Since 2021, IJM's #ScaleofHarm project sought to develop and implement a methodology to measure trafficking of children to produce child sexual exploitation material in the Philippines. After two years of collaborating with a world-leading human trafficking research institution University of Nottingham Rights Lab, partners, and experts, the findings and recommendations are now available for use as we continue the fight against this crime and measure our progress through the years.
“Alarming findings from the new IJM Scale of Harm survey reveal that nearly half a million children in the Philippines have been trafficked to produce child sexual exploitation material, often by relatives or people they know. However, this issue transcends borders: where we look for these crimes, we uncover them, and once these abusive images and videos are online, they can be accessed and shared by perpetrators all over the world. Responses to this threat must therefore be global, coordinated, and guided by both evidence and the voices of survivors, just as this study’s recommendations have been.” Iain Drennan, Executive Director, WeProtect Global Alliance
