Sex Trafficking Victims Rise Above Harrowing Experiences. But The Scourge Persists, Even Aggravated By The Pandemic

It all started with a simple “hi.”

That short, customary greeting was used to lure unsuspecting young and innocent girls into the dark world of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), where they were trapped and repeatedly abused.

Maya was a bubbly girl who grew up in Surigao del Sur. Her father works as a carpenter while her mother is a housewife. She was the 11th child in a brood of 12, two of whom died at birth while another sibling perished in an accident.

A bright young girl, she excelled not only in her academic classes but in dancing as well, as shown by the awards and other recognitions she received when she was in elementary school. She was also friendly and confident.

At the age of 12, Maya met Jerre, who promised to finance her continued education in Manila. It was sometime in 2010 when Jerre approached the employers of Maya’s parents to discuss her welfare.

Maya said she did not know what Jerre and her parents discussed, but they entrusted her to him. He soon took her to Quezon City where she was indeed able to continue her formal education.

“At first he was kind to me and provided the needs of my family. He was like a second father to me,” Maya recalled.

But soon after, Jerre put her to work. Jerre saw her as someone “beautiful” that he could market to foreigners because of her looks.  Maya was told that she fitted “the tastes of Americans” in particular.

He told her she only needed to say “hi” to some people in front of a computer, unaware that she was already being lured inexorably into cybersex, to feed the desires of men from different countries such as the United States and Norway.

Not long after, Jerre made a fake online account for Maya, portraying her as an 18-year-old. She was eventually told to strip in front of the camera and perform sexual acts. There were times when she was deprived of rest, forced to work for 24 hours straight.

Aside from her, Jerre at the time was also the handler of girls aged one, six and 16 as well as a five-year-old boy.

Clients would pay P5,000 to P10,000 just for naked photographs of Maya. They were willing to shell out another hefty sum when she performed online pornography.

But her ordeal was not limited to online exploitation. When clients came to the Philippines, Jerre took her to a hotel where she was sexually abused for a fee of around P30,000. But of course, it was with Jerre that she first had sexual intercourse.

In an interview, Maya admits that she does not know how much Jerre was earning from such illegal activities since he was the only one dealing with the clients. There were also instances when from one camera, there would be several men staring at her.

Maya did not always submit to Jerre’s orders, but he beat her when she resisted. He was careful not to damage his “merchandise,” hitting only her back with a shower hose. The clients did not see her bruises because he beat her after her “sessions” with them.

While Maya was allowed to go to school, she could not seek help from officials, teachers or classmates because of fear. She also did not dare try to escape because she was scared that she would get caught and be beaten again. She lived in an unfamiliar city and had no contact with her parents.

One of her American clients, who showed her some kindness, told her to flee when he learned about her ordeal. But again, fear overcame her and she did not have the courage to break free from Jerre.

Freedom finally came after four years. Maya’s eldest sister learned of what Jerre had been doing to her and immediately sought assistance from the Philippine National Police. Maya was eventually rescued along with other victims of sex trafficking. Elements of the PNP arrested Jerre, who was later imprisoned after being convicted and sentenced by a court for human trafficking.

After that episode in her life, Maya slowly recovered from what she went through with the help of the Voice of the Free foundation, which is helping survivors of human trafficking. A non-government organization, VF gave Maya a “home” in Antipolo City.

Her parents believed that it would be better for her to stay at the VF shelter where she could continue her studies.

“VF is like a second family to me. They helped me heal by giving me psychological therapy and trauma therapy. I am now happy and the old me, when I was still a child, is back – cheerful and talented,” Maya said.

VF also provides Maya and the other women under its care with self-defense lessons such as taekwondo, jujitsu, boxing and karate.

Maya says she has moved on and is no longer angry with Jerre. “I have forgiven him already. I do not want to hold grudges. He may have destroyed my life and violated laws, but that does not mean I have to stop. In order for my dreams to come true, I have to forgive someone.”

