Social workers at IJM aftercare shelter help OSEC survivor see her potential.

When Zoey* was 8, her sisters began marketing her to foreign men through live sex shows on the internet. For years, the people she had trusted most sexually abused her in front of the webcam until one day a customer—a Swedish man—was arrested.

Digital forensic evidence from his arrest led authorities to Zoey. IJM and our partners rescued her, then 17, and brought her to an IJM aftercare shelter. Zoey had many mixed emotions when she first arrived, but slowly began to trust her caregivers and develop friendships that would help her reclaim her life.

Today, Zoey is studying to become a psychologist so she can help other survivors of OSEC.

*Name changed to protect identity

Joy* was separated from her family at a young age and passed from one relative to another while her mother worked abroad. Life took a dark turn at age 10 when Joy’s aunt asked her to come inside her house and forced her to strip naked in front of a camera.

In 2013, IJM supported Philippine authorities to arrest Joy’s aunt and rescue Joy along with dozens of other victims. Two years later, in the face of grave intimidation, Joy was the first survivor from her case to bravely testify against her aunt in court. Today, Joy is a beacon of courage, strength and resilience, relentless in pursuing protection for children in the Philippines. She is a licensed Social Worker, and at the same time, an active member of the Philippine Survivor Network, advocating for the transformation of the public justice system to move her case up to conviction and to protect all children from the same form of abuse.