Child-Protection in Tourism

“Offenders Beware!” Training tourism professionals how to act against
commercial sexual exploitation of children in tourism

„Offenders Beware!“

Combating the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism

IMC Krems – 16 June 2010 1


What‘s the link to tourism?

• Sustainability
• Social standards
• CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility
• Marketing advantage
• Tourism infrastructure as an
instrument for CST
CST = Child Sex Tourism



Tourism as platform for CST

Between Destination
Origin - Aeroplane - Hotel,
- Travel agency - Bus guesthouse,
- Tour operator - Train rented
- Airline apartment
- Boat
- On-line - Tour operator
booking - Taxis, car-rental
agency companies
- Bars, restaurants
- Clubs


Organisations and projects
• ECPAT International
• ECPAT Austria
• respect – Institute for Integrative Tourism
and Development
• The Code of Conduct for the protection of
children from sexual exploitation in travel
and tourism
• Offenders Beware!



Outline

• Introduction
• Child rights
• Documentary
• Case studies / group work
• Child Sex Tourism – what, who, where, why?
• Global action against CST
• The role of the tourism industry
• Communication
• Q&A, Evaluation, Summing up



Child Rights

• 1989: Convention on the Rights of the Child
– Almost universally ratified worldwide
• Protection of the child = every person
below 18
• 54 articles (e.g. right to life,
right to education…)
• Optional Protocol on the Sale
of Children, Child Prostitution
and Child Pornography



Art. 34: Protection from sexual exploitation

States Parties undertake to protect the child from
all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
For these purposes, States Parties shall in
particular take all appropriate national, bilateral
and multilateral measures to prevent:
(a) The inducement or coercion of a child to engage
in any unlawful sexual activity;
(b) The exploitative use of children in prostitution
or other unlawful sexual practices;
(c) The exploitative use of children in pornographic
performances and materials.



Betrifft: Die Rückkehr der Sextouristen
Der Tsunami, die Armut und die Prostitution Movie: The Return
Reportage (45 min., 16:9) von Wolfgang Luck
Kamera: Rainer Friedrich, Ton: Steven Briggs of the Sex Tourists
Schnitt: Karl-Heinz Satzger
Produktion: a & o buero The Tsunami, the poverty and
gefördert vom Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst the prostitution
Erstausstrahlung:29.5.2006 (SWR "Betrifft")

Filmwettbewerb
Zukunftsfähiger
Tourismus

http://www.koelnkamera.de/die%20rueckkehr%20der%20sextouristen.html



Case Study: Sonia
Sonia began to work as a prostitute, when she was 13. She’s living at the
German-Czech boarder and her mother doesn’t have enough money to
support her and her 4 brothers and sisters. Her father left the family two
years ago. Sonia tried many times to find another job, but she was never
successful. With no other job she could make so much money like with
the German sex tourists, which are Sonia’s „regular customers“. Now
Sonia is 16. She still has her regular customers but she doesn’t earn as
much as her younger „colleagues“. Therefore she does what many older
children are doing: she’s recruiting new children to work in prostitution.
She could also help her younger brother Honza (10 years old) to earn
money. For conveying and training the children she earns 60% of the
money that they earn from the German sex tourists.

• Which form of commercial sexual exploitation can be found in this case
story (child trafficking, child prostitution, child sex tourism, child
pornography)?
• What reasons for CST/child prostitution can be found in this story?
• What other root causes for CST can you think of? ( “supply” side)