However, Maya stressed that Jerre must suffer for the crimes that he committed.

Maya is now a third year student taking up Hospitality Management. Her dream is to finish her studies and work on a cruise ship that would enable her to build a house for her family.

* * *

Like Maya, Iza was also a survivor of online exploitation.

She was an eight-year-old living in Cebu with her grandparents when their gay neighbor named Archie approached her in 1999.

Archie was nice to her and gave her food. But it did not take long before his real intention was revealed. One day, Archie asked her to go with him to meet someone.

Again, just like Maya, Iza was told that all she had to do was say “hi” in front of a camera.

Iza’s cousins were complicit in her recruitment to OSEC. When she went with Archie to an internet shop, she was surprised to see her female cousins in one of the private rooms on the second floor.

Her cousins, who were almost her age, and other children she knew were all naked as they faced the camera.

Archie apparently had a foreigner client and wanted to see more girls, and her cousins suggested her.

“I was still a child then and I easily believed what I was told. When Archie locked the door of the private room, I was told to remove my clothes. At first, I hesitated and looked at my cousins, but they assured me that it was OK so I removed my clothes, since the foreigner would only look and there was no physical contact,” Iza recounted.

The year went by with Archie calling her and the other girls whenever he had a client online.

Sometimes, Iza would be called to the internet shop several times a week, and there were times when they had to do a show for two or three clients.

She got paid P250 after an hour’s show for a client, but she did not give all her earnings to her grandfather, as instructed by Archie.

Archie advised her to give only a portion of her earnings every day to her grandfather to avoid questions about the source of her money. The family thought the money was her income from selling kakanin or rice cakes.

The abuse ended when agents of the National Bureau of Investigation raided the internet shop where Iza worked as "cyber model" for a year and arrested Archie.

Iza is currently a first year college student taking up Education and building a better life for herself.

She was placed in the care of the VF. Like Maya, Iza underwent counseling that helped her heal.

Despite their ordeal, the two girls said they did not develop trauma from the experience and could even have male friends.

Maya and Iza also joined the advocacy to help victims of human trafficking. They became the voice of those who survived OSEC and were even invited to speak before conferences in the United States.

* * *

These episodes in the lives of Maya and Iza happened years ago, but the monster that is OSEC continues to thrive. In fact, it even grew during the early months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Last May, the Department of Justice-Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OCC) reported that the number of OSEC incidents doubled in the first few months of the year compared to the same period in 2019.

DOJ Undersecretary Markk Perete said the OCC recorded an increase of 264.63 percent or a total 279,166 incidents of OSEC from March 1 to May 24 this year. This was 202,605 more than the 76,651 incidents reported during the same period in 2019.

“The aforesaid increase in NCMEC CTR (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children-CyberTipline Report) is attributed to the fact that during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), strict home quarantine is observed in all households, and internet usage surges as people stay home,” the DOJ-OCC report stated.

VF’s head social worker Karen Navera said many have knocked on their door for help during the pandemic. But the foundation, worried that the 50 people under its wing might be infected with COVID by newcomers, did not take in new wards.

“We had to freeze our admission because…it would be difficult for us to accept new ones,” Navera explained.

The victims who could not be accommodated by the VF were referred to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

But the desire to help during the pandemic made the VF decide to make renovations in the shelter so it could accept more women in need of assistance.

“Since we have been getting several requests for accommodation, we are now renovating an area to turn it into an isolation room. Once it is completed, we can accommodate 10 more people,” Navera said.

“We will take in five persons per batch. Once the first batch completes the 14-day quarantine period, we can accept five more,” she added.

The VF shelter can have a maximum of 60 persons. The current wards are all women. For special cases, the foundation will accept male OSEC victims, but only those who are aged 10 or younger.

Read more: Secret Pandemic: Online Child Exploitation On The Rise Amid COVID-19 Problems