Most victims are of the very tender age, between 12 and 18. Many are from rural areas or from impoverished families. In many cases, they have been victimized by the members of their own family.
Susan (not her real name) was 14 years old the first time a voice over the Internet told her to take off her clothes.
"I was so embarrassed because I don't want others to see my private parts," she said. "The customer told me to remove my blouse and to show him my breasts."
Susan said she had been lured away from her rural, mountain village in the Philippines by a cousin who said he would give her a well-paid job as a babysitter in the city. She thought she was leaving her impoverished life for an opportunity to earn money to finish high school.
Instead, she became another victim caught up in the newest but no less sinister world of sexual exploitation -- cyber-sex trafficking.
Susan was one of the seven other girls aged between 13 and 18 who worke day and night to satisfy the fantasies of men around the world. The costumers type their instructions onto a computer and watch from a live camera the girls performed sexual acts.
She forced herself to work, convinced to earn enough money to let her finish her schooling afterwards to help her family. But performing the costumers wishes made her inwardly filled with disgust, she confessed. She wanted to cry, but could not. She has the urge to cover herself with a blanket because of the shame.
Her story is but one of many playing out everyday in a nation where the conditions – widespread poverty, a flourishing sex trade, a predominanty technically-literate population and internet access that made it easy for such crimes to grow.
Whether part of large international criminal syndicates or smaller operations, their independent nature and lack of coordinated structure make it easy for cyber-sex operations to remain hidden, In many ways, cyber-sex trafficking appears to be the perfect 21st century crime. Technology has made it easier to access and exploit the vulnerable,
Informations gathered from rescued girls reveal that in many cases, it was even their own family who ‘sold’ them to the criminals. There was even three cases where the operator of the cyber-crime operation was their own mothers or brothers.
How many more like Susan would fall victim to this crime before the authorities wake up and stop this inhuman crime preying on innocent victims?
Susan (not her real name) was 14 years old the first time a voice over the Internet told her to take off her clothes.
"I was so embarrassed because I don't want others to see my private parts," she said. "The customer told me to remove my blouse and to show him my breasts."
Susan said she had been lured away from her rural, mountain village in the Philippines by a cousin who said he would give her a well-paid job as a babysitter in the city. She thought she was leaving her impoverished life for an opportunity to earn money to finish high school.
Instead, she became another victim caught up in the newest but no less sinister world of sexual exploitation -- cyber-sex trafficking.
Susan was one of the seven other girls aged between 13 and 18 who worke day and night to satisfy the fantasies of men around the world. The costumers type their instructions onto a computer and watch from a live camera the girls performed sexual acts.
She forced herself to work, convinced to earn enough money to let her finish her schooling afterwards to help her family. But performing the costumers wishes made her inwardly filled with disgust, she confessed. She wanted to cry, but could not. She has the urge to cover herself with a blanket because of the shame.
Her story is but one of many playing out everyday in a nation where the conditions – widespread poverty, a flourishing sex trade, a predominanty technically-literate population and internet access that made it easy for such crimes to grow.
Whether part of large international criminal syndicates or smaller operations, their independent nature and lack of coordinated structure make it easy for cyber-sex operations to remain hidden, In many ways, cyber-sex trafficking appears to be the perfect 21st century crime. Technology has made it easier to access and exploit the vulnerable,
Informations gathered from rescued girls reveal that in many cases, it was even their own family who ‘sold’ them to the criminals. There was even three cases where the operator of the cyber-crime operation was their own mothers or brothers.
How many more like Susan would fall victim to this crime before the authorities wake up and stop this inhuman crime preying on innocent victims?
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