Online child sexual exploitation survivor speaks out as the crime grows

A stranger offered 16-year-old Ruby a job in a message on Facebook. What followed was a horrific chain of events which saw her lured into the world of online child sexual exploitation.

Ruby was just 16 when she was sent a message by a stranger on Facebook offering her a job.

That message changed her life forever.

The then recent high school graduate from the Philippines, was tricked and lured into the horrific world of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC).

“The person that victimised me was a total stranger from Facebook who messaged me about a job, I took the chance, and eventually I realised it wasn’t the job I was (initially) told,” she said.

Ruby was brought to a house where she witnessed many naked young girls.

“I confronted the lady that I was talking with on Facebook, she told me what was actually the real job,” she said.

Ruby was 16 when she was lured into the world of online child exploitation.

That was being forced to take part in the creation of child sexual exploitation.

Traffickers livestream the abuse of children to offenders across the world, including those based in Australia, who pay to direct the abuse in real time, for as little as $30.

Ruby found herself captured for two months in 2013.

In a joint effort with local police and International Justice Mission – a leading antislavery and anti-OSEC charity – Ruby was finally rescued and could begin her recovery.

According to IJM Australia CEO Steve Baird, Australians are shamefully at the centre of fuelling the terrible crime.

“I am ashamed to say that Australia is ranked the third worst offender when it comes to OSEC cases in the Philippines, behind only the US and Sweden,” Mr Baird said.

Video footage of a rescue operation in 2021. Picture: AFP

According to experts around 750,000 predators can be online at any given time.

Ruby now hopes to share her experience with the crime in a new podcast called The Fight Of My Life: Finding Ruby.

“As someone who experienced it first hand and has been victimised, this is what I can do to prevent more victims,” she said.

“I share my experience to raise awareness, with listeners they can do also to prevent and to end this crime.”

Originally published as Online child sexual exploitation survivor speaks out as the crime grows