THE Philippines’ Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (Iacat), in partnership with the US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) and International Justice Mission (IJM), will be hosting a three-day global virtual summit that aims to strengthen the international community’s resolve to end online sexual exploitation of children.
To be held this coming November 18 to 20, the Global Resolve Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Global Virtual Summit will gather hundreds of stakeholders and experts across disciplines to share promising practices in combating the crime through international law enforcement collaborations, innovations in prosecution and aftercare, and partnerships with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
“The trafficking of children to create new child sexual exploitation materials, including via video livestreaming, is the most urgent form of child sexual exploitation today. Ending this crime requires an effective and well-coordinated global response, and this is the course we are charting during the global virtual summit. With the ongoing pandemic compounding the problem -- children confined in homes and foreign child sex offenders spending more time on the internet looking for victims -- convening stakeholders and experts to solidify our resolve and our action against this crime has never been more urgent and timely,” said Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, undersecretary-in-charge of the DOJ-Iacat.
Lawyer Samson Inocencio Jr., vice president of IJM Global Hub Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, said: “The Philippine Government has made significant strides in combating online sexual exploitation of children as a source country, working with demand-side governments to support investigations and prosecutions globally. But this crime is perpetrated not only against Filipino children. We are hosting this global virtual summit with the hope of leveraging the lessons learned and best practices developed in the Philippines to protect children anywhere in the world from this despicable abuse.”
The summit will consist of more than a dozen sessions that offer overviews and insights on the Philippine Government’s response to online sexual exploitation of children, emerging successful practices in combating the crime, and actions being undertaken to address it on a global scale.
Participants will have an opportunity to listen to speakers from the Philippine and US Government, international and local law enforcement agencies, local government officials, tech companies, IJM and other NGOs from the child protection space.
This is an invitation-only event. To learn more about the summit, visit https://endosec.ph/. For inquiries, email phglobalconference@ijm.org. (PR)