Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) officers from the city’s 33 barangays attended gender sensitivity and online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) training.
The activity, spearheaded by the city government’s Gender and Development (GAD) Office, forms part of the city’s Women’s Month activities in order to deepen the awareness of the participants on these issues.
GAD Legal Consultant Sabrina Suarez cited the importance of this training in order for officers to gain more awareness so they can better assist Angeleños.
“We want to ensure that they will continue to build bridges to further enhance venues and ‘safe spaces,’ especially with domestic violence regarding gender and sex… Here in the city, our officers are equipped with what they need to do,” she said.
During the training, VAWCs’ professional capacities in investigation of online child sexual abuse cases were enhanced.
OSAEC is any act of exploitative nature carried out against any child with the use of an electronic device or any medium that can connect to the internet at any point of the abuse.
This can include manipulating or threatening a child into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam, grooming victims online, distributing, importing, exporting, or selling child sexual exploitation, and knowingly obtaining access to child sexual exploitation material online even if the abuse depicted in the material was carried out offline.
Also, Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Trafficking-Violence Against Women and Their Children Secretariat Focal Sherryl Santos discussed sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, cyber safety, human/child trafficking, and other topics related to gender, development, and the improvement of safe spaces.
Meanwhile, other activities of the city government to celebrate Women’s Month include the staging of visual art exhibit dubbed “Óbrang Bábáyi” at SM Clark until March 31.
The city government also distributed financial assistance for 660 indigent women, solo parents, and VAWC survivors; as well as turn-over hygiene kits to 1,871 female Persons Deprived of Liberty in the city.