Child protection in five tourism destination

Transcription

Child protection in five
tourism destination countries
Capacity building and awareness
raising activities in
Thailand, Cambodia, The Philippines,
Dominican Republic and The Gambia
ECPAT the Netherlands
P.O. Box 11103
2301 EC Leiden
Tel: +31-71-516 09 80
E-mail: info@ecpat.nl
Website: www.ecpat.nl
In the Netherlands ECPAT and Defence for Children
International are one organization.
ECPAT 5 COUNTRIES versie 9cmyk Celinecorr2_Inzicht in Uitbuiting#A8740.qxd 04-03-11 11:17 Pagina omsl2
ECPAT 5 COUNTRIES versie 9cmyk Celinecorr2_Inzicht in Uitbuiting#A8740.qxd 04-03-11 11:17 Pagina 1
Funded by:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
the Netherlands
December 2010
P.O. Box 11103
2301 EC Leiden
Tel: +31-71-516 09 80
In the Netherlands ECPAT and Defence for Children are one organization
This report is produced by ECPAT the Netherlands (writer Celine Verheijen, editor Theo
Noten) on the basis of monitoring visits by Mam Patchareeboon (Thailand), Anita Stuart
Dodds (Cambodia), Afrooz Kaviani Johnson (Philippines), Frans de Man (Dominican
Republic) and Celine Verheijen (The Gambia).
Table of ConTenT
Introduction
5
Material and methods
7
Thailand
8
8
9
10
11
11
12
Cambodia
13
13
14
15
15
16
17
The Philippines
18
18
19
20
20
22
Dominican Republic
23
23
23
25
25
26
26
The Gambia
27
27
27
29
29
30
30
Conclusion & Recommendations
31
Literature
33
Appendix 1:
37
Legislation and mechanisms to protect children from sexual exploitation
Tourism industry
Non-governmental organizations
Cases
Project achievements
Recommendations
Tourism industry
Cases
Recommendations
Tourism industry
Cases
Tourism industry
Cases
Recommendations
Tourism industry
Cases
Recommendations
Contact information local partners
Appendix 2:
39
Examples of information materials produced within the project
Child protection in five tourism destination countries
3
4
InTRoDuCTIon
The commercial sexual exploitation of children and its different manifestations, including the
prostitution of children and child sex tourism is a problem that faces many tourism destinations. It is a sensitive issue that is not discussed openly within many societies, nor is it especially prioritized by governments and overall tourism industry in these tourism destinations.
For tourism establishments in tourism destination countries to be able to play an active role in
the fight against sexual exploitation of children in tourism, there is a need for capacity building
workshops, information materials and cooperation with more civil society organizations and
governmental organizations. Therefore, ECPAT the Netherlands collaborated with local partners in Thailand, Cambodia, The Philippines, Dominican Republic and The Gambia in a
project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs that focuses on strengthening local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), promoting implementation of the Child Protection Code,
training of different stakeholders and raising awareness by distributing information materials
(including 10,000 fact sheets and 15,000 leaflets per destination country, see Appendix 2).
The capacity building workshops focused on the rights of children, recognising child sex
tourism, on how to report suspicious behaviour and on the Code of Conduct, which includes
formulating a policy concerning the protection of children against sexual exploitation, training
personnel on the subject, formulating clauses for in contracts with business partners, informing
tourists and establishing a network with other stakeholders. For the content of the workshops
the ECPAT Training Resource Kit was used, of which a CD is included in this report. The
workshop consisted of much group work in which the participants formulated a policy,
produced a protocol with steps to take when a case of child sex tourism occurs and designed
information material. The participants were a selected group of different stakeholders in the
fight against sexual exploitation of children (see figure 1). The participants discussed cases of
child sex tourism and evaluated the actions that were taken. They performed a role play with a
scenario of child sex tourism and shared experiences.
40
35
30
25
Tourism
20
Police
15
Government
10
NGO
5
0
Thailand
Figure 1:
Cambodia Philippines Dominican
Rep.
Gambia
Overview of stakeholders that participated in the capacity building workshops in the five destination countries.
5
Introduction
In all the five destination countries, the participants assessed the workshop to be useful and
relevant to their work. The capacity building workshops introduced new tourism businesses to
child protection practices. Most of the representatives from the tourism sector noted that prior
to the workshop they did not have a good understanding of child sex tourism, the legal framework or ways to address the issue. It was recognized by the participants from the tourism
industry that the issue of child sex tourism is a sensitive topic that is often neglected. All
participants in the five destination countries agreed that a workshop should be organized
regularly to refresh the knowledge, exchange experiences and stay in regular contact with
other stakeholders.
This report is a result of a monitoring visit that was done in every destination country at the
end of the project. During the monitoring visit the following questions were considered:
is the general picture of a selected touristic area concerning the
• What
promotion of the protection of children against sexual exploitation?
Which measures are visible to the accidental tourist and traveller when
entering the country, when looking for information, when taking a taxi,
when staying in a hotel, when going to a restaurant, when going to a bar,
when looking for the night life?
has been achieved with the capacity building activities (two work• What
shops per country for an average of twenty participants coming from relevant stakeholders) and awareness activities (the production and distribution
of information materials for tourists, tourism professionals and other stakeholders) which have been organized within the project?
kind of recommendations do different stakeholders have on how to
• What
improve the protection of children against sexual exploitation in tourism?
6
MaTeRIal anD MeThoDs
The information for this report was gathered through literature research and during an eight
day monitoring visit in Thailand, Cambodia, The Philippines, Dominican Republic and The
Gambia in October 2010. During the monitoring visit different tourism facilities were visited,
such as popular touristic attractions, hotels, tourist information offices, official tour guide
offices, tourism security offices, night clubs, restaurants and different means of public transportation. It was observed whether there was any information visible on the protection of
children against sexual exploitation and, when possible, staff was interviewed about their
knowledge on the subject. The local partners (see table 1) and some of the participants of the
capacity building workshops were interviewed about the actions that were taken since the
workshops.
Data was obtained via a combination of methodologies, including:
1.
Literature research;
2.
Formal interview and informal communications with local project partners;
3.
Informal interviews with tourism staff and managers during site visits;
4.
Structured group discussions during evaluation meetings;
5.
Individual questionnaires completed by participants of the capacity building
workshops;
6.
Observations during site visits to trainees’ workplaces and other tourism
facilities.
CounTRY
PaRTneRs
Thailand
ECPAT International
Cambodia
ECPAT Cambodia
The Philippines
ECPAT Philippines
Dominican Republic
MAIS, ECPAT affiliate
The Gambia
Child Protection Alliance, ECPAT affiliate
* See Appendix 1 for contact information details.
Table 1: Local project partners
7
MYANMAR
CHIANG RAI
LAO PDR
ThaIlanD
CHIANG MAI
THAILAND
BANGKOK
PATTAYA
CAMBODIA
PANG-NGA
AND SEVERAL
ISLANDS
PHUKET
SONGKLA
Thailand is a source, transit and destination
country for trafficking in children and women
for sexual purposes and labour. According to
the Ministry of Social Development and
Human Security, the general trends show a
decline of Thai children being exploited in the
local sex businesses. These Thai children are
now being trafficked abroad to countries such
as Japan and Australia, while the number of
foreign children being trafficked into Thailand
for sexual exploitation is reported to be increasing. Boys and girls from Cambodia,
China (Yunnan Province), Lao PDR, Myanmar,
and Vietnam, as well as ethnic minority groups
living in northern Thailand are trafficked to
larger Thai cities for sexual exploitation (7).
According to the ECPAT International Global Monitoring Report on the status of action
against commercial exploitation of children, Thailand has marketed itself as a popular tourism
destination in Asia, and as such, related entertainment businesses have flourished, including
sex shops and shows where not only adults, but also boys and girls provide sex services. The
cities that suffer most notably from the impacts of sexual exploitation of children in tourism
are Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phuket, but also Pang-Nga and Songkla
(Hat Yai District) (1).
The central legal framework prohibiting prostitution in Thailand is the Prevention and
Suppression of Prostitution Act, B.E. 2539 (the “Prostitution Law”), which is active since
1996. The Measure to Prevent and Suppress of Trafficking in Women and Children Act B.B.
2540 came out in 1997 which has been replaced by the Anti-Human Trafficking Act B.E 2551
in 2008. Thailand has several Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) on trafficking signed
between Thai government agencies; MOUs signed among government agencies and NGOs,
and MOUs among non-government agencies. Apart from that, there are several MOUs signed
bilaterally between Thailand and neighbouring countries, to improve collaboration on common
problems regarding trafficking and child protection issues. Thailand has Mutual Legal
Assistance Treaties (MLAT) for the practical work on legal/ criminal matters between two
countries which are used by the Office of the Attorney General. This includes the Extraterritorial law which can be used to prosecute offenders who manage to escape from the
countries where they committed sex crime against children and returned to their own countries (14).
