ONLINE spaces should be a safe place for young people, especially women. That was the call made by experts during a panel discussion at the Girls’ Summit 2026 in Quezon City.
The panel discussion, themed ‘Safeguarding Girls Online #ThinkTwice x #StandWithGirls: Keep Girls Safe, Seen, and Heard Online,’ was joined by Atty. Stephanie Garay of OSAEC-CSAEM, Karla Yu from TikTok Philippines, Maria Volante from the Quezon City Government, and Sophia Lorraine Cabadsan, a youth advocate. The panel discussed the dangers that women are being exposed to online and what can be done about them.
According to Plan International Philippines, seven out of 10 women experience online harassment. Signs of harassment include fake news, pressure to hide secrets, and grooming, to name a few.
Meanwhile, another report from 2020 stated that 20 percent of young Filipino children experience technology-facilitated sexual abuse and exploitation. Most of their harassers were someone they knew or trusted. In addition, data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) revealed that over 1.7 million reports were made in relation to online sexual abuse and exploitation in the Philippines in 2024. Thus, the call now is to make online spaces safer for young women by making situational risks and hazardous signs more known to the public.
‘No matter where we go, there’s still a risk for online manipulation,’ said youth advocate Cabadsan, noting that the youth should be more aware of these risks and responsibly use technology to avoid these situations.
Citing a study she read, Atty. Garay shared that the Philippines is in the list of the top countries of both victims and perpetrators. In this, she highlighted sextortion on both financial and relationship and AI-generated nudity especially involving children, citing that is the current trend they see on online sexual abuse.
Recognizing that TikTok is double-edged, where both creativity and bad actors exist, Yu ensured they are working on campaigns that would promote online safety for women and children. ‘We do not allow content that promotes harassment or harmful AI-generated content, or harmful disinformation in TikTok. At the same time, we want to empower the youth to take control of their online experience,’ she shared.
It is interconnected with their current campaign with Plan International Philippines, #ThinkTwice, a digital literacy campaign where they partner with online creators to promote meaningful and thoughtful conversations online.
While there’s no guarantee that online safe spaces will immediately be born, it is still necessary to have these conversations to take further steps in building more inclusive and protected digital experiences.