Campaign launched to combat child sex tourism

Anjana Gamage

COLOMBO: A study has revealed that there are between 10,000 and 30,000 children victimised by Child Sex Tourists (CST) annually which a large amount of these are from well-known tourist sites and down the coastal belt.

This was highlighted at a high level Police advocacy meeting which was held last week under the patronage of DIG Central Province, Nimal Mediwake together with other high ranking police officers including SSPs and ASPs at the Hotel Tourmaline in Kandy with Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) officials and UNICEF representatives in Sri Lanka to explore methods for strengthening the Tourist Police to combat 'child Sex Tourism' (CST) in the country.

The aim of this meeting was to officially launch this campaign spearheaded by the SLTB with technical and financial assistance from the UNICEF.

Director-General of the SLTB, S. Kalaiselvam, Acting Officer in Charge of the Children's Unit UNICEF, Sheema Sen Gupta and Consultant UNICEF for SLTB, Mihiri Fernando, attended the advocacy meeting along with all SSPs from Province as well as ASPs and OICs from various police stations.

The meeting was focused on informing them on the importance of eradicating CST from Sri Lanka, the necessity of improving preventative methods currently in existence and establishing community links to ensure that all children are protected from prospective local and foreign sexual tourists.

Despite the current security alert, DIG Mediwake reiterated his support for the campaign to combat CST and agreed to continue giving it high priority. Police officers were also given an opportunity to voice their own views.

"It is very important that we have received input from the police on what we can do to improve the existing system", said the Director-General of the SLTB, S. Kalaiselvam.

The event also gave the police officials to give their own update on progress already made and Ms. Sheema Sen Gupta, the UNICEF representative pledged UNICEF's commitment to protect children in Sri Lanka. A national action plan with a firm resolve to combat child sex tourism in Sri Lanka, zero tolerance on child exploitation in the country is scheduled to launch at the end of May.