What if you could stop a child from becoming the victim of sexual exploitation? 
What if you could be the reason a teenage girl learned how to keep herself safe? 
What if she then became a catalyst for change in her community, teaching other kids how to protect themselves from falling prey to online abuse?

Michaela is 16 years old, and like lots of kids her age, she has grown up with the internet. She lives in the Philippines, where almost 80 million people are internet users and, on average, people spend more time online each day than anywhere else in the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippines Digital Strategy, released in 2010, declares access to the internet a human right, and the government has launched a string of initiatives to help make sure that everyone, even kids living in poverty, can get online and access the education and work opportunities that the internet opens up. Access to the internet has been more important than ever since COVID-19 hit. Schools across the country closed at the start of the pandemic, and 18 months later, only 5,000 of the Philippines’ 27 million public school students had been allowed to return to classrooms. Online learning has become the norm for Michaela’s generation. But while that has opened up new opportunities, it has also created some very real dangers.

Michaela says that most of the times, children do not know the extent of the danger that the internet may bring: young people simply don’t understand that while the internet can be a powerful tool, there are also risks that they need to be aware of. Children may be protected from being exploited if they are aware of what should and should not be done online. Michaela says children must be able to develop self-confidence, so they feel able to say “no”, or analyse their situation. 

According to the Philippines Department of Justice, cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation increased by 264 percent in the first three months of COVID quarantines compared with the year before, with more than 279,000 cases of children reported. The real number of children exposed is likely much higher and we’re now well past those first few months. A 2020 study conducted by the International Justice Mission (IJM), which combats violence against children in the Philippines, showed that the prevalence rate of internet-based child sexual exploitation in the Philippines has more than tripled in a span of three years from 43 internet sites used for child sexual exploitation in 2014, to 149 in 2017. The Philippines has become a global hotspot for online sexual exploitation of children, receiving more than eight times as many cases as any other country.

Every case of online sexual abuse and exploitation represents a child who will carry the weight of their experience for life. 

Fortunately, Michaela is not one of them. Thanks to the support of child sponsors like Michaela’s, she has had the chance to learn how to protect herself online – and she’s doing everything she can to protect other young people from exploitation.

As the pandemic continues to force children to spend more time online, Michaela is taking action to stop more kids in her community from becoming victims of abuse. Armed with posters she has made herself, a stringline, and some pegs, Michaela holds group discussions under a tree, inviting kids to come and learn how to stay safe online. And kids in her community are listening. Once very shy and afraid to talk in a crowd, Michaela has become a leader.

Michaela slowly overcame her fear of talking to large crowds when she reached high school. She became an active member of different student organisations, and eventually became an officer and facilitator. She also joined World Vision activities where her leadership skills were further honed. One of her memorable experiences is the training on Spiritual Nurture for Children, because it was the first time that she met other child leaders from other provinces. Not only did her self-confidence develop, but she also gained knowledge about children’s rights and responsibilities. Michaela’s passion to share information led her to take an education course and she wants to become a teacher someday.