Before each IJM Advocacy Summit, we take time to research and identify a pressing issue affecting our programmatic work that could be addressed by a U.S. public policy solution. This year, we have selected the persistent problem of online sexual exploitation of children, otherwise known as OSEC*.

Join us at the 2026 Advocacy Summit this June 1-2 as we speak up against trafficking and urge Congress to #ProtectKidsOnline.

OSEC encompasses a range of criminal activities. In many cases, local traffickers broadcast abuse to foreign sex offenders through livestreamed video or the production of new child sexual abuse materials, or CSAM. Traffickers are often parents or close relatives who operate in private residences or small cybercafes. Victims include girls and boys, often under 12, and as young as two months. This crime is especially rampant in the Philippines due to widespread poverty, internet access and English language proficiency. Customers can pay for and direct sexual abuse from anywhere in the world.

OSEC Statistics

In 2024 alone, 20.5 million reports involving suspected child exploitation online were submitted to the CyberTipline operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) – and 84% of those reports involved people in locations outside of the U.S., illustrating the worldwide dynamic to this violent injustice.

Here are a few facts about OSEC from IJM’s work:

• In 2022, an estimated 1 in 100 Filipino children were victims of OSEC.
• The median age of victims is 11 years old, and the average period of abuse is two years. Children under 3 years old comprised  9% of victims.
• More than 1,500 Filipino children have been rescued from OSEC by IJM and our partners.