LEOGO, RICA PAULINE B.

5/6/2021
2020-20785 T119 MIDTERMS

1. What is CSEC, what does it stand for, what are the types of CSEC according to
the author?

CSEC is abbreviated from Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. It

reflects such actions that use young people for sexual cohabitation of adults in
exchange for anything value received by (typically) the guardian of the kid. In the
text, the First World Congress defined the term as a “form of coercion and violence
against children and amounts to forced labor and a contemporary form of slavery”
which disobey the Art. 34—following prohibited practices and disobeys the
Republic Act 7658: An Act Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below 15 Years
of Age in Public and Private Undertakings. Children are being exploited and
constrained to do something they do not intend to do with the instruction of their
guardians. Folmer et al. (2007) asserted from different studies that young children
may not understand effort and ability in the same way adults do. Therefore, faults
are on adults who serve as the guardians of children. The victims of CSEC mostly
originated from the lowest level of the society or lower class with illogical parents
or guardians. These guardians that are incapable of rationalizing the mentioned
exploitation, use their child to achieve something that are mostly interlinked with
monetary issues (e.g., supporting basic needs, mending with home utilities and
more).

Zaft & Tidball (2010) mentioned that there are types of CSEC which include
child prostitution, child pornography, child trafficking, and child sex tourism.
Prostitution as a “trade” continues to grow in the country. More and more young
girls and boys are drawn into the sex services (prostitution business) and there is
growing demand for such services. Arcilla (2001) identified that there are types of
“products” that the victims portray namely freelancers, akyat-barko, prosti-tuition,
dancers, masahista, GRO, sistemang palit, white slavery, and sexually abused-
trafficked Children. Child pornography, on the other hand, is still rampant up until
now. According to the 2017 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,
Philippines is the top global internet source of commercial sexual exploitation of
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children where children are coerced into performing sex acts for live internet
broadcast to paying foreigners and local Filipinos. These actions usually take place
in small internet cafes, private homes, or windowless dungeon-like buildings
commonly known as “cybersex dens”. Unfortunately, most family members are
usually obligated in commercially exploiting children sexually through live
streaming and production of pornography (Holmes, 2016). The number of child
victims trafficked worldwide for sexual exploitation or cheap labor on an annual
basis is 1.2 million (UNICEF, 2007). They are usually sent to places where bars
and video/karaoke establishments cater to tourists (which could lead to CST), or
they are offered false jobs in restaurants, factories and households in Manila.
Children are vulnerable to being trafficked due to their knowledge capacity. They
are often less educated, easy to overpower and easy to convince that they must
do what an adult tells them to do. Children may also be in a position where they
believe they must help to support their families and may be sold or sent abroad by
family members to do so.

The mentioned types may differ with its execution, however, the objective
of those is to rob the innocence of victims through lascivious activities in exchange
of money. Moreover, it can’t be denied that whatever kind of CSEC it is, it still
deprives the emotional and psychological capacity of the innocent children
(victims), and keeps away the blissful moment of their childhood. If asserted
thoroughly, these acts are not purposely done by the victims whether the kid or
guardians, but the pressure of the society in their situations. Exploitation is fueled
by poverty, uneven development, official corruption, gender discrimination, harmful
traditional and cultural practices, civil unrest, natural disasters and lack of political
will to end it.

2. What is ECPAT?
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Poverty occurs whether a country is considered developed or developing. It

leads people to do illegal deeds in order to survive. Children Sexual Exploitation,
on the other hand, is one of the unlawful things that individuals who belong to the
lower-class group of society do. In solution with these prohibited acts, ECPAT
International took the lead in ending this kind of global issue. End Child
Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children (ECPAT) International
is a global organization that works to end the sexual exploitation of minors. It is
said to be the only child right’s organization that is solely focusing on ending the
sexual exploitation of children. Its mandate is to end the sexual exploitation of
children through prostitution; trafficking; online and in the travel and tourism sector
(ECPAT Website). Research and investigations are done by the organization to
look for a reliable and professional range of solutions in the said issue. The
knowledge and evidence acquired are used to forward awareness regarding child
sexual exploitation, understanding victims’ rights, and access to justice. Medical,
Psychological and Social Support Services for the victim are also provided by the
organization.

3. What is CST and its determinants?

The sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism is a growing

problem in destinations all over the world. An estimated one to two million children
are forced into prostitution every year and the total number of prostituted children
could be as high as 10 million (Willis & Levy, 2002: UNICEF, 2008). Defining Child
sex tourism linger on the idea of commercial sexual exploitation of children by
individuals that travel to take part in sexual acts with children and minors (not
above 18yo). The acts of these individuals practice pedophilia—a sexual
perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object (MerriamWebster).
They mostly mask their psychiatric disorder by creating foundations and
philanthropic organizations for children who are in need of basic support to use
innocent young people for sexual intercourse. The victims of CST belong to the
lower class of the society who are lacking options to survive poverty. Some
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organizations are considered syndicates that exploit children to other places

(regions or countries) for these sexual practices. Children in sexual exploitation
are in demand for the reason that they are cheaper to acquire and traffic than
adults, the lure of greater profits motivates traffickers to carry on with their sinister
deeds (SFI). Moreover, there are participants of CST that are not diagnosed with
psychological disorders, but prefer “young” for the reason of “cleaner and fresher”
standards for a sexual partner. In this market, the human person has no value. The
younger the victim, the greater the demand, and the more money that can be
made. There is absolutely no respect for children’s rights in child-sex tourism.