In Thailand there are several mechanisms dealing with the protection of children against sexual
exploitation. For example, the National Committee on Trafficking (for the Anti-Human
Trafficking Act), which consist of various government departments and ministries and NGOs
8
Thailand
at the national level. On operational level there is the Anti-Human Trafficking Division
(AHTD) of the Royal Thai Police, the Centre Against Human Trafficking (CAHT) of the
Office of the Attorney General and the Bureau to Prevent and Suppress Human Trafficking
of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. In working on child protection
issues, Thailand has been using a multi-disciplinary approach and a team of practitioners from
several disciplines, including law enforcement, legal personnel, social workers and medical
personnel for all over the country as it is stated in the procedural law (14).
The coup d’etat of 2006 that removed ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has left Thailand
with deep political divisions, and directly affects the personnel and officials within the Thai
Ministry of Tourism. Moreover, this on-going political conflict has completely halted the draft
of a National Plan of Action to Combat Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism
since 2006. Without the crucial support of the Ministry of Tourism and its departments, tourism
companies in Thailand have chosen also to de-prioritize or ignore the issue all together. Some
companies believe the issue to be solely the responsibility of the government and law enforcement, while others would be interested if further guidance and support were to be provided by
the Ministry of Tourism.
Due to the lack of specific nationwide, coordinated efforts against anti-child sex tourism/ prostitution of children, there is no visual campaign against child sex tourism at any of the airports, train
stations, BTS Skytrain, MRT Subway train, public buses, taxis, tuk-tuks or motorcycles for hire.
Tourism industry
In Thailand there are eleven members of the Child Protection Code: Accor Hotels (over forty
properties), Beluga for Life, Centara Hotels (over twenty properties), Chiang Rai Tourism
Society, Six Senses’ Evason Resort & Spa, Koh Lanta, Legend Chiang Rai Boutique Resort
and Spa, Samui Villas and Homes, Sanctuary Resorts, Six Senses’ Hideaway Koh Yao Noi and
Shewe Wana Boutique Resort and Spa. In these hotels information materials on the protection
Information poster at hotel lobby of Accor Hotel.
9
Thailand
of children are generally displayed. After the capacity building workshops, one participating
hotel (Shewe Wana Resort Hotel) also became a member of the Child Protection Code.
Other tourism organizations that are not a member of the Child Protection Code and participated in the workshops have established a policy and a reporting procedure against sexual
exploitation, but are still in the ‘beginning’ stages of implementation and require additional
support, especially to increase the staff’s understanding of the issue. Therefore, ECPAT
International received several requests for additional information material.
A representative of the tourism associations stated during an interview that while the tourism
association has ethic codes and regulation, the true power lies with the law enforcement officials and the Ministry of Tourism to revoke business licenses when the business allow the
commercial sexual exploitation of children. However, due to factors such as the lack of awareness (and prioritization to combat child exploitation) and corruption, this does not happen.
With the limited funds of tourism associations, there have not been specific initiatives devoted
to the protection of children from sexual exploitation for members.
Since 1996, ECPAT International has worked to combat the sexual exploitation of children
in Thailand by working directly with the key stakeholders, including the tourism industry,
government, law enforcement and other NGOs. The Child Protection Code initiative is embedded in ECPAT’s direct work with the tourism industry. For companies that are members of the
Code, ECPAT provides consultations, workshops and assistance on reporting cases to the
authorities. For companies that are new to the Code and seek additional information, ECPAT
works to explain the Code, child sex tourism or how to protect children from exploitation.
Another NGO in Thailand that participated in the capacity building workshops (Friends
International) conducts direct outreach work with children and youth. Friends implements the
‘ChildSafe Network’ Project, a general child protection initiative that works with Thai
Immigration Authority, hotels and taxi association to protect children. Training is provided to
the staff of relevant government offices, hotels and taxi drivers. The representatives from
Friends estimate that 2% of the youth they assist have been exploited through prostitution and
that 5% to 8% are continuously at risk of child sex tourism and other forms of sexual exploitation. Most of the children and youth are street children or youth that have migrated from
neighbouring countries, all resist assistance due to fear of deportation. The majority of children
and youth request that Friends do not refer or report their cases, mainly out of fear.
FACE is a local NGO that also participated in the capacity building workshops and works
specifically on cases of child sex tourism and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation.
FACE works closely and on a regular basis with the Royal Thai Police, Immigration
Authorities, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Human Development and other NGOs to
rescue child victims, provide them with legal counsel and ensure that they are provided with
the necessary care and services. As a local NGO with limited staff and capacity, FACE does
not work directly with the tourism private sector, but acknowledges and supports the involvement of the Thai tourism industry.
10
Thailand
Cases
Dutch man jailed for sex with Thai minors
In December 2007, a Dutch national was arrested on child sex abuse charges at his rented home
in Hua Hin. In July 2009, a Thai court ruled that the 52-yearold Dutch National and a 35-year-old
Thai man were guilty of taking a boy from his parents on several occasions between March and
December 2007, with the intention of carrying out sexual abuse in the resort town of Hua Hin in
Prachuap Khiri Khan. The Dutch man was sentenced to a 37-year jail term, the Thai national to
almost 27 years (7).
Three Australians charged with child sex tourism offences
In March 2009, three Australians were charged with child sex tourism offences in Thailand, in a
joint operation involving Australian, Thai and British police. Two men from Sydney (40 and 23
years old) were arrested by the Australian Federal Police after raids on their homes. The third
man, a 68-year-old Australian residing in Thailand, was arrested by Royal Thai Police the same
day. They all face charges of child sex, child sex tourism and child pornography. Britain's Child
Exploitation and Online Protection Centre assisted in the operation (7).
German paedophile jailed
In November 2007, the Thai Criminal Court sentenced a German paedophile to four years and
eight months in jail for having sex with two Thai girls under thirteen years old. The man was
found guilty of having bought sex from the two girls at a hotel in November 2002. The court
initially sentenced him to seven years in jail but commuted the jail term by one third after he
confessed having bought sex from the two girls (7).
Some direct results of the workshops were the joining of Shewe Wana Resort Hotel to the
Child Protection Code and Mekong Tourism Coordination Office (MTCO) inviting ECPAT
ECPAT box in hotel lobby.
11
Thailand
International to speak at the Mekong Tourism Forum. In addition, MTCO is considering the
adoption of the Child Protection Code and has put information about ECPAT and the issue of
child sex tourism on its website. MTCO encourages more public praises of companies that are
members of the Code and have taken positive steps towards protecting children, to encourage
other companies to follow. ECPAT International is still following up with the MTCO on their
interest to sign the Child Protection Code. Representatives of the tourism private sector who
participated in the capacity building workshops have shown an interest to learn more about
the issue of child sex tourism and made requests for ECPAT’s brochures, FAQ booklet and
additional information on the Code.
Recommendations
•
•
•
•
•
•
12
The capacity building workshops should be expanded in content and format to
give the practical know-how to the tourism companies, especially on how to
strengthen their cooperation and coordination for anti-child sex tourism initiatives. For instance, the workshop can have a session devoted to practical ideas
or suggestions on how tour operators in Europe and destination companies in
Thailand can work together to inform tourist about what the issue, laws in
Thailand and in Europe, what the companies are doing to combat child sex
tourism and how to report possible cases.
In order to ensure greater success, it is important to consider the reach of the
workshop in relation to the size of the tourism industry in Thailand. Currently,
the project was only available to a selected few companies and face limitations
due to language barrier. Multiple workshops for different stakeholders and the
provision of the capacity building workshops in Thai language would increase
the reach of the workshop to the greater tourism industry.
Collaborate with tourism associations in trainings, workshop or projects on
child sex tourism should be improved. Tourism associations can be a valuable
ally and help bridge the gap between national stakeholder, local tourism stakeholders and businesses and NGOs.
A ‘start-up kit’ that is ready to use for tourism companies that are new to the
issue and the Code but would like to take action to protect children should be
developed.
To ensure more success, there need to be efficient follow-up efforts, focusing
on one-to-one meetings with participants from the workshops that are eager to
implement anti-child sex tourism initiatives.
Re-engage the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Authority of Thailand; a
start would be to have a stakeholder meeting to strategize the best approach to
this re-engagement.
THAILAND
LAO PDR
CaMboDIa
POIPET
SIEM REAP
CAMBODIA
PHNOM PENH
VIETNAM
SIHANOUKVILLE
Cambodia is a country where
social inequality, poor access to
land, limited resources for families to meet the needs of their
children, low-quality education,
deficient social services and
weakened institutions-problems
exacerbated by twenty years of
war – have contributed to the
high vulnerability of Cambodian
children to commercial sexual
exploitation.
