In the 6th Manila International Dialogue on Human Trafficking, stakeholders raised challenges posed by quarantine measures as human traffickers moved online to target their victims."Children who are victims of online abuse, seafarers and fisherfolk, as well as the domestic workers and overseas Filipino workers, have all been seriously impacted by the ensuing pandemic," Justice Undersecretary Emelline Aglipay-Villar said.
The technical working groups involved in the dialogue focused on the vulnerabilities of household service and tourist workers, children exploited online, as well as seafarers and fisherfolk. Also raised during the dialogue were the higher demand for child sexual exploitation material during the lockdown; involuntary servitude of seafarers because of the delay in the deployment of their replacements; and illegal recruiters taking advantage of the economic need of the unemployed because of the pandemic.