Case Study: Serah
My name is Serah and I am 19 years old. I lost my parents early to AIDS.
Consequently, I could not attend school anymore. When I was 15, I left for the
coast together with a friend. There was nothing to do for us in the village. Right
after arrival we met a white man, I don’t remember where he came from. He was
very nice und invited us for a drink to his room. We thought that all tourists are
nice people as they come to visit us. In the room he wanted to have sex without a
condom. I managed to escape, he could not grab hold of both of us in the same
time. My friend had to stay back. I was numb. I couldn’t feel anything anymore
since that. Some time later I met an Italian tourist. He offered me help and to
arrange for a normal job for me. I followed him into his appartement. He locked
me there for several days, frequently men came...
I was desperate but I had no choice. I HAD to survive, there was no normal job for
me without school or education.
Then I met the social worker from SOLWODI. She offered me help, and I started
attending the regular meetings. In the beginning I was sceptical, but today I am
very thankful. I had the chance to start a training as a hair dresser and today I run
a hairdresser’s shop in Mombasa with a friend. Additionally, I also consult young
girls in my village and elsewhere. I simply tell them my story and explain them
about the risks of prostitution.

• What reasons for child sex tourism/child prostitution can be found in this story?
• What other root causes for child sex tourism can you think of? ( “supply” side)



Case Study: An Italian in Thailand
The case of Giorgio S. (59) started when a journalist contacted him pretending to be
a pedophile. The journalist interviewed him with a hidden camera and broadcasted
the video. It was a shocking video where S. bragged to have violated between 400
and 500 girls from seven to fifteen years old from 2001 until 2005. S. resided in Italy
only two or three months per year and spent the remaining nine or ten months in
Thailand. He was very well organized: he had a notebook in which he transcribed
name, age and ‘vote’ of every victim. He was planning to move permanently to
Thailand and organize a little and private ‘tour operator’ for Italian men who wanted
a guide in the world of sex tourism with children.
Speaking to the journalist he expressed mostly prejudicial opinions ("here the
children are accustomed to sex", "paying them is helping the family", and so on) and
narrated in detail a lot of his ‘adventures’ to plead his cause. Not to excuse him, but
only to demonstrate how unjust it was that he could not do the same things in Italy.
Arrest was immediate (September 2005). In 2004 one of his friends gave two
recorded phone calls to the police where the pedophile talked about his
‘performances’. He was sentenced in first grade to fourteen years of jail and fined for
200,000 euro’s. The Police found in his house over 370 images and nine videotapes
of him with the children.

• Which form of commercial sexual exploitation can be found in the case story (child
trafficking, child prostitution, child sex tourism, child pornography)?
• What are the motives or “excuses” of the offender?
• What other reasons/factors for child sex tourism can you think of? (demand side)



Case Study: An French in Thailand
The French national, Amon Chemouil was arrested and tried in 2001
for having sexually abused an eleven year old girl in Pattaya,
Thailand. The abuse was filmed by one of two Swiss men who were
with Chemouil. During the trial, Chemouil presented his act as a
moment of weakness and apologized for ‘stealing her childhood’. He
also placed all responsibility on himself, in contrast with statements
from preferential child sex offenders and pedophiles, who often place
blame on the victim for having seduced the offender. Experts
present at the trial did not classify Chemouil as a pedophile.
Regardless of the intent or lack of intent to abuse a child, or whether
it was planned or not, sexual contact with a child by a tourist is a
criminal act. Chemouil was convicted for rape and sentenced of 7
years in prison.

• Which types of offenders are described in this case story?
• What do you think were the reasons for the man to abuse the girl?
What motives could you think of?
• This case was the first case in France to be tried under
extraterritorial legislation. To your mind, what are the challenges
and difficulties of extraterritorial jurisdiction?



Terms

• Exploitation
• Commercial Exploitation
• Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
• Child Sex Tourism
is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by people who
travel from one location to another and engage in sexual acts
with minors. Often they travel from a richer country to one that
is less developed, but child sex tourists may also be travellers
within their own countries or regions.