Cambodia is considered to be a source and destination country for men, women, and children
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Cambodian girls are trafficked
internally from rural areas to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville for forced prostitution
in brothels and karaoke bars. Children are also trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia to be
exploited in the prostitution(9).
In 2008 a specific law on the suppression of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of
persons was implemented in Cambodia. In 2003 Cambodia signed a bilateral Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with Thailand to combat trafficking in women and children, a similar
MOU was signed with Vietnam in 2005 and one is to be signed with Malaysia in the near
future. A number of agreements, including extradition treaties, have been signed with China,
Lao PDR, South Korea and Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism is working in close cooperation
with countries such as Australia and Belgium on the extradition of child sex offenders (13).
In the last decade Cambodia worked hard to improve the protection of children against sexual
exploitation. There are specialized trained police forces, reporting mechanisms, cooperation on
national and international level and campaigns to raise public awareness. Cooperation on
national level include relevant governmental agencies, local NGOs, private sector organizations
and the public at large. There is international cooperation with foreign police and foreign
government agencies in terms of investigations, meetings, joint trainings, study visits and
MOUs. Especially with the neighbouring countries (Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam), there is
close cooperation in the fight against the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. Local
NGOs play an important role in the fight against child sex tourism in Cambodia. They have an
investigative role and work closely with the police (13).
As a result of the efforts made by the Cambodian government, especially law enforcement
agencies, a significant number of offenders are arrested and victims are rescued. Just recently
(2009) a large Crackdown Operation resulted in a total of 165 cases, 231 offenders were
arrested (31 foreigners) and sent to courts, while 671 victims were rescued. Most offenders of
13
Cambodia
child sex tourism are not Western, but from within the country or the Asian region. But the
majority of the crimes that are committed by foreigners, involves the commercial sexual
exploitation of children (13).
Tourism industry
In the past decade, Cambodia has experienced a staggering 363% increase in International
Visitor Arrivals (IVAs). Growing from 466,000 IVAs in 2000 to more than 2.1 million IVAs in
2009, the tourism industry is now the country’s second largest source of income. While
tourism continues to be an essential contributor to the country’s economic development, it also
presents serious development challenges for Cambodia, particularly in relation to child protection. With more than 40% of its population under eighteen years old and facing a backdrop of
poverty, social inequality and weakened national services (particularly in education, health and
law enforcement), Cambodia has become a primary destination for child sexual exploitation (6).
In the first nine months of 2010, eleven foreign men were arrested for child sex tourism crimes
in Cambodia. Those arrested include citizens from the United States, Netherlands, Switzerland,
United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Norway. But already earlier in the
decade, the disturbing evidence of foreign tourists with local children and the concerning frequency of arrests in Cambodia forced the attention of international organizations. As a result of
that, Phnom Penh has a much higher visibility of child protection advertising than any other
capital city in the South East Asian region. But compared with 2004-2005, there is no longer
any visible street signage, billboards, motorbike helmets, airport videos or airport advertising
containing anti-child sex tourism messaging.
Information leaflets at Sokha Travel Agency.
Sign on the entry door of the Blue Lime Hotel.
 Information leaflet at Raffles Le Royal Hotel.


14
Cambodia
Of the 43 tourist facilities in Phnom Penh (including hotels, cafes, restaurants, travel agencies,
shops, bars, nightclubs, tourist sites and transport services) that were visited within this project,
59% of the tourist facilities displayed some form of child protection awareness-raising campaign.
The majority of awareness-raising materials visible in Phnom Penh belong to Friends
International and ECPAT Cambodia. Four tourism facilities that participated in the capacity
building workshops observed and reported situations where children appeared to be at risk of
sexual exploitation.
Established in 1995, ECPAT Cambodia is a network of 26 national and international organisations and institutions working to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It
mobilises key stakeholders and promotes coordinated actions for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking in children for sexual purposes. The organisation’s
objectives are to advocate for appropriate legislation and effective implementation of support
and protection policies, child protection mechanisms and prevention measures and to coordinate the exchange of information and best practices.
Another NGO that works for vulnerable children in Cambodia is Friends International, which
works (as in Thailand) on the ChildSafe Network in Cambodia. ChildSafe Cambodia has
trained and certified over 1500 members, including motor-taxi drivers, tuk-tuk drivers, hotels/
guest-houses, restaurants, internet cafés, teachers, chiefs of villages, police and more. The
French NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) cooperates with the Cambodian and international authorities to conduct proactive and reactive investigations into activities of travelling
sex offenders in regards to child sex abuse and other forms of child sexual exploitation. A new
NGO in Cambodia is Child Wise. Child Wise works specifically on the protection of children
and also involves the tourism industry. The two employees of the organization both attended
the capacity building workshops. The NGO World Vision Cambodia supports over 5,000 of the
poorest children in seven provinces and Phnom Penh.
Because of the overdue of campaigning in 2004-2005 by NGOs, Cambodia was in the international spotlight for best practice in child protection. Five years on, there is less knee-jerk
advertising and a more considered approach to training and awareness-raising in Cambodia.
While mostly positive, this congestion of anti-child sex tourism campaign activities still hints
of competition between various NGOs. However, there is improving collaboration between the
key NGOs, and while new players occasionally emerge, it’s clear that the long-term players
(including ECPAT Cambodia, Friends International and World Vision) have taken time to
review the lessons of recent years and strategically focus on the most effective mechanisms to
protect children, each carving out their own niche and beginning to explore ways to avoid
duplication in order to ensure maximum reach of the critically needed child protection activities.
Cases
Japanese man sentenced for producing child pornography
In July 2009, Shunichi N. (33) from Japan, was sentenced by Preah Sihanouk provincial court to
six years in jail after being found guilty of having boys, aged between seven and fourteen, pose
15
Cambodia
for him in nude photos for which he paid them between 2$ to 5$. The judge also ordered him to
pay 500,000 riels (US$120) in compensation to each boy and told him that he will be expelled
from Cambodia after serving his prison sentence. He had been previously convicted of similar
charges for which he had already served two-and-a-half years in jail in Japan. He was the first
person to be convicted under a law against child pornography that was introduced in 2007. He
first photographed the boys and arranged to meet them again the following day, by which time
local authorities had been informed by residents in the area who had witnessed N. taking the
indecent pictures of the children (5).
Cambodia’s biggest paedophilia case
Alexander T. (41), a Russian businessman, was arrested in his rented house in Preah Sihanouk
Province in October 2007, following a legal complaint by his then thirteen year old victim. He
had allegedly groomed and abused twenty underage children and a young woman by offering
money and other goods, or by giving his victim’s drugs. He also took pornographic photos when
he took them away to an isolated island off the shore of Sihanouk Province and sometimes at his
rented house. He first stood trial in March of 2008 on charges of abusing a thirteen-year-old girl
and was sentenced by Phnom Penh Municipal Court to thirteen years, but his prison term was
reduced to seven years by the Appeals Court in October 2008 (5).
Dutch man found guilty in appeal for sex with minors
In April 2004, the Dutchman Rene A. (48), was arrested in a Phnom Penh hotel where he was
found with two naked thirteen-year-old boys. He had sexually abused seven boys younger than
fifteen years old and took pornographic photos of them. He paid them ten euro to have sex with
him. He was charged with debauchery and taking pornographic photographs. In August 2004, he
was found not guilty by a Cambodian court. The prosecutor filed an appeal and detained A. On
appeal, A. was sentenced to ten years in prison and payment of 256 euro to each of his victims (5).
The capacity building workshops offered a higher level of engagement with tourism businesses
in Cambodia. After the workshops ECPAT Cambodia has become capable and confident to
give the workshops themselves and to communicate about the Child Protection Code with key
stakeholders. On 12 October 2010, ECPAT Cambodia was notified of their pending appointment as a Local Code Representative, which will enable them to further advance dialogue regarding the Code. The capacity building workshops introduced also new tourism businesses to
child protection practices. Their active and positive response to the workshops has revealed the
need for an expanded training program which focuses on reaching tourism managers and decision makers. This would be a niche training product for ECPAT Cambodia and a strategic shift
away from the frequent workshops for frontline tourism staff who are not often in a position to
influence organisational policy and practice. Because most participants have shared the capacity building workshops with their work colleagues or beneficiaries, the workshop is expanded
to an additional of approximately 350 people.
