“Humans are the only animal who can have sex
over the phone.” Dave Letterman
By Alex P. Vidal
A 16-year-old minor was among those “arrested”
by police in a raid on a suspected cyber sex den in Brgy. Sinikway, La Paz in
Iloilo City last July 10.
She was with three other adult on-line sex
performers, including house owner Helen Delotavo, 57, when members of the
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Iloilo swooped down on the
unit.
Instead of being “arrested” the girl should have
been “rescued” and turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD).
The law exempts minors from culpability in
crimes committed by adults especially if they turned out to be the victims
themselves.
The girl had no business in that cyber sex den,
in the first place. And she was not supposed to be in the police station trying
to hide herself from photographers and TV crew who had no idea how old
she is.
In all actions concerning children, whether
undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law,
administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the
child shall be a primary consideration, as stated in the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
The use of minors is rampant not only in
dangerous workplaces but also in prostitution houses and commission of crimes.
Sometimes they are used as fronts and decoys to
confuse authorities, thus they are exposed to extreme
danger especially if they are asked to act as couriers of illegal drugs.
Minors have become the favorite sacrificial lambs of syndicates
and the veritable scapegoats of abusive adults.
FORCED
If they are not forced to sell their bodies,
they are used as tools or performers in on-line sex chats with foreigners for a
fee or what is now known as cyber sex.
The payment is done via Western Union money
transfer through middlemen who act as agents for the den.
The agents are the ones who look for clients
mostly in the US, Canada and Europe.
Since cyber sex is illegal, there is no
guarantee that the minor performers get their fair share of the amount paid by
on-line clients.
In most cases, these minor performers are
exploited and hoodwinked. The cyber sex den operators and their agents are the
ones getting the lion’s share and laughing their way to the banks.
Sometimes they end up settling for a penny or
pocketing only 10 to 20 percent of the actual amount paid by on-line clients.
There were reports that some minors also
suffered from maltreatment and other forms of abuse by some cyber sex den
operators.
Aside from being shortchanged of their income,
they were also subjected to humiliation by being forced to perform lewd acts in
front of male clients salivating for their bodies on-line.
Police should work closely with the DSWD or
invite their representatives in future raids because there are strong
possibilities that they would again stumble into more minors in clandestine
cyber sex or whore houses in the cities and provinces in Western Visayas.
Meanwhile, a source from Guanco St., City Proper
who requested strict anonymity informed us that there are more cyber sex dens
in the City Proper, Jaro, Molo, and Mandurriao maintained by pimps who also
operate boarding house or room for rent business.
LOCATE
“It’s easy to locate these cyber sex dens,” said
our female informant who lives in Bo. Obrero, Lapuz district. ”If you are a
woman and you know a pimp in one barangay and you want to apply as on-line sex
performer, you know who to approach.”
Some barangay officials are reportedly aware of
the existence of cyber sex dens in their areas, “but like in the campaign
against drugs, some of them become deaf and mute when it comes to giving of
tips to authorities.”
Many losing internet cafes have reportedly
closed shop and dabbled in cyber sex business which is thriving in other places
of the country.
“Cyber sex den is easy to operate because all
you need are computer sets or laptops and women who are willing to undress and
perform sexual acts in front of on-line customers,” added our informant.
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