Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 - Statistics

Statistics

A 1997 ILO report placed the number of child victims of prostitution at 75,000 in the Philippines, with other estimates (ECPAT) reporting as many as 100,000. Recently, around 300,000 prostitutes were found in a range of entertainment establishments, such as karaoke bars, dirt poor cabarets, beach resorts, and health clubs. Child prostitution is one the rise, estimated by ECPAT.org to be about 100,000. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported about 60,000 to 100,000 children in the Philippines involved in prostitution. There was a high incidence of child prostitution in tourist areas, where undetermined number of children are forced into exploitative labor operations. According to a report by the Consortium Against Trafficking of Children and Women for Sexual Exploitation (Catch-Wise), the Philippines is the 4th country with the most number of prostituted children, and authorities identified increases in pedophiles travelling to the Philippines.<

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia Pacific (CATW-AP), quoting from Kyodo News, estimated that in 1998 there were 400,000 prostituted women in the Philippines. The International Labor Organization estimated that in 1993/94 there were nearly half a million prostitutes in the country. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) recorded 959 Philippine human trafficking cases from 1992 to March 2001. The United Nations reported 9 million people enslaved in the global sex trade by powerful syndicates in human trafficking in 1999 (Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific, CATW-AP). The Philippines was the first Southeast Asian country to legislate this tough statute against trafficking.