16
Cambodia
Recommendations
•
•
•
Expand the capacity building workshops to reach a wider audience in Phnom
Penh and other popular tourist destinations, including Sihanoukville, Siem
Reap, Stung Treng, Kratie, Ratanakiri and Mondolkiri. As ECPAT Cambodia is
now competent to deliver the workshop, all future workshops can be delivered
in the Khmer language only (no translation is required).
A free map can also be used as information material. This is the most commonly
requested item by tourists. It would also ensure that tourism staff actively distribute the information.
Many hotels display awareness-raising campaigns from a number of organisations.
Two hotels displayed the materials of four separate organisations. While this willingness to promote child protection messages is positive, multiple messages create confusion amongst the audience. Campaign duplication should therefore be avoided.
Multiple information leaflets
at Imperial Gardens Hotel.
•
•
•
ECPAT Cambodia should continue to collaborate with other organisations and focus
on reaching tourism businesses where awareness-raising materials do not already
appear (including guest houses, five-star hotels, budget hotels, taxi companies).
Many participants of the capacity building workshops requested regular meetings
in order to promote a strong child protection network in Phnom Penh, encourage
dialogue between various sectors, discuss emerging trends in child sex tourism,
promote improved cooperation and prevent duplication of projects. While a quarterly meeting does exist, this primarily involves NGOs. In order to harness the
enthusiasm of the participants, ECPAT Cambodia could coordinate a half yearly
alumni meeting to update trainees on the child sex tourism situation, encourage
continuing action to prevent child sex tourism, promote collaboration and build a
strong national child protection network.
Produce a strategic plan for the continuation of the training and enhancement of
the awareness-raising materials, so that with adequate funding, meaningful child
protection achievements will continue in Cambodia.
17
The PhIlIPPInes
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The Philippines is a country with a high risk for
children to be trafficked. Non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and government agencies
estimate that in the Philippines alone, 60,000 to
100,000 children are trafficked annually (through
both crossborder and internal trafficking). The
Philippines Social Welfare Department estimates
that there are up to 200,000 children on the
streets of Manila, and that at least one tenth are
victims of trafficking. But in a country where so
many children are trafficked, there is no bureau
to report missing children (9).
INDONESIA
The Philippines ranks fourth in the world in
terms of countries with the highest number of
prostituted children. The Philippine Department
of Social Welfare and Development states that the annual average increase of prostituted
children is 3,266. The victims are predominantly girls between fourteen and seventeen years
old who come from the more impoverished parts of the country. The girls work as dancers for
eight to twelve hours a day, receiving two dollars plus a small percentage of the bar fine. The
customers in the bars where the girls work are mainly foreigners from Europe, North America
and Korea. Many of these bars are also run by foreign people (3).
In 2004, the Inter‐Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT), in collaboration
with other government agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders, created a six year (2004‐2010)
Strategic National Plan of Action against Trafficking. The plan is divided into three major
components; (a) prevention; (b) protection, including law enforcement and prosecution; and (c)
repatriation, recovery and reintegration. In relation to the prevention of trafficking, relevant
objectives of the plan include: 1) increasing public awareness of trafficking; 2) undertaking
research on the root causes of trafficking in women and children; and 3) instituting programmes at
the local level to prevent women and children from being procured by traffickers (9).
The Philippines has made significant efforts to ratify international and regional instruments. In
addition to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Trafficking Protocol, the Philippines
has also ratified the ASEAN Declaration Against Trafficking in Persons, Particularly Women
and Children 2004. The 2003 Anti‐Trafficking in Persons Act (the “2003 Act”) defines trafficking as acts of recruitment, harbouring, transporting, transferring or receipt of persons for the
purpose of exploitation. Where the victim is a child (a person under eighteen) there is no need
for means of force or deceit to be used by offenders for the offence to be considered as trafficking and the consent of the child is irrelevant to criminal liability. The 2003 Act also targets
those who buy or engage the services of a trafficked person for prostitution. While it is
18
Philippines
clear that the Philippines has in place strong anti-trafficking legislation, the enforcement of the
legislation remains problematic. The government has convicted only twelve individuals for sex
trafficking offences since the passage of the 2003 Act (9).
Child Wise Tourism (CWT) is a responsible tourism program of the Philippine Department of
Tourism to protect children against commercial sexual exploitation in tourism destinations.
CWT embarks on human resource development for tourism service providers to upgrade their
knowledge and skills to be at par with international standards. CWT also advocate education
campaigns through various multimedia means in congruent to the promotion of the culture of
tourism to all tourism stakeholders.
Tourism industry
Boracay Island is a small island in the middle of the Philippines. In 2009, 650,000 tourists
visited Boracay, an all-time high according to the Philippines Department of Tourism. Tourism
has dramatically changed the population and landscape of Boracay over the last two decades.
Today tourists far outweigh locals (2006 figures put the local population at approximately
14,000) and foreigners own the majority of tourism establishments. Almost a third of the
island’s visitors are domestic tourists. International tourists are primarily from Korea, Japan
and China, with other large markets of international tourists visiting from the United States,
United Kingdom and central Europe. Boracay’s frenzied tourism growth has led to serious
environmental and social concerns, including concerns about the sexual exploitation of children (5).
Of the 61 tourist facilities in Boracay (including hotels, cafes, restaurants, travel agencies,
shops, bars, nightclubs, tourist sites and transport services) that were visited during the monitoring visit, only 18% of the tourist facilities displayed some form of child protection awareness-raising materials. Materials were also sighted at airports, a restaurant, and a popular
tourist beach, but not on local transport, at tourist/ travel agencies, or at bars/ nightclubs. A
number of tourism businesses visited demonstrated a strong willingness to display and distribute materials and requested further child protection materials and accompanying training. Four
tourism facilities that participated in the capacity building workshops observed and reported
situations where children appeared to be at risk of sexual exploitation.
UNICEF/DOT tent card and
arrival/departure card at Airport.
19
Philippines
In 2010 UNICEF launched a campaign together with the Department of Tourism (DOT). This
campaign material is the only visible information in or en route to Boracay relating to child
sex tourism, with the exception of the older Child Wise/ ASEAN campaign materials which
are still displayed at Caticlan Airport. Staff at facilities in Boracay that displayed UNICEF/
DOT materials received no training on child protection.
ECPAT Philippines has been the sole non-government organisation leading activities on Boracay
to protect children from sexual exploitation in tourism. ECPAT Philippines has implemented
projects aimed at providing a protective environment for children through education and advocacy
in collaboration with key stakeholders, including the government and the private sector.
PREDA started in the 80s and rescues children who are victim of commercial sexual exploitation
and domestic abuse. At the PREDA Centre 63 children live. The children are traumatized, but
recover with the help of social workers and emotions release therapy. Many of the girls testify
against their offenders and many of them graduate. PREDA also gives preventive education, such
as with poppet shows, to teach children how to protect themselves from being abducted.
Cases
American child sex tourists commits suicide after arrest
Paul A. was arrested in February 2005 in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro on charges of rape and
incidental assault of minors. He was 55 years old at the time of his arrest. The rape case against
the American national was a result of reports received from Philippine girls, between eight and
thirteen years old, who claimed that they had been sexually abused by A. and his German friend,
Rainer F. (71). F. committed suicide in March 2005, leaving A. to singly face the rape charges
against him by thirteen children from Calapan City (6).
Dutch man convicted in homeland for raping Philippine girl
Jan van S. (43), a divorced computer-programmer, visited the Philippines a number of times.
During his trips, he arranged for under-age girls to come to his hotel room. He recorded his
activities in pornographic pictures and videos, which he took back to the Netherlands. The
pictures were discovered and in October 1996, a Dutch Court sentenced Van S. to five years’
imprisonment for, among other things, rape and other forms of sexual contacts in the Philippines
with a girl under sixteen (the maximum would be eight years’ imprisonment). In September 2004,
after the end of a civil law trial initiated by Defence for Children-ECPAT the Netherlands, Van S.
was convicted to pay a little more than 3000 euro to one of the victims (10).
German national caught in Germany after fleeing the Philippines
From 2003 to 2004 a German national H. sexually abused girls from age seven to thirteen in change
for school supplies and scholarships. The money for that was donated to his unregistered foundation
in the benefit of children in Puerto Galera. The sexual abuses were discovered when the school principal gathered reports that some children were having urinary tract infections. Succeeding medical
examinations found evidence of vaginal laceration and infection. Narrative accounts of the children
20
Philippines
were gathered. Thereafter, eleven individual cases of rape were filed in court against H. In 2004 he
got arrested, but post bail of PHP 200,000 (almost 3,000 euro) and slipped out of the country. In May
2008 an Austrian citizen recognised H. when preliminary proceedings were opened. However, the
preliminary proceedings were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. The prosecutor argued that some
of the eleven children first had accused H. to have molested them, but later withdraw their statements. The testimonies of the remaining four victims were found to be not precise enough. The
prosecutor doubted the credibility of the victims due to their young age. Fortunately attention in the
press pressured the German authorities to re-open the case (10).