Child Sex Tourism continue to happen due to determinants such as foreign

tourism, military occupation, poverty, and cultural norms. CST exists globally, but
the alarming increase is mostly in developing countries. Developing countries are
known to give importance to their tourism industry because it provides tourists
receipts, job opportunities, and economic growth in a country. Foreign tourists
contribute to economic development through their expenditures while staying in
the country. However, there are foreign tourists who travel not for the destinations
but for sex tourism. Government of countries’ focal point is the economic stability
of their country. Contemporary issues such as Child Sex Tourism are often
neglected due to its consequences. If this matter is solved, the government
perceives it as part of failure for the growth of the economy since sex tourism also
accumulate funds for the country.

In the case of Military Occupation in the Philippines during the Vietnam War,
the country became a destination of relaxation for the U.S. Military Soldiers. The
base of U.S. Military at Subic Bay transformed to an urban center that gives the
soldiers “entertainment” in all aspect including sex work. This basically brought
economic development to the Philippines. But despite years passed, the practices
of U.S. soldiers implanted on the location. Cultural norms of Filipinos are also one
of the factors that push forward CST. Filipinos are known to have Filial Piety
attitude obtained from the Chinese Culture. It believes in the idea that children
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must be filial and obedient so that they experience a sense of shame if they feel
otherwise. Filial Piety has good effects on honing the attitude of a child but it has
a consequence such as becoming inferior to their elders. This kind of attitude
enables the adults to interfere with the life of the youngsters. Many
parents/guardians involving their kid to child sex tourism believe in this. These
parents believe that each family member has several duties and responsibilities
they must uphold, and child(ren) are obligated to give back whatever they have
given to their son / daughter. Therefore, they use their children for gaining money
since they believe in “giving back” the expenses that are spent to the children.

Among all determinants mentioned, poverty is the primary factor that

activates the increase rate of Child Sex Tourism. Most victims involved are part of
the lower class in the society. They are unfortunate to attain a high educational
background—which is “the usual” standard employment in the Philippines, due to
lack of funds to support their education. Individuals in the lower class of the society
are having difficulties in acquiring money for their survival in everyday life. Basic
needs such as food and water in their everyday living is their first priority,
completing education is hard to accomplish due to its expenses that do not belong
to the primary spending. The less educational background, the lesser opportunity
for the reason of employment demands usually prefer college graduates. In the
case scenario of developing nations, as mentioned earlier, they perceive this as a
profit to lessen the debt of the nations.

4. How has the pandemic affected gender in society in general, and in tourism
sector in particular

The COVID-19 Pandemic did not just become a global health crisis but put a
halt to progress toward gender equality. It has held a magnifying glass to gender
inequalities and, in doing so, has revealed cracks across many domains. Dealing with
the virus-attack globally, solutions are raised to lessen the detrimental effect of the
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pandemic, however, at the same time had devastating impact on the employment
opportunities on gender roles. Female-dominated service sector jobs were the first to
disappear (Gupta, 2020), while male-dominated sectors such as construction have
remained viable, and thus men’s wallets have been less affected. Globally, compared
to cis-men, women and members of minoritized gender groups tend to earn less, save
less, hold less secure jobs, and are more likely to be employed in informal sectors
(United Nations, 2020). This means that gendered expectations remained the same.
Women, in the majority of cultural and norms of individuals, are expected to perform
most of the domestic and care work. The perception in gender roles equality are still
in favor of cis-men dominating all kinds work that earns more. Mothers reported a
greater increase in domestic and care work during the pandemic than fathers, they
also reported a 5% decrease in work hours, while fathers’ work hours largely remained
stable (Collins et al., 2020). Solutions in combating COVID-19 such as lockdowns,
stay-at-home setups increased domestic violence. Women, and individuals from
minoritized gender groups, are more likely to be the victims of such violence than cis-
men (Azcona et al., 2020; James et al., 2016).The pandemic has also given rise to
new forms of control and manipulation. Abusers may fabricate or exploit quarantine
“rules” to control their partners and prevent access to support (since most cis-men are
able to retain their occupational work than women.) Women with disabilities, who are
already at increased risk of relational and sexual violence, are in greater danger given
the COVID-19 isolation measures (Azcona et al., 2020). Gender inequalities continue
to emerge and worsen during crises because of long-standing gender role beliefs.
Conventional feminine gender roles prescribe that women are highly communal,
displaying traits such as warmth and concern for others, taking the role of caregiver
within the home and lower status roles in society (Eagly & Wood, 1999). In contrast,
conventional masculine gender roles prescribe that men are highly agentic, displaying
traits such as stoicism and strength, and taking the role of provider outside the home
and higher status roles in society.

Tourism Industry has felt the devastating impact of COVID-19 Pandemic. Domestic
and International Travel are limited. Restrictions such as lockdowns and isolation
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affected the way Travel and Sector operates. For many developed and developing
countries, the tourism sector is a major source of employment, government revenue
and foreign exchange earnings. Women, who make up the majority of the tourism
workforce (54%) (UNWTO, 2019) have felt the economic shock to the tourism sector
caused by COVID-19 more acutely and quicker than their male counterparts. In the
sector, women are often concentrated in low-skilled or informal work, which affords
them less access to social protection and puts them in a precarious position during a
global pandemic. Whilst, men are mostly positioned on the managerial level which
gives them the benefits that women are deprived from. The United Nations (2020)
specified that there’s an increase in women’s economic and social insecurity, unpaid
care work and domestic violence has been observed.
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•
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