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UNICEF raises alarm on child pornography in Philippines
8/5/2004
MANILA, Aug 4 (AFP): Child pornography has become widespread in the Philippines and the government should take measures to curb its growth, UNICEF said Wednesday citing initial results of an extensive study it is funding.
"It is possible it is affecting thousands of children," UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative Nicholas Alipui said, adding the problem was "much more widespread than originally believed" by the general public.
The study, the first commissioned by UNICEF on the extent of child pornography in the Philippines, suggested there were "multiple locations" around the country where child pornography was being produced, Alipui said.
"What is shocking is the extensive network that the perpetrators are using," he told AFP, citing the research conducted for UNICEF by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrated Development Studies.
"It is quite clear there is a network of individuals and groups who are linked together," he said.
The study, which began in last year and will be completed in September, is part of a wider programme looking into the sexual exploitation of children.
Child pornography has received little national attention aside from a raid outside Manila last month which rescued 70 children from a child pornography ring and resulted in the arrest of seven people, including a Japanese national.
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