The project has resulted in a number of significant achievements. Of particular note is the creation
of Bantay Bata Boracay (BBB), a child watch group. BBB was conceived by participants during
the 2009 workshop and formally launched on 20 December 2009. The child watch group organized
a poster/ slogan-making contest for high school students, produced banners, conducted a
Leadership Training Program for at least 24 children and young adolescents and produced oneminute radio spills on child protection, which are regularly being aired on Boracay Radio.
The monitoring visit also revealed that participants from both capacity building workshops had
strong recall of the workshop content and had taken individual actions to promote the protection of children in Boracay. Encouragingly, participants were visibly motivated to increase
their efforts to protect children in Boracay. Some participants commenced discussions with
ECPAT Philippines regarding lobbying the new mayor of Boracay to take action and preparing
an article for the local newspaper. In September 2009 ECPAT Philippines hosted a round table
discussion with two vice-mayors, officers and members of the Provincial Tourism Council,
municipal tourism and planning officers, social welfare officers and representatives from the
private sector on the issue. It is evident that the ECPAT Netherlands’ project activities have
contributed to the growing professional reputation of ECPAT Philippines in Boracay.
Banner produced by
the BBB child watch group.
21
Philippines
Recommendations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
22
With the frenzied pace of development and new businesses continually opening –
combined with a high turnover of staff – there is a need for further training of
staff and front-liners of other hotels and establishments in Boracay.
Further trainings are needed in current and emerging tourism destinations including
Palawan, Bohol, Puerto Galera and Cebu.
In a short time, Bantay Bata Boracay (BBB) has made important contributions to
child protection in Boracay. However, as its members are primarily business-people
without child protection expertise. There is a need to develop and deliver training
on child protection for its members and participants to ensure BBB achieves its
objectives.
Other stakeholders in Boracay, including peer leaders and advocates, parents and
children, would benefit from the delivery of specialised education and training.
With tourism businesses willing to display and distribute materials, more information materials are needed. Ensure further materials do not duplicate existing
efforts and are distributed to different stakeholders.
To reach the broadest audience possible, future awareness-raising campaigns may
use other media, such as local radio and cable television, and local languages,
namely Philippines and Visayan. Noting the significant number of Korean,
Japanese and Chinese tourists, future campaign materials may also be developed
in those languages.
There need to be increased support from the local government, as well as from other
stakeholders including the community and private sector. The recent municipal
ordinance prohibiting smoking and littering on the beach is an example of an issue
successfully spearheaded by the government.
Meetings with different stakeholders, such as the round table discussion in September
2009, should be organized regularly. Also include the community, and in particular
parents, to facilitate consultation on the impacts of tourism in Boracay.
There is a need to establish an activity and counselling centre for child victims of
commercial sexual exploitation and those highly-at-risk in Boracay.
There is a need for a centre to report missing children.
While there are some important legislative protections in national and provincial
legislation, there is a need to strengthen the implementation of laws at the local
level to protect children in Boracay.
Poverty is an important factor contributing to the risk of sexual exploitation of
children by tourists and this needs to be addressed.
PEURTO PLATA
CABARETE
DoMInICan
RePublIC
SOSUA
HAITI
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
As in most Latin-America countries,
in the Dominican Republic more local
SANTA DOMINGO
people than tourists abuse children.
But child sex tourism is a problem,
particularly in coastal resort areas,
with child sex tourists arriving
year-round from various countries. In
a study carried out by the ILO/ IPEC
in 2003, out of 118 prostituted children interviewed for the study, 25 children stated that their
clients were always tourists. This indicates that about 20% of the clients of children in prostitution in the Dominican Republic may be foreign tourists. The record of arrest and prosecution
of foreigners for child sex offenses in the Dominican Republic is, however, small (11).
BOCA CHICA
Street children and undocumented or stateless Haitian people – including the Dominican-born
children and grandchildren of Haitian migrants – are vulnerable groups for sexual exploitation
in the Dominican Republic (4).
The Dominican law considers any person under eighteen years as a minor and prostitution is
prohibited. Any sexual penetration involving force, violence or anaesthesia is punishable under
Article 331 of the Dominican Criminal law. A sexual offense in which no violence has come to
pass (as with child prostitution) is punishable under Article 333 (8).
The Dominican Republic is working on the combat of commercial sexual exploitation of
children for over ten years. The country has ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2006
and made a National Plan of Action for the protection children against sexual exploitation.
Unfortunately, there is no large change in the attitude or behaviour towards children. The
problem is still increasing. The society is very tolerant towards sexual abuse of children. People
claim children want it and that they should be thankful that they can earn some money (12).
The Government of the Dominican Republic does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of sexual exploitation and is not making significant efforts to do so.
The government has not convicted any offenders, including officials possibly complicit, since
2007. Results in the areas of victim protection, and trafficking prevention are also limited (4).
Tourism industry
Since the nineties, the Dominican Republic has become a popular tourist destination in the
Caribbean. The Dominican Republic is particularly popular with American, Italian, English
and other Western and Northern European tourists. Although prostitution is prohibited in the
23
Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic, the country has a thriving sex industry. In the Puerto Plata Region on the
northern coast of the Dominican Republic, the towns most known for sex tourism are Cabarete
and Sosua.
Tourist is going for a walk with prostitute.
Hotel watchman keeps an eye on them.
Sosua is the bigger town, known for its nightlife, dancing, and bar scene. During the day there
are hardly signs of prostitution, but at night it becomes visible. In Sosua it dominates the
streets. All the bars are filled with women and girls who approach tourists very actively and
create a very explicit atmosphere. Cabarete is smaller and the atmosphere is less explicit. Still
the discotheques are filled with prostitutes, including minors. Both towns are home to a lot of
Haitian refugees, including children.
Not much is visible for tourists about the protection of children against sexual exploitation. In
most hotels prostitutes are allowed and are generally seen with men of all ages. In five hotels
that were visited during the project no information material was displayed. At Puerto Plata
Airport, bars, discotheques, restaurants, beaches and internet cafe’s, nothing is visible. Drivers
of public transportation serve in many cases as middle men. Especially motor taxi’s offer girls
actively, and when shown interest they claim they can arrange anything.
When the Child Protection Code was introduced in the Dominican Republic, the response of the
Ministry of Tourism and Travelling Associations to the Code was not positive. With the help of
ECPAT Italy, ECPAT Sweden and UNICEF, MAIS convinced the government to actively combat
child sex tourism (12). The Code has two official members in the Dominican Republic, the ECPAT
affiliate MAIS and the business member ASONAHORES. KUONI and ACCOR, prominent partners in the Code both have an active presence in the Dominican Republic.
In the beginning of the Code in the Dominican Republic, there was no monitoring system and
many organizations signed the Code without knowing what it meant. In 2006 there was a big
conference on commercial sexual exploitation of children in tourism which had a great impact.
Many local people who lived around tourist areas, but also taxi drivers, bus drivers, tourist
guides and restaurant owners were present at the conference. The conference had raised much
awareness, also among organizations that had always denied their responsibility (12).
24
Dominican Republic
In the Dominican Republic several institutions are working towards the eradication of
commercial sexual exploitation. MAIS (translated into English as International Solidarity
Self-Development Movement) has been active in the fight against child sex tourism as ECPAT
representative and member of the Child Protection Code since 2000. MAIS has developed
activities around the Code with several target groups and stakeholders, such as ILO, UNICEF,
the Code secretariat, ECPAT groups and tour operators. MAIS also focuses on prevention of
initial or continued sexual exploitation by offering academic support and social services to
at-risk and exploited youth.
Another NGO in the Dominican Republic working with children and adolescents who have
been victims of commercial sexual exploitation or are at high risk of being exploited, is
Caminante (One Who Walks the Path). Caminante is located in Boca Chica, a beach-resort
town, close to the airport and the capital city of Santo Domingo. The project is providing a
safe space where hundreds of youth and their families receive counselling and participate in
recreational and formation programs. Additionally, in coordination with local government and
non-governmental agencies, victims of sexual abuse and exploitation are receiving special
attention and services.
Case
Americans arrested in other countries also visited the Dominican Republic
Marvin H., an American convicted for child sex tourism in Honduras, may also have engaged
in relations with two minor boys in the Dominican Republic in the mid-1980s, according to
evidence revealed during his trial. The American Daniel R. was convicted for child sex offenses
in Honduras, but in his extensive records of his travels to various countries where he abused children, the Dominican Republic was also mentioned. Likewise, Steven I., arrested in Mexico, had
insinuated that he had also travelled to the Dominican Republic to sexually abuse children. From
these cases, it may be suggested that the presence of U.S. child sex tourists in the Dominican
Republic is likely to be significant due to its geographic proximity to the United States (11).
