The SaferKidsPH consortium of UNICEF, The Asia Foundation, and Save the Children Philippines, in partnership with the Australian Embassy, formalizes its partnership with the City of Cagayan de Oro in improving its services for the prevention of and response to Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).
OSAEC is one of the increasingly emerging risks associated with the Internet, and is a form of violence against children. With the rising cases, compounded by the financial stress brought by the pandemic, Cagayan de Oro and the LGU take OSAEC as its utmost priority in their commitment to protect children from all forms of violence.
SaferKidsPH, through Save the Children Philippines, works with partner barangay local government units, communities, schools and government agencies in Cagayan de Oro City to build the capacities of school personnel, barangay officials, the members of the Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children (BCPCs), and government agencies in improving service delivery for OSAEC prevention and response. The provision of technical support to partner barangay communities in equipping their child friendly spaces with the necessary technology that can support them in reporting, providing access to tele-medicine or online counselling is also made possible through the support of private sector partners KidsforKids Philippines and SMART Communications, Inc.
SaferKidsPH also aims to increase the awareness of children and parents/guardians from partner communities on children’s rights, child protection, OSAEC, protective mechanisms, and access to services. They will be capacitated to become community advocates and champions of child protection. Advocacy for the passage of local legislation, and implementation of child protection/OSAEC programs, plans, and activities will also be part of the program to ensure the sustainability of initiatives.
All these initiatives are aimed towards enhancing the expertise, systems and infrastructure of community-based mechanisms to detect and address OSAEC.
SaferKidsPH looks forward to a meaningful collaboration with Cagayan de Oro City, together with the partner communities, schools, agencies, civil society and the private sector to ensure our children are safe, both online and offline.