FEMALE children turned to prostitution during the height of the Covid-19 lockdowns in Davao City, said nongovernmental social organization Talikala Inc. on Wednesday, October 5.
Talikala Inc. executive director Jeanette Ampog said during a virtual presser that these children were introduced to prostitution and exploitation as early as the age of ten years old.
Based on the monitoring done by Talikala and Lawig Bubai in 2020, they found out that the children were often victims of inter-generational prostitution wherein their mothers and grandmothers were also engaged in prostitution.
Some children also volunteered to earn money and provide for their financial needs at home and in school.
However, most of the children were already victims of abuse before they turned to prostitution.
“Bisan pa online ang transaction, i-consummate man ang sexual activity (Even though the transaction is online, the sexual activities are still consummated). Base sa among focus group discussion, naa’y bata 12 years old na karon pero nag sugod siya at 10 years old noong November 2020 (we are assisting a 12-year-old girl who started at only ten years old last November 2020),” Ampog said.
Lory Pabunag secretary general of Lawig Bubai, said they noted a significant increase in prostitution transactions that switched to online during this time, which made it difficult for them to track the exploited minors since online transactions became very discreet.
“Katong pandemic, less ang kahigayunan na makagawas so naga online sila,” she said, adding that payments were also made online via banking apps.
According to the testimonies of the victims, Ampog said a lot of the buyers or clients were older males between the age of 40 to 60 years old but many were also young men aged 19 to 24 years old.
“(The older buyers) kung musulod sila sa motel or lodging, ilaha iingon na anak nila ang bata aron makasulod (The older buyers lie and tell that the victims are their children in order to gain entrance to inns or motels),” Ampog said.
At the same time, Pabunag said the victims often have “pimps” or handlers that transact with the buyer beforehand. She said that minors could be sold at a high price wherein the handlers usually get half of the payment.
“Naga-ingon ang among mga kaila na babae na mas ganahan ang mga handlers sa mga bata kay dako ilang cut, dili maka-react ang mga bata kay mahadlok (The handlers prefer younger girls because they get a bigger cut witht he payment since the minors are afraid to speak up or complain),” Pabunag said.
Because of this, the executive director said the prostitution problem in Davao city has barely improved since the Executive Order No. 7 Series of 2005 celebrating the International Day of No Prostitution in Davao City was issued.
“(Compared to) 17 years ago, mao gihapon ang sitwasyon sa mga kababaihan, duna gihapon tong mas nisamot na ang kapobrehon. Katong wala unta sa prostitution, nisulod na karon tungod sa kapitos sa panahon (the situation of our women is still the same because of poverty. Those who were not prostitutes started to engage because of their financial situations),” Ampog said. ICM