The project has strengthened MAIS in its capacity to inform relevant parties on the Child
Protection Code, to monitor its implementation and to help them and other stakeholders to
raise awareness. The capacity building workshops have been very important to create the support and to create further cooperation with the government, tourism police, the educational
sector and the tourism sector. The workshops resulted in a common repudiation of child sex
tourism, by all stakeholders. Through the declaration that was signed by all participants, MAIS
felt supported to continue in their actions against child sex tourism. After the capacity building
workshops the tourism police organised more workshops on child sex tourism, using the
information brochures of MAIS. The tourism police will continue training all its personnel on
this issue, in close cooperation with MAIS.
25
Dominican Republic
Students at lecture the presentation of MAIS on
the protection of children in tourism.
The presence of the educational sector at the capacity building workshops eventually led to
follow up activities in the form of two well visited presentations at two Universities. These
reached out to 102 students. The organising staff was very satisfied with the presentations
and appointments have been made to continue with this activity. At vocational institutes four
workshops of three hours each, reaching out to 121 students were organized. An important
decision was taken to organize an Open Forum that will last two days and will involve all the
stakeholders in tourism in the Puerto Plata area.
The very important follow up is the invitation MAIS got from ACCOR, the large hotel chain
that is very active within the Child Protection Code, to train their Dominican hotel personnel.
From the 21st to the 23rd of October 2010, eight workshops of three hours each were organized and 184 hotel employees were trained.
Recommendations
•
•
Hotels don’t feel pressured by foreign tour operators to commit themselves to follow
the guidelines of the Child Protection Code. Therefore, capacity building workshops
are needed directly towards the hotels, including small and medium sized hotels.
To increase the commitment of local hotels, it need to be stressed out that the Code is
not only aimed at improving the situation for children, but also to improve business
opportunities for each stakeholder and the touristic image of the region.
•
Information materials should not only be developed in Spanish, but in a language
that most tourists understand (English).
•
Police, border officials, labour inspectors, and health officials should have formal,
ongoing training on identifying and assisting victims of forced prostitution.
•
26
There is a need for adequate shelter and services for child victims.
SENEGAL
BAKAU
The GaMbIa
THE GAMBIA
BANJUL
SENEGAMBIA
BIJILO
Although there is a lack of recent
quantitative data on child sex
tourism in The Gambia, cases of
child sex tourism are known.
SENEGAL
According to the Study on Sexual
Abuse and Exploitation of Children
in The Gambia, conducted by
UNICEF in 2003, “The Gambia is a
vulnerable target for … unscrupulous visitors such as suspected or convicted paedophiles who
enter the country in search of a low profile location to commit their crimes against children
silently and with impunity.” These individuals easily exploit the weakness of poverty-stricken
families by offering to adopt or foster young Gambian children.
There are many laws in The Gambia that protect a child, defined as any person under the age
of eighteen years, from sexual abuse and exploitation. The Gambia’s Tourism Offences Act
2003 states that sexual abuse of a child by a tourist is punishable with fourteen years imprisonment. The Children’s Act 2005 states that purchasing sex with children in The Gambia is
punishable with ten years imprisonment. Production of pornography involving children is
punishable with fourteen years imprisonment without the option of a fine. In the Criminal
Code Cap. 10 Vol. 3 Laws of The Gambia, rape is punishable with life imprisonment while
abuse is punishable with fourteen years imprisonment (2).
The Ministry of Justice, Social Welfare, police, Gambian Tourism Authority (GTA), Gambian
Hotel Association (GHA), ASSET (Association for small enterprises) and the Child Protection
Alliance (CPA) collaborate within the Taskforce Child Sex Tourism. The purpose of the Taskforce
is to gather and share information in order to improve the combat against child sex tourism.
Children sell roasted nuts on the streets of Banjul.
27
The Gambia
The government has also taken other measures to protect children from sexual exploitation.
For instance, since a few years children are not allowed around touristic areas without a
responsible adult in order to protect children from getting in direct contact with potential child
sex tourists. It is also prohibited for children to beg. Police take children to Social Welfare if
they see them begging.
Tourism industry
Tourism plays a vital role in the socioeconomic development of The Gambia. It contributes
about 16% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs over 10,000
Gambians (2). Most hotels are situated in Senegambia, Banjul, Bijilo and Bakau. Whereas sex
tourism often involves men, The Gambia is one of the places in the world where, beside men,
also women go to have sex.
Since 2004 the Gambia Tourism Authority has been actively combating child sex tourism by
adopting the Child Protection Code. The international version has been adapted to the Gambian
situation. Every new member of GTA signed the Code and existing tourism establishments were
asked to sign as well. In 2008 a GTA-manager estimated that a hundred tourism establishments,
mostly tourist accommodations, had signed the Code. However, the implementation of the Code
was not done very well. Members were not registered, implementation was not facilitated and
monitoring of the activities was never conducted. As a consequence the implementation of the
child protection measures, as described in the Child Protection Code, is lacking. Many hotels only
display The Gambian version of the Child Protection Code in the hotel lobby. By displaying the
Code in the lobby, the hotels believe that they have informed both tourists and personnel. As a
consequence, tourists are not properly informed and hotel staff members are not aware of the
actions they should take when there is a case of child sex tourism. However, the hotels which were
visited during the monitoring visit (17 hotels), showed willingness to inform their staff and guests.
Many hotels placed the leaflets on child sex tourism (produced within this project) in the hotel
lobby and distributed them amongst personnel.
Information poster at Sunset Beach Hotel.
28
The Gambia
Other than in hotel lobbies, nothing is visible of the fight against child sex tourism. When
tourists arrive in The Gambia at the airport of Banjul, they are not informed by a billboard or
any other information material. Also at tourism information offices and popular touristic
attractions, such as the beach or boulevard, no information is displayed.
Child Protection Alliance (CPA) is the ECPAT affiliate in The Gambia. CPA was formed in
2001 and was the first inter-agency collaborative institution on child protection in The Gambia.
It currently has 63 member organisations, including UN agencies, bilateral institutions, NGOs,
civil society organisations, child and youth organisations and government departments. Its objectives include: awareness raising on child abuse and exploitation in order to break the culture
of silence surrounding it, building national and institutional capacity to prevent child abuse and
exploitation and protect victims, promote networking and alliance building among agencies
involved in child protection and empower children with skills and knowledge and encourage
their participation in decision making.
CPA and UNICEF started Neighbourhood Watch Groups since some child abusers are renting
long-term accommodations in the communities to abuse children, because doing so in hotels
would entail greater exposure to risks. Around fifty members have followed a training and
sensitize other community members, map and monitor the apartments. At schools children are
sensitized in the form of drama performances.
Cases
Gambian and Norwegian authorities work successfully together
In 2003 a Norwegian man of 58 years old was reported to the Norwegian authorities by another
Norwegian tourist who observed him with a young boy in a hotel in The Gambia. The boy turned
out to be twelve years old. The Gambian and Norwegian authorities worked closely together and
in May 2007 the man was sentenced to 2,5 years of imprisonment in front of a Norwegian court.
As far as the Gambian Tourism Authority knows, the owner of the hotel did not receive any form
of punishment for facilitating the sexual abuse of a child (2).
After seven years Dutch man convicted in The Netherlands
In the period of April 1995 up to January 1997, a 64-old Dutchman visited Fajara, Gambia
several times. There, he regularly invited girls with ages varying from twelve to sixteen years old
to his hotel room where he had sex with them. Due to media attention for the case, the Dutch
authorities put effort in this case. Unfortunately, the Gambian authorities did not cooperate in this
case. From 1997, it took seven years to sentence him to jail for only 1.5 to 2.5 years. With the
sentence, the Dutch court took into account that the offender was not condemned earlier for an
indictable offence, that detention would be heavy for him due to his age and physical condition
and that the prove-explained fact dated from the period of 3 April 1995 up to 1 January 1997 (10).
Female perpetrator
During the monitoring visit, a waiter in a hotel in Bijilo told about a lady around 55 years old
from the UK who was sitting in the hotel bar with a local boy of around fifteen years old. They
29
The Gambia
were holding hands and touching each other, so the waiter confronted the woman with the fact
that the boy was underage and that sexual relations between adults and minors are prohibited by
The Gambian law. She told the waiter that the boy was the one initiating it, so that he wanted it.
Security was called and the woman was told that she could not take the boy into her hotel room.
