The Dressember Network: Disrupting Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC)
TikTok, a social media application with which users are able to post short videos of up to 60-seconds that often feature funny content, tutorials, workouts, or even frank conversations, has had a meteoric rise to popularity, especially in South East Asia, where there are nearly 200 million users. Children use social media apps like TikTok to grow in digital media literacy, connect with global online communities, create, and share common interests with others. While TikTok is recommended for users ages 15 and older and the app’s terms of use technically require that a child be over the age of 13 to engage with the app’s features, we all know that many children younger than this are using the app. With the rise of social media that is engaging for children, like TikTok, there has also been a rise in the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC).
OSEC is particularly prevalent in places like the Philippines as a result of a number of key factors. Firstly, the Philippines has a historic commercial sex industry and underground reputation as a sex trafficking source country as well as a destination for traveling sex offenders. As a result, traffickers may feel emboldened to operate within the country. The Philippines has a robust money remittance infrastructure, meaning that there are facilities in place for easy transfer of funds between two private accounts. This makes it easier for traffickers to be paid without detection. The Philippines has widespread, inexpensive Internet access through broadcast-capable mobile devices, which, while we typically think of this as positive for communication and connectivity, means that OSEC is possible and more likely than in places with more expensive or less widespread Internet availability. Finally, there is much more English language proficiency in the Philippines than in other developing countries, which allows easier communication via the Internet as a result of common language.
The Dressember Network resources the Disrupting OSEC program to work directly with local justice and social service system officials in the Philippines to find and safeguard children victimized by OSEC, and ensure their abusers are prosecuted. This program works side-by-side with the Philippine justice system to create legal reform and to provide OSEC survivors with comprehensive case management.
Through the Disrupting OSEC program’s operations since 2010, Philippine authorities have rescued at least 828 victims, arrested 293 suspected perpetrators, and convicted 115 of them. In February 2019, the Philippine National Police 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.
A new innovation in the program also meets children where they already are - on TikTok. Through the #Report2Protect Campaign, educational and compelling videos from Filipino influencers feature the hotline numbers and messages urging anyone with knowledge of an instance of trafficking in their community to report it. “This campaign not only encourages the community to report incidents 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.” The hope is that, by meeting children where they are and informing them of the real risks of OSEC, fewer instances of such exploitation will ultimately occur - and if they do, they will be reported swiftly.
When instances of OSEC are reported, this program allows the Dressember Network to be prepared.
Through the program, the Dressember Network seeks to build a model to end OSEC by giving vulnerable source-side governments a blueprint for how they can build a protective system in which they can respond with ease and agility. By working with trained prosecutors to get convictions for the crime of OSEC, the program works to bring traffickers involved in OSEC schemes to justice.
The Dressember Network also resources the Center to End the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children which works to build more effective demand, accountability, and systems for victim and perpetrator identification and reporting in the global financial and tech sectors. By combining these efforts with an innovative data tracking platform to share operational findings and cutting edge technology to drive investigations, we can work to ensure that children across the Philippines are better protected in all areas of their lives, particularly online.
As the world becomes evermore inter-connected and technologically adept, so too must our efforts to combat trafficking. The Dressember Network resources this program to meet the moment and address OSEC where it begins: online.
As we begin the Dressember 2021 campaign, how can we meet the moment online? Maybe for you this looks similar - you could make a TikTok to raise awareness of what you’re doing this month. Or maybe it looks like sending messages and emails to close friends and family. We know it is effective to reach out to people where they are, so, this campaign season, try raising awareness in the ways you know are most likely to reach your people - we can use ideas like this to end trafficking once and for all.
The Dressember Network is made up of 20 organizations that support programs in the following impact areas: advocacy, prevention, intervention, and survivor empowerment. The Dressember Network partners with the International Justice Mission to combat OSEC in the Philippines by working directly with local justice and social service system officials to find and safeguard children victimized by OSEC, and ensure their abusers are prosecuted. The International Justice Mission is a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence. IJM partners with local authorities in 24 program offices in 14 countries to combat trafficking and slavery, violence against women and children, and police abuse of power. When you support Dressember, you help dismantle trafficking holistically and in a way that prioritizes survivor needs and voices. Ready to join us? Register to become an advocate or make a donation today.
About the Author
Miranda Cecil is a second-year at Northeastern University School of Law. She graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2020 (go heels!) and shipped up to Boston. As a North Carolina transplant in New England, she loves exploring her new area on the weekends. In her free time, she enjoys cross-stitching, cycling, and reading. She hopes to use her legal degree and a passion for urban development to continue advocating for human trafficking survivors (and, despite the Boston winter, looks forward to the style challenge this December).