Child prostitution in the Philippines | DW Documentary
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marlyn copy Oh was forced into
prostitution as a child now 34 she’s a
social worker for the Preta foundation a
non-profit child protection organization
her aim to get young girls out of the
red-light district
the Philippines is one of the world’s
infamous centers of child prostitution
every year around 100,000 children are
forced into the sex trade will Marlon
managed to rescue another child this
time
Subic Bay once a US naval base in the
northwest of the Philippines
not far from here is the city of illunga
phone which claims to be home to the
most beautiful women in the world
Marlon kpo is getting ready for a night
out once a month she goes to the
red-light district
undercover wherever I visit at the bar I
feel pity shame and I feel I put myself
during that time that I was there that
some of them don’t they don’t realize
the value of the dignity they don’t
realize that they have the human rights
to protect to and so I want them to help
them to get out from that situation
officially prostitution is illegal in
the Philippines brothels are
euphemistically called bars and almost
all are in American hands
their standard clientele consists of
middle-aged men from industrialized
countries Marlin thinks that one of the
dancers looks particularly young she
asks an acquaintance to quietly help her
make contact with the girl
the girl Christina comes from Samar
province
she tells Marlon that typhoon Haiyan
destroyed her family’s house there two
years ago Marlin asks her why she’s
working in the bar the young girl tells
her that it’s easy money and that she
used to work as a domestic servant in
Samar and Manila while Marlin thinks
that’s respectable work christina tells
her she was treated badly reason enough
to leave their conversation hasn’t gone
unnoticed
pimps keep a close watch over the girls
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kristina is summoned and spends the rest
of the night on stage
Marlon won’t be able to talk with her
anymore
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the girl I met in the bar she is a
cherry girl and according to her there
are three more cherry girl working in
that bar and when when you say cherry
girl it is it means that the cha the
girl is a virgin and it’s for sale and
when I asked her how much it cost she
said that one cherry girl is equivalent
to fifty thousand pesos which means that
they can earn much money out of it
eighteen years ago
Marlene herself was rescued by Pradhan
now a social worker she mentors children
who like her were victims of trafficking
and prostitution or were sexually abused
by their own families
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during what the foundation calls
emotional release therapy they confront
their memories directly trade are
developed the method to help the
children express their pain
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yeah okay
afterwards in art therapy the children
are encouraged to paint pictures of
their hopes and dreams for the future
like Marlin Emily who is deaf also fell
into the hands of child traffickers
you forget and you forgive is two things
so when I finish the therapy I was able
to forgive those people who hurt me
including my mom to this day her mother
refuses to believe Marlon was forced
into child prostitution traffickers sent
Marlon around the country when she was
between the ages of 12 and 16 she was
even smuggled into Germany for a few
months the biggest hurdles for child
protection activists in the Philippines
are corruption and the country’s
inability to enforce the law
Irish missionary and prayed a founder
che Colin has been battling those
obstacles for more than 40 years
he’s known Marlon since she was small if
we stop we will be defeated and more
children will be abused so whether we
win or not is not so much the point the
thing is to be getting more and more
people know to be advocates and to stand
against it mainly things then can change
not we can’t do it alone but it’s all
the people out there who have a good
some influence and some power and some
moral righteousness say I’m going to
help to stop this that’s what we need
foul ball Marlin wants to learn more
about Christina the girl in the bar she
goes to see a neighbor Ana who works in
the same barb ana doesn’t want to show
her face fearing she might be recognized
hopping Marlin mentions that some of the
girls she saw in the bar seemed
extremely young and asks if Ana can help
her contact them but ana says the pimps
watched them constantly after all their
cherry girls during the conversation
Marlin finds out that 23 year old ana is
regularly told by her female pimp to go
out and recruit new girls like Ana they
come from the slums of Manila and
commute to a longer pole to work in the
bars in the end marlon manages to
convince her neighbor to take her to see
the new girls the next morning they
travel to the capital together
I hope to get some information and I do
hope that I will know the real age of
those suitors
marlyn always carries special mementos
with her when she travels
they can a happy moment during my
childhood years and during the day of I
graduated from college
the trip to the mega city takes a total
of five hours using various modes of
transportation
Marlene is taken to the slum district to
see two sisters who live there 15
year-old Nikki and 17 year-old Alyssa
they’re from a family of eight
the first thing Marlon does is ask them
why they’re working in Olongapo Alyssa
tells her she’s only doing it to help
her family she says she can earn a lot
of money in the bars her mother doesn’t
want her to she says but in the end it’s
my own body I’m selling her younger
sister has also already worked in the
bar Miki says she didn’t like the
outfits they had to wear she found them
embarrassing but she was told they
attracted the customers now it’s time to
offer them encouragement Marlon asks
them what they do if they could choose
between going to school or working in
the bar both say they’d rather go to
school Alyssa adds that her favorite
subject at high school was science
especially biology but the tolda had no
Marlon tells the girls her own story and
soon wins their trust she offers them a
grant from the parada foundation
I have the peelings I have the guts
feeling that they really want to change
their life and it given a chance they
can they can grab the opportunity to
become educated individual they don’t
like to work as a prostitute because
they believe that it’s not a decent job
it’s a shameless in the family but they
have no opportunity at that time but
here we are were given than the
opportunity equal opportunity so that
they can finish their education and have
a better life
Marlon’s mission has been successful the
two sisters plan to return to a longer
PO in the coming weeks but this time to
go back to school
you
This is another fancy Japanese. Marlyn Capio was forced into prostitution as a child. Now she works for a child protection agency, trying to rescue young girls who work in the red light district. About 100,000 minors a year are forced into the sex trade in the Philippines. _______ Exciting, powerful and informative – DW Documentary is always close to current affairs and international events. Our eclectic mix of award-winning films and reports take you straight to the heart of the story. Dive into different cultures, journey across distant lands, and discover the inner workings of modern-day life. Subscribe and explore the world around you – every day, one DW Documentary at a time. Subscribe to DW Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW39zufHfsuGgpLviKh297Q?sub_confirmation=1# For more information visit: https://www.dw.com/documentaries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwdocumentary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dw.stories