After the capacity building workshops CPA was invited to train different stakeholders on
several occasions. Senegambia Hotel invited CPA for a two-day workshop and the Gambian
Hotel Association (GHA) invited CPA to cooperate in the trainings of hotel staff. CPA trained
also police officers and security guards on the Children’s Act 2005.
From all the participants of the two capacity building workshops, only two did not formulate a
policy concerning the protection of children against sexual exploitation in tourism. Little more
than half of the participants with a policy also displayed it to their visitors. The majority of the
participants claimed that all staff members were informed about the policy, but there was much
difference in how staff was informed. About 50% of the organizations that participated in the
workshops communicated their child protection policy to their business partners, especially
with new business partners and European tour operators. About 75% of the participants had
contact with other stakeholders, such as GTA, CPA, tourism security, Social Welfare and the
police. The contacts were mainly with other participants of the workshops.
Within the project CPA increased its collaboration with several stakeholders. The Taskforce Child
Sex Tourism has been formed with different relevant stakeholders to improve the combat against
child sex tourism in The Gambia. CPA works closely with GTA and GHA in producing a training
manual for tourism schools and with UNICEF in establishing Neighbouring Watch Groups. CPA
and GTA started a monitoring procedure for hotels that are a member of The Gambian Child
protection Code. During the project they visited 61 hotels in March 2010 and November 2010.
Recommendations
•
•
•
•
•
•
30
There is a need for regular workshops on child sex tourism with different stakeholders
to refresh knowledge, exchange experiences and to invest in networking.
There is a need for more information material to keep raising awareness on child
sex tourism and mechanisms of reporting at places that tourists visit.
The monitoring of Code-members should be on an annual basis.
The Taskforce Child Sex Tourism is an important collaboration and should continue.
Efforts need to be done to start trainings on child sex tourism at tourism schools.
Research is needed to gather data on the sexual exploitation of children in The
Gambia. This information is needed to improve the effectiveness of the combat
against child sex tourism.
ConClusIon & ReCoMMenDaTIons
Child prostitution is a persisting problem in the five destination countries. Interventions like
this project are highly necessary to improve the situation. The fact that a framework like the
Child Protection Code offers the instruments but is not always implemented correctly, shows it
is very relevant to highlight the problems related to tourism in these countries. The project
shows the relevance of the Child Protection Code, and of more involvement of local stakeholders. All the stakeholders interviewed within the five destination countries affirm the relevance
of more anti-child sex tourism related activities.
Except for Cambodia and in some extent Boracay Island and The Gambia, not much is visible
of the fight against child sex tourism in the destination countries. When something is visible, it
is mainly displayed in tourism facilities. Hotels do not feel pressured by foreign tour operators
to commit themselves to implement child protection measures. Therefore, capacity building
workshops are needed directly towards the hotels and other local tourism enterprises. In countries where tourism authorities and associations are involved in The Child Protection Code
(such as in The Gambia), tourism facilities show a higher involvement because they are obligated. However, the implementation of child protection measures should be monitored carefully in order to be effective. NGOs can play an important role in this.
During the monitoring visit it became clear that the tourism industry in all the countries is
willing to cooperate in the fight against sexual exploitation of children in tourism. All the
participants of the capacity building workshops in the five destination countries agreed that
workshops should be organized regularly to refresh the knowledge, exchange experiences and
stay in regular contact with other stakeholders.
The capacity building workshops have resulted in progress being made to promote the national
and international cooperation, to strengthen the local NGOs in its work with the tourism
private sector and governmental institutions and introduced new tourism businesses to child
protection practices.
summary of the recommendations
Capacity building workshops
•
•
The capacity building workshops should be expanded in content and format to give
the practical know-how to the tourism companies, especially on how to strengthen
their cooperation and coordination for anti-child sex tourism initiatives.
There is the need for multiple workshops, which are tailored for specific target
groups in the tourism industry. For example, a workshop should target hotel
management and top decision makers – all with the power and ability to make the
changes, covering key topics such as the sensitive nature of the issue, limited
budget/ cost, benefits to the company, negative impact to guests. Another parallel
31
Conclusion & recommendations
workshop should aim for participants from the general tourism industry, such as
travel agencies and tourism associations.
•
•
•
The capacity building workshops should held regularly in order to promote a strong
child protection network, encourage dialogue between various sectors, discuss
emerging trends in child sex tourism and measures to protect children.
Workshops need to be done in local languages.
Follow-up efforts are needed after the capacity building workshops to help
participants implement the child protection measures.
•
Independent evaluations must be conducted within six months of the workshops in
order to effectively assess the impact and continuously improve the workshops.
•
It will be necessary to regularly update the training materials to include recent
statistics, trends and case studies.
AWARENESS-RAISING CAMPAIGNS
•
•
•
•
Use simple and easy to follow child protection messaging that creates awareness
and encourages action by directing tourists to a hotline number in languages used
by foreign tourists. English is the most suitable language.
Awareness-raising materials should be formally market tested to assess their appeal
and impact.
To encourage businesses to continuously display the awareness-raising materials, a
plastic receptacle (holder) should also be provided to each tourism business who
agrees to display the campaign. The inside of the plastic holder should include a
notice about the reordering procedure and contact details.
Campaign duplication should be avoided, therefore collaboration between organizations should be promoted.
OTHER
•
32
A ‘start-up kit’ should be developed that is ready to use for tourism companies
that are new to the issue and the Code and but would like to take action to protect
children.
lITeRaTuRe
1.
Constant, S. ECPAT International (2010)
Global Monitoring Report on the status of action against commercial exploitation of
children. Produced within the global campaign ‘Stop sex trafficking of children and
young people’ of ECPAT and The Body Shop.
2.
Child protection Alliance (2010)
Child Sex Tourism Fact Sheet, produced within the ECPAT NL-project funded by the
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3.
Cullen, S. PREDA (2009)
The protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism and the role of tourism
professionals, NGOs and law enforcement International. Report of the expert meeting on
combating child sex tourism: 8, 9 and 10 March 2009 in Berlin.
4.
Department of State, United States of America (2010)
Trafficking in persons report. 10th edition.
5.
ECPAT Cambodia (2010)
6.
ECPAT Philippines (2010)
7.
ECPAT International (2010)
8.
ECPAT International (2006)
How is doing what to protect children from sexual exploitation? Fact sheet Dominican
Republic.
9.
ECPAT International/ The Body Shop (2009)
Global Progress Cards. Available at
http://www.ecpat.net/TBS/en/Campaign_Resources.html
10. ECPAT the Netherlands (2009)
Offenders Beware! Child sex tourism case studies. The Case studies are part of the
European project ‘Offenders Beware’ with ECPAT Germany, ECPAT the Netherlands,
ECPAT Italy, ECPAT Austria and ECPAT Estonia.
33
Literature
11. Johns Hopkins University and Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International
Studies (2007) International Child Sex Tourism: Scope of the problem and comparative
case studies, published within the Protection Project.
12. Mendez, L. MAIS, Dominican Republic (2009)
The protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism and the role of tourism
professionals, NGOs and law enforcement International. Report of the expert meeting on
combating child sex tourism: 8, 9 and 10 March 2009 in Berlin.
13. Reaksmey, S. Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection,
Cambodia (2010)
Tackling the sexual exploitation of children by strengthening the cooperation between
NGOs, law enforcement and the private sector: How to improve reporting procedures?
Report of the expert meeting: 7, 8 and 9 March 2010 in Berlin.
14. Sereewat, S. FACE Foundation, Thailand (2010)
Tackling the sexual exploitation of children by strengthening the cooperation between
NGOs, law enforcement and the private sector: How to improve reporting procedures?
Expert meeting report: 7, 8 and 9 March 2010 in Berlin.
