Because of the secretive nature of prostitution and sex-trafficking, it is very difficult to gain accurate statistics. But conservative estimates say the number of women and children working in the Filipino sex-trade is around 800,000. That makes the number of prostituted persons in the Philippines roughly the same size as the country’s entire manufacturing workforce. 

Recent statistics show that out of the shocking 1.2 million children trafficked into slavery world-wide, 100,000 are Filipinos. That means one out of ten children who are sold into slavery are from the Philippines. That’s one Filipino child every 12 minutes. These children are often required to work up to 20 hours a day and forced to serve as many as 100 customers each week. Even as a relatively small country, the Philippines is fourth in the world for the most children in prostitution. As the capital city, Manila is where the largest amount of children are being traded. Some of them are as young as five years old. In 2016, UNICEF identified the Philippines as the epicenter of the live stream sexual abuse trade. This crime of OSEC- Online Sexual Exploitation of children is rampant nationwide: 80% of Filipino children are at risk for being sexually exploited. Some victims of OSEC are as young as 2 months old! The Philippines is the top global source for child pornography. This brutal exploitation of treasured humanity is a daily emergency.
 

But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Why Prostitution?

There are a multitude of reasons why people find themselves trapped in the sex trade. Some are the children of prostitutes and have never known any other life. Some were sold at a young age by their parents, aunts, uncles, or neighbors. And many are told that life in Manila will offer the chance to be freed from the desperation of poverty in their home provinces. They hope to be able to send money to their families but when they arrive in Manila they often are trapped with no money for the fare home and no visible choice but to accept “work” in a brothel. For some a lifetime of extreme poverty and abuse makes the sex trade look glamorous and not the slavery that it is. Poverty is more than just a lack of money. It is a cycle of bondage that robs its victims of hope and leads to the belief that they don’t have anything to lose. In these cases, survival becomes all that matters.