Reports and submissions from civil society also provide a glimpse on the conditions of girl children in the Philippines. The National Consultation on the CEDAW draft recommendations on General Recommendation 19 organized by the CHR and Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) on September 2016, put forward access to justice issues of marginalized sectors, including girl children. The Philippine Alliance of Women with Disabilities (PAWID) submission to the CEDAW Review in 2016 exposes human rights issues among girls. The following are the major issues highlighted in these reports. Trafficking and prostitution of girls In the Consultation on the CEDAW General Recommendation 19 organized by the CHR and WLB 3 last September 2016 , women’s organizations in the Philippines highlighted the links of trafficking and prostitution of girls in the country. Women's Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO) shared that reports of trafficking of children, mostly girls, increased after Typhoon Haiyan. Girls from Haiyan-affected communities in the Visayas were trafficked for prostitution in Olongapo City. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women- Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) corroborates this information and further claim that most women in the sex industry started at a young age and ninety percent of them have previous experience o sexual abuse. Armed conflict situation also exacerbates vulnerability of girls to trafficking. Nisa Ul Haqq Fi Bangsamoro reported that girls would fly from Cotabato to Manila and eventually to the Middle East using fake travel documents. Sometimes families are complicit to these arrangements. Early and arranged marriage In the same consultation, the Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK) reported that arranged marriages that make young girls vulnerable are practiced in rural communities. Nisa Ul Haqq also mentioned that numbers of reported arranged marriages in evacuation centers is high because families use marriages to ensure enough supply of food. Girls are married off to ease the burden of responsibility from the family. Cyberbullying and violence against girls committed in the internet Civil society organizations looked at issues of cybertrafficking and cyberprostitution or the use of technology or the internet to commit and facilitate acts of violence against women and girl children. Girl participants in the consultations gave examples of cyberbullying committed against them and how these could lead to depression, low self-esteem, and weak performance in schools. The family as a site of violence 3 Consultation on CEDAW Draft General Recommendations 19: Accelerating Elimination of Gender-Based Violence against Women, 27-28 September 2016, UP Diliman Quezon City, organized by the GEWHRC- CHR and Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau 9

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