PHILIPPINES – International Justice Mission (IJM) partnered with TikTok to ramp up community awareness and reporting of the trafficking of minors to create child sexual exploitation materials. Launched today, the #Report2Protect campaign encourages timely reporting of the crime to authorities, using the hotlines from the Philippine National Police - Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC): 0919-777-7377 (Smart) and 0966- 725-5961 (Globe).

The campaign features educational and compelling videos from TikTok creators who have huge following on the platform. The videos display WCPC’s hotline numbers and urge anyone who has information of this trafficking crime happening in their community to report.

“The Philippine government has made incredible progress in the fight to end online sexual exploitation of children, and this campaign seeks to continue the momentum,” said Atty. Samson Inocencio Jr., Regional Vice President of IJM Global Programs Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children. "We at IJM are pleased to team up with TikTok to educate more Filipinos, especially the youth, about this threat and empower members of the community to contact authorities when they know a child is being sexually abused and exploited by traffickers who want easy money from online sex offenders. This crime inflicts deep trauma on child victims. Timely intervention is critical."

Kristoffer Rada, TikTok Head for Public Policy, said: “At TikTok, the safety of our users, especially the younger online community, has always been our top priority. We are proud to announce today our partnership with IJM to address the worrying issues of online child abuse. Online sexual exploitation of children is a serious problem in the country and the impact on its victims is devastating. This partnership reiterates our commitment to combating this serious issue, and the opportunity for TikTok to strengthen our commitment in promoting a positive and safer online environment for children; keeping the platform a fun, creative and an inspiring place for creating and consuming content for everyone.”

“This campaign not only encourages the community to report incidences of online sexual exploitation of children; it also sends a strong warning to traffickers that there is growing vigilance against this crime,” said Police Col. Sheila Portento, chief of the WCPC Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division.

Now, more than ever, it’s harder to get away from this trafficking crime. The long arm of the law will always catch up with anyone who dares to sexually exploit our precious children.

Based on IJM-supported operations since 2011, Philippine authorities have rescued at least 828 victims, arrested 293 suspected perpetrators, and convicted 122 of them. In February 2019, the PNP and National Bureau of Investigation founded the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC) together with the Australian Federal Police, U.K. National Crime Agency and IJM. PICACC has become a model for enhanced global law enforcement response against the trafficking of children for online sexual exploitation. This year, PICACC welcomed a new member, the National Police of the Netherlands.

Support the campaign by posting or sharing videos bearing the WCPC hotline numbers under the hashtag #Report2Protect and by following IJM Philippines on TikTok (@ijmph).

Note to Editors

• Online sexual exploitation of children is a crime that violates the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act or Republic Act (RA) No. 9208 (as amended by RA 10364), which comes with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P2 million to P5 million. Typical OSEC offenses also violate RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) and RA 9775 (Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009). Both have penalties equivalent to 20 to 40 years imprisonment.
• The Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, also known as the Luxembourg Guidelines, prescribes the use of the term “child sexual abuse material” or “child sexual exploitation material” instead of “child pornography,” except when referencing the name of statute. Sexualized material that depicts or otherwise represents children is a representation, and a form, of child sexual abuse and should not be described as “pornography.”

For inquiries, please contact Evelyn G. Pingul Director of Brand, Media and Communications IJM Global Programs Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children [email protected]

About International Justice Mission IJM is a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence. IJM partners with local authorities to rescue victims of violence, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems. www.IJM.org | ijm.org.ph