Child sex tourism ruins Sri Lanka's image

PRE-EMPTIVE ACTIONS: The Sri Lanka Tourist Board with the support of UNICEF has launched an action plan to combat the commercial exploitation of Sri Lanka's children. The main objectives of the action plan will be to formulate new and effective policies to combat child sex tourism and to facilitate their implementation.

The proposed plan will utilise a $50 million grant from UNICEF to target tourists, children, adolescents, hoteliers, journalists, families and community leaders under the slogan "Zero Tolerance" for child sex tourism. Indeed it is time we become concerned, because UNICEF and the ILO said recently that Sri Lanka has nearly 40,000 child prostitutes.

It is a fact that we have a number of laws on child protection and the prevention of child abuse, including having ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC) in 1991. In 2002, the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was signed and the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour ratified. In spite of all these, the children from poor coastal and rural communities are still vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Those between the ages of eight and fifteen living in coastal areas are particularly vulnerable. Why are our children attracted to sex tourism? Child advocates say there are four major reasons. First, most of them are tempted by false promises of employment. When families are struggling to find enough to eat, children or their parents can be lured by the promise of cash or the opportunity of a job.

Secondly, children may also be victims of family breakdown or homelessness, drawn into the sex industry as a means of economic survival. Thirdly, lack of parental supervision also takes its toll. Many parents work for a daily wage (or working in the Middle East) that force them to leave their children alone and unsupervised. On top of all, ethnic conflict has left an estimated one million children displaced or abandoned in Sri Lanka.

The negative impact of commercial sexual exploitation of children is profound and often permanent. For those who survive (and many don't), it may cause irreparable damage to their physical and mental health. Child victims are inadequately protected because of loopholes in legislation and a lack of law enforcement.

They are often treated as criminals and left with little recourse other than to re-enter a vicious cycle of abuse and exploitation, which escalates the risk to their very existence. Although it may be tempting to place the blame mainly on parents as socially irresponsible or children themselves as sexually irresponsible, no sector of society can escape responsibility for the sexual exploitation of children.

So, what really can be done ? I believe the cooperation among the different segments of the society is the key to combating the sexual exploitation of our children by foreign visitors. Let us hope that the Tourist Board would be successful in developing the initiative to bring all relevant organizations to the table to discuss the protection of children from child sex tourism. This involves bringing members of the travel and tourism sectors and non-governmental organizations together to consider strategies for public education.

I suggest a few easy actions for their discussion:

1. Canvass stronger laws and more active enforcement of laws against commercial sexual exploitation of children.

2. Show short video clips during flights referring to the dangers of child sex tourism and have posters or photographs with strong messages in arrival halls and VIP lounges.

3. Distribute "No Child Prostitution" messages in printed material such as itineraries.

4. Inform clients of legal and health risks at their destination and of the danger of prosecution in their country of origin (extra-territoriality).

5. Educate travel agency staff swell.

6. Display warnings against child sex in hotel lobbies and rooms.

While the practice of child sex tourism can erode the moral integrity of our nation, the greatest victims are, of course, the defenceless children: their voices unheard, their stories untold, their plight implacable, and their innocence stolen. They must endure the immediate and long-term emotional, psychological, and physical impact of sexual exploitation.

To make matters even worse, in areas with limited educational opportunities, people are ill-informed of the health risks and the severe long-term psychological harm that is inflicted on children who are sexually exploited. Perhaps even more disturbing, however, is the nature of how many of these children are forced into the sex trade. Although the family is traditionally a child's first line of defence, in some cases children are sold into the sex trade by someone they know and trust.

Clearly then, this is a pervasive problem that cannot be ignored. Fortunately, the Government's interest and public awareness of the issue are growing. It is an encouraging sign.