The actress said she wanted to use her popularity to spread awareness about this issue.
Make it With You star Liza Soberano voiced out her concerns over the alarming rates of sexual exploitation done against children in the country.
Based on a recent study of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) PH and some international bodies, it was revealed that rate of online sexual exploitation of children in the country has tripled within three years, making the country a global hotspot.
Through Twitter, Senator Risa Hontiveros gave a warning to the public on the possible increase in domestic abuse cases because of the COVID-19 quarantine.
Reacting to this, the actress said she was enraged upon knowing the rampant abuses shown online.
“I am ENRAGED. I saw so many videos online that absolutely broke my heart. An innocent man got shot, a teacher went to jail, and multiple street vendors. Is anyone doing anything about this???” Liza commented.
I am ENRAGED. I saw so many videos online that absolutely broke my heart. An innocent man got shot, a teacher went to jail, and multiple street vendors. Is anyone doing anything about this??? https://t.co/qW9knmcSIE
— Liza Soberano (@lizasoberano) May 14, 2020
Joining an online discussion with Hontiveros, lawyer Rey Bicol of the International Justice Mission (IJM) and Nitz Dalde from the Child Rights Network on Friday, May 22, Liza said it was upsetting to learn that the online sexual exploitation of children is now happening on different social media platforms.
“I was very vocal about being upset about the matter. Dahil po iyon ay isa po akong ate… panganay po ako sa seven na kapatid ko. Hindi ko ma-comprehend na nagagawa po ng mga tao yun. Because I’m aware that it’s happening on the dark web pero hind po ako aware na nangyayari din po siya sa mga social media platforms, sa Facebook, Twitter. It was my first (time) seeing people actually selling these photos, videos, graphic images of our children and I’m upset on my part na hindi ko alam na nangyayari siya,” said
She added, “Dapat naisip na natin na posible siyang mangyari through those outlets and it could be prevented and we could’ve spread more awareness to our people.”
The actress also stated that she wanted to use her popularity to spread awareness about this issue.
“As a celebrity due to my large following, I realized I should use my voice for social injustice. And I realized that the role of an advocate is to offer independent support to those who feel they are not being heard or to ensure that action is taken seriously upon these criminals. And I feel that as an advocate, I can spread awareness among those who are on social media nowadays, especially now in this time of crisis, this time of the pandemic, I can really help in voicing out help for these children and guide people and spread awareness.”
As she voiced out her concerns, Liza said that it got some people reporting pages online that practice child abuse.
“I was told the other day when I was invited to this webinar, that me voicing out my opinion about the matter has helped in many ways because a lot of people who saw my tweets reacted to it and started reporting other pages that are responsible for OSEC as well.”
“I find that us humans, when put in darkness and pain, we’re able to reuse that as motivation to strive for something better, to achieve something out of that. And that gives me hope,” she said.
Liza also called out the younger generation to be more aware of using social media and the internet properly.
Liza ended, “I’m hopeful the younger generation, the youth will be more aware, will be more educated on how they use social media and the internet properly.”