Perpetrators

• Men and women (rare)
• all social classes
• all age groups
• leisure and business travellers
• worldwide
• locally, regionally, internationally
• Pedosexuals, experimental offenders,
situational offenders



Destinations

Map:: H.J. de Blij/Peter O. Muller: Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts 2000


Figures

• In 1997 UNICEF estimates that 2
Million children between 14-18 years
engaged in prostitution
– Local estimations indicate much higher
figures
• Estimated turnover: 5 billion US-Dollar
• Figures growing – age decreasing



Factors and causes
•Poverty
•Migration into cities
•Sexual violence in
•Struggle to survive on
the family
the streets
•Lack of emotional
•Attractivity of „western
stability
lifestyle and goods“
•Desperateness
•Tourism Development
•Feeling of guilt

•Erosion of family
structures
•Loss of significance of
norms and values
•Lack of school graduation
•Disregard of children



Global action against CST

• NGOs
• States
• Police / Interpol

• Individuals / tourists?



Extraterritorial law

• Extraterritorial laws enable a country to hold its
citizens accountable under their home country
laws for committing crimes abroad.
• States can prosecute their own nationals and
residents who travel to other countries to
sexually exploit children.
• Witnesses from abroad and foreign police forces
can be used to build the case for prosecution.

http://www.thefuturegroup.org/youwillbecaught/laws.html



Legal action

• 2004: a 63-year old Tyrolian abuses children in
Vietnam – sentenced at county court Innsbruck
• 2004: Austrian sentenced for abuse of children in
Romania
• 2004-2006: hundreds of children and youth being
forced into criminal acts, prostitution etc. being
freed in Vienna
• 2007: a 42-year old Austrian being sentenced to
3 years of jail for abusing a boy in India
• 2008: a 65-year old Austrian sentenced in
Cambodia for multifold abuse of children



Tourism industry
• WTO Declaration on the Prevention of Organized
Sex Tourism (1995)
• Global Code of Tourism Ethics (1999)
• International Association of Air Travel (IATA) –
Final Resolution Condemning Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children (1996)
• International Hotel and Restaurant Association-
Resolution against commercial sexual exploitation
of children (1996)



Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism

www.thecode.org

• 947 companies
• 37 countries in total
• Membership fees
• Board
• Committee



Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism

www.thecode.org
Six criteria:

• establish ethical policy
• train personell
• clause in contracts with suppliers
• provide information to travellers
• provide information to local „key persons“
• annual report



Staff Training
REPORTING INFORMATION TO AUTHORITIES - WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
…The telephone numbers for the local Police, the Tourism authority and the British
Embassy or Consulate's office.
Incidents of abuse should always be reported to the Police.
When your suspicions of criminal activity involving child sexual abuse by a tourist
are confirmed, there is definitely something you can do about it. The sexual
exploitation of children is a crime everywhere in the world. In many cases, the
perpetrator can be criminally charged in his/her home country, even when the
crime took place in a foreign land.
In order to report the incident to the authorities, you should be able to provide
clear information. Be sure to document the following details:
• What exactly did you observe (children being offered for sale by adults,
negotiations between children and tourists, explicit gestures, physical contact,
etc.)?
• Where did this take place (town, street, square, name of the establishment,
beach)?
• When did you see this take place (date, time)?
• Who was involved (name and nationality of the tourist, the child, the person
soliciting customers)?
• Other important information you may be asked to provide:
- day of arrival/departure (airport) of the "suspect"
- details of the nationality of the victim if known


Contract clause

’’Clause no. 14.
A common agreement to ban child prostitution on the
premises of the hotel

Aurinkomatkat follows the Code of Conduct of ECPAT (End
Child Prostitution and Trafficking) to fight child sex tourism.
Aurinkomatkat expects each accommodation provider to
ban all child sex or child prostitution related activities from
its premises.

Any such activity should be immediately reported to our staff
as well as local police authorities. Allowing child prostitution
in the hotel will lead to a termination of the contract.’’


