The right to privacy is guaranteed in the Philippine Bill of Rights and other laws but
was repeatedly violated in the two cases. While Ruby consented to making three
out of the four intimate videos that circulated on the web, and Martha agreed to
have her photos taken, neither one consented to the uploading of the materials to
the internet, and definitely not to their proliferation in various internet sites.
In the third case, the children were exposed to an unsafe and unhealthy
environment at a tender age. They were forced to earn some income for their
families, and were made to feel responsible for helping provide financially. They
feared reporting the abuse because their own families were involved. Those
rescued by law enforcers were taken away from their families and friends and
placed under the custody of the Social Welfare department, including those whose
parents were not involved in cyber-pornography. Separation from family can be
traumatic.
Equally disturbing was the practice to force the children to watch pornography as a
prelude to the act of performing in front of the computer. A psychologist testifying
in court said, “sustained exposure to pornography leads to serious psychological
disorders in minors” which will set in later in their lives. There may be not be
manifestations among the victims yet, but there is evidence that boys exposed to
pornography become increasingly aggressive when they become adults, while girls
become more tolerant of emotional, psychological and sexual abuse, making them
believe that violence is normal behavior.
3. Actors
The right to
privacy is
guaranteed
in the
Philippine Bill
of Rights and
other laws
but was
repeatedly
violated...
he women were able to obtain the services of legal counsels who helped them
identify the legal recourse and charges to file. Both sought help from the National
TBureau
of Investigation to track and determine the identities of the perpetrators.
In Ruby’s case, the sex video taken by her former doctor-boyfriend was uploaded
to a US-based web hosting site, thus the NBI had to secure a court order from the
United States. An Anti-VAWC case was filed in a regional trial court but was later
dismissed because of insufficiency of evidence. She also filed another case seeking
the revocation of her ex-boyfriend’s medical license.
<End Violence: Women’s Rights and Safety Online>
11
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents