Norway to support Filipino law enforcers in rescuing child sex abuse victims

 MANILA, Philippines — The Norwegian government has committed to helping train Philippine law enforcers to more effectively identify potential child sex abuse victims by teaching them to access available sources of information on perpetrators overseas. 

This initiative by Norwegan officials is part of its program on combating Online Sexual Abuse of Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) globally, with the Philippines long identified as a global hotspot for OSAEC cases.

The Philippines currently ranks second in the world, after India, in terms of the number of OSAEC cases, according to data by non-profit Save the Children Philippines. 

A 280% spike in OSAEC cases was recorded in 2022 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which was attributed to the country's visa-free policy, high use of technology and high poverty levels during the pandemic. 

Last March, Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs state secretary, met with Department of Social Welfare and Development representatives, district social workers and youth advocates to discuss how OSAEC has impacted their communities. 

Kravik said the promotion of human rights and the rights of the children is a "very important part of Norway's foreign and development policy," according to a press release.

The Norwegian Government, through the long-term presence of a Nordic Liaison Office in Manila, will support the operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in identifying and rescuing potential OSAEC victims through "information sharing."

Law enforcers will be educated on how to access "evidence for prosecution of perpetrators in the Nordic countries."

"Norway remains committed to supporting the campaign against OSAEC and will continue to provide financial assistance across various initiatives," Kravik said.

The sit-down dialogue also surfaced experiences of one social welfare officer from Manila who said that there is a need for city-wide legislation that will address OSAEC, according to a press release by Plan International Pilipinas, which implements the Norway-funded "Uniting Against OSAEC: Multi-stakeholder Collaborations for a Safer