Partners of the “Code of Conduct”

In the following countries:

Grönland
ä (Dän.) Norwegen Finnland
Alaska
(USA) Schweden
Grossbritannien Dänemark
Niederlande Deutschland
Österreich
Schweiz Rumänien Mongolei
Montenegro Bulgarien
USA Spanien Italien Mazedonien Japan
Albanien Türkei
Syrien
Pakistan
Mexico Dominikanische
Belize Republik Thailand

Costa Rica
Kenia

Brasilien

© ECPAT Deutschland e.V.; Quelle:The Code Organisation; Grafik: Martin Holub



Partners



South Africa warned on World Cup
CAPE TOWN child sex tourism
Tue Aug 14, 2007 9:07am EDT
(Reuters) - South Africa risks becoming a magnet for pedophiles
when it hosts the 2010 soccer World Cup as rising child sex
tourism blights Africa's top travel spots, activists said on Tuesday.
Every year thousands of children in mostly poor countries fall prey to
sex tourists. In Africa, a tourism boom coupled with high levels of
poverty, unemployment and illiteracy provide fertile ground for
child sex tourism to flourish.
Activists say South Africa in particular must take steps to guard
against child sex tourism ahead of the 2010 World Cup, when
millions of people are expected to visit the continent's richest
country.
"Africa could become the new Thailand, there is a big risk, a big
threat," said Jennifer Seif, the executive director of Fair Trade in
Tourism SA, during a media briefing in Cape Town.
Seif said western men away from home who sleep with 14 or 15 year
old girls made up the bulk of sex tourists, although younger
children were also at risk.



South Africa‘s tourism industry
avows to child protection
Just before the start of the FIFA-Worldcup 2010
South Africa‘s tourism industry has taken an
important step for the protection of children and
youth from sexual exploitation: More than 30 tourism
organisations and businesses (amongst them the
National Department of Tourism and South Africa
Tourism) have signed „The Code“ in Cape Town on
9th of June 2010.
„We are proud to support the South African
Government, FTTSA and our tourism businesses in
their efforts to protect the children. Cape Town‘s
message is clear: Who comes here to abuse our
children is not welcome“, said Mariette du Toit-
Helmbold, the CEO of Cape Town Tourism.


Responsible Business Award 2010
This entry is for a partnership on protecting
children’s rights from exploitation in travel and
tourism. The company was the first major
American company to join the Child-Protection
Code of Conduct (www.thecode.org) in April 2004.
The company created a training kit in a “meeting in a
box” format containing a Managers’ Guide, as well as
visual presentation of seven real-life scenarios that hotel
personnel can encounter, for assessing and recognizing
potential situations of sexual exploitation of children.
Judges commentary:
The company has shown exemplary thought leadership in
a sector that often lacks serious strategic action on
corporate responsibility. In seriously addressing an
important area that is often perceived as a taboo in the
travel sector, this company has performed great work on
an issue many firms in the industry both overlook and
ignore.
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=6904&ContTypeID=13


Communication

„Hinschauen
statt
Wegschauen!“


Taking action
• selecting a Tour Operator
• asking the travel agency about CoC:
„That‘s important to me!„
• reporting suspicious observations (tour guide, hotel
staff, embassy)
• objecting and reporting explicit offers by middlemen
(taxi drivers etc.)
• calling for political measures
• Supporting help services and NGOs
– locally and in Austria
• Interpol contact line: +43-1-24836 85025
(24/7 ; also anonymously)
Don‘t turn away – turn them in


„Offenders beware!“ is a project by a consortium of ECPAT Kindly supported by the
groups, supported by the European Commission. European Commission

Further information:

ECPAT-Österreich
Arbeitsgemeinschaft zum Schutz der
Rechte
der Kinder vor Sexueller Ausbeutung
Geschäftsführung: Mag.a Astrid Winkler
Alserstraße 21/5, 1080 Wien Trainer:
Tel./Fax: +43(0)1 293 16 66
Mithra Ansari
Mobil: +43(0)6991 923 76 02
ansari@ecpat.at
e-mail: info@ecpat.at
Marcus Bauer M.A.
marcus.bauer@respontour.net


Child-Protection in Tourism

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