocial Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse and Their Similarity to Online Sexual Exploitation of Children”

This review provided a comparative examination of the literature examining the psychosocial impacts of child sexual abuse and online child sexual exploitation. The study identified six commonalities between impacts of the two case types whilst also identifying six distinct attributes of online child sexual exploitation. The study has significant implications for intervention planning, further research efforts and establishing a clearer picture of how this kind of exploitation may impact survivors in the long-term.

The event included a time of debriefing, celebrating shared wins and discussion of the key findings and recommendations of the papers. In her closing remarks, Hon. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, Undersecretary, DOJ-IACAT said,

“What remains to be done is for us to take action. It must be emphasized that in all of the gaps identified, as well as recommendations provided, it is essential that it must be supported by high level policy development that would strengthen the very core and foundation of our overall systems and not just stop-gap measures that are at best temporary and will not address the root cause of the problem.”

The research papers can be accessed on IJM’s website: www.ijm.org.ph/resources.