34
aPPenDIx
35
36
1. ConTaCT InfoRMaTIon loCal PaRTneRs
Thailand
Organisation Name :
Contact Person :
Address :
Telephone :
Fax :
E-mail :
Website :
ECPAT International
Ms. M. Patchareeboon
328 Phayathai Road, Rachathewi, Bangkok,
Thailand 10400
+662 215 3388
+662 215 8272
info@ecpat.net
www.ecpat.net
Cambodia
Organisation Name :
Contact Person :
Address :
Telephone :
Fax :
E-mail :
Website :
ECPAT Cambodia
Mr. Chin Chanveasna
#36, St. 99, Sangkat Boeung Trabek,
+855 23 213 021
+855 12 923 254
director@ecpatcambodia.org
www.ecpatcambodia.org
Philippines
Organisation Name :
Contact Person :
Address :
ECPAT Philippines
Ms. Dolores Alforte
143 Anonas Extension Sikatuna Village,
Diliman, Quezon City 1101
+63 2 920 8151, +63 2 441 5108
+63 2 929 9642
ecpatphil@gmail.com
Telephone :
Fax :
E-mail :
Dominican Republic
Organisation Name :
Contact Person :
Address :
Telephone :
Fax :
E-mail :
Movimiento Para el Autodesarrollo
Internacional de la Solidaridad (MAIS),
ECPAT Affiliate Group
Sra. María Josefina Paulino
Urbanizacion la Limonera 3#3, Puerto Plata,
+1 809 261-3963, 520-3635, 571-1180
+1 809 244 4087
mais_ecpat@hotmail.com
mais_ecpat@yahoo.com
37
Appendix 1
The Gambia
38
Organisation Name :
Group
Contact Person :
Address :
Telephone :
Fax :
E-mail :
Website :
Child Protection Alliance, ECPAT Affiliate
Mr. Njundu Drammeh
TANGO Building Fajara M section, Bakau
+220 378 694
+220 378 694
cpagambia@yahoo.com
http://www.cpagambia.gm/
2. exaMPles of InfoRMaTIon MaTeRIals
PRoDuCeD wIThIn The PRojeCT
THAILAND
FACT SHEET
CHILD SEX TOURIS
TOUR SM
-Thailand
What is child sex tourism?
Child-sex tourism (CST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by people who travel from one place to
another and there engage in sexual acts with minors. Often, they travel from a richer country to one that is less
1
developed, but child sex tourists may also be travellers within their own countries or region.
The role of tourism in combating sexual exploitation of children:
The tourism industry is an important player and can be a valuable ally in the protection of children from sexual
2
exploitation in tourism. As is the case with many other countries with booming tourism industries, it is important
for the tourism industry in Thailand to collaborate with law-enforcement officials ĂŶĚE'K͛ƐǁŽƌŬŝŶŐŽŶ^dƚŽ
eliminate the problem within the country. According to the International Labo ur Organization, the child trafficking
industry is estimated at 22 billion dollars and the number of children involved in this phenomenon exceeds five
million. Criminal networks in Thailand take advantage of prostitution (including child prostitution) as a major
3
source of income in tourism as it brings in 15% of the Gross Domestic Product.
Who are the victims of child sex tourism?
Thailand is a source, transit and destination country for trafficking in children and women for sexual purposes and
labour. According to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the general trends show a decline of
Thai children being exploited into the local sex businesses. These Thai children are now being trafficked abroad to
countries such as Japan and Australia, while the number of foreign children being trafficked into Thailand for
4
sexual exploitation is reportedly increasing. Boys and girls from Cambodia, China (Yunnan Province), Lao PDR,
5
Myanmar, and Vietnam, as well as ethnic minority groups living in northern Thailand are trafficked to larger Thai
6
cities for sexual exploitation.
Who creates demand for child sex tourism?
Some child-ssex tourists (preferential abusers and paedophiles) target children specifically. Most child -sex tourists,
though, are situational abusers who do not usually have a sexual preference for children, but take advantage of
circumstances in which children are made available to th em. They may try to rationalise their actions by claiming
sex with a child is culturally acceptable in the place they are visiting or that money or goods exchanged benefit the
7
child and community.
Who are the sex tourists?
The distinctive feature of child-sex tourism ʹ as opposed to child prostitution ʹ is the movement of perpetrators
from their place of origin to a different destination, where the purchase of sex with a child can occur more
anonymouslyy, on trips that can include leisure, business or repeated travelling between different locations, as is
1
Wd/ŶƚĞƌŶĂƚŝŽŶĂů͕͞&ŽƌŵƐŽĨŽŵŵĞƌĐŝĂů^ĞǆƵĂůǆƉůŽŝƚĂƚŝŽŶŽĨŚŝůĚƌĞŶ͟, 2008, available at <www.ecpat.net>.
Ibid.
ƐŚĂƌƋůĂǁĂƐĂƚ͕͞^ĂƵĚŝEŽŶ-WƌŽĨŝƚKƌŐĂŶŝǌĂƚŝŽŶƚŽdĂĐŬůĞŚŝůĚdƌĂĨĨŝĐŬŝŶŐŝŶƚŚĞDŝĚĚůĞĂƐƚ͟, available at
<http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=5177>.
National Operation Centre on Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking (NOCHT), Ministry of Social Development and Huma n
raffficking presented in the Workshop on Civil Society and
^ĞĐƵƌŝƚǇ͘dŚĂŝůĂŶĚ͛ƐCountry Paper on Prevention and Suppression of Human TTra
Government Collaboration to Combat Trafficking in Persons in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. 22-24 May 2006. Bangkok, Thailand, organised
by Vital Voices Global Partnership.
5
Ibid.
6
Wd/ŶƚĞƌŶĂƚŝŽŶĂů͕͞'ůŽďĂůDŽŶŝƚŽƌŝŶŐZĞƉŽƌƚŽŶƚŚĞƐƚĂƚƵƐŽĨĂĐƚŝŽŶĂŐĂŝŶƐƚĐŽŵŵĞƌĐŝĂůƐĞǆƵĂůĞǆƉůŽŝƚĂƚŝŽŶŽĨĐŚŝůĚƌĞŶ͟ , 2007, available at
<http://www.ecpat.net/A4A_2005/PDF/EAP/Global_Monitoring_Report-THAILAND.pdf>.
7
Wd/ŶƚĞƌŶĂƚŝŽŶĂů͕͞&ŽƌŵƐŽĨŽŵŵĞƌĐŝĂůSexual Exploitation of Children͟, 2008, available at <www.ecpat.net>.
2
3
4
39
Appendix 2
CAMBODIA
40
Appendix 2
PHILIPPINes
FACTS
ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF TOURISTS IN THE
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF FILIPINO CHILDREN
IN TRAVEL AND TOURIST DESTINATIONS
“The slavery and exploitation of young children in poor countries
to serve the passing whims of over-indulged tourists
must be one of the most inexcusable acts of modern times.”
The Child and the Tourist
Ron O’Grady
Each year, over a million children are exploited in the global
sex trade. Most often, this constitute child traf!cking, child
pornography and the sexual exploitation of children in travel
and tourist destinations. The latter is what most refer to as
Child Sex Tourism. There are members of certain sectors who
object to this term however this information material does not
cover the debate on this.
This fact sheet focuses in presenting key points, relevant data
and a few case studies out of the many that indicate a clearcut presence of child sexual exploitation in Philippine travel
and tourist destinations.
While the crisis is more pronounced in the aforementioned regions, tourists from nearly every country in the world fuel the
sex industry and the demand for young children.
Today, the number of children who are victims of sex tourism
continues to rise. Although child sex tourism has existed for
decades, the practice has exploded in recent years due in
large part to the rapid globalization of trade and the growth
of the tourism industry. Additionally, inter-linked social and
technological factors such as lack of education, discrimination against girl-children, widespread poverty, poor law enforcement, political corruption, and advances in information
sharing through the internet have exacerbated the problem.
WHAT IS CHILD SEX TOURISM?
Child Sex Tourism or CST is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by men or women who travel from one place to
another, usually from a richer country to one that is less developed, and there engage in sexual acts with children, de!ned
as anyone under 18 years of age.
Along with child prostitution, pornography and sex traf!cking,
CST in particular is a lucrative and ubiquitous practice affecting an estimated 2 million children worldwide every year. CST
is especially prevalent in Asia, and Central and South America.
Nationalities of Buyers of
Sex In Boracay Island
The most frequently mentioned tourists who engage
in the activity of procuring girls’ sexual services in
Boracay Island are male tourists coming from Korea.
They also constitute the largest number of foreign
tourists who visited Boracay in 2005 and 2006.
Other buyers of sex identi!ed by the study* come
from Japan, France, Germany, England, China,
Sweden, and the US, as well as local or Filipino men.
In addition, there are also local and foreign gay
tourists who seek young boys as sexual partners.
*A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON CHILDREN IN BORACAY.
ECPAT PHILIPPINES, 2007
EVEN ONE CHILD IS TOO MANY.
41
Appendix 2
DOMINICAN RePuBLIC
42
Appendix 2
THe GAMBIA
CHILD PROTECTION ALLIANCE
CHILD SEX
TOURISM
FACT SHEET
TRAVEL WITH CARE
CARE FOR CHILDREN
PRODUCED WITH FUNDING FROM ECPAT NETHERLANDS
STOP CHILD SEX TOURISM
43
44
ECPAT 5 COUNTRIES versie 9cmyk Celinecorr2_Inzicht in Uitbuiting#A8740.qxd 04-03-11 11:18 Pagina omsl3
P.O. Box 11103
2301 EC Leiden
Tel: +31-71-516 09 80
In the Netherlands ECPAT and Defence for Children
International are one organization.

Child protection in five tourism destination

Transcription

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