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The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) has increasingly become an issue of global magnitude attracting major global concern. Worldwide, an estimated one million children (mainly girls) enter the multi-million dollar commercial sex trade every year.
"Millions of children throughout the world are being bought and sold like chattel and used as sex slaves," declared UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "This is an utterly intolerable violation of children's rights."
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Children & Women Subjected to Commercial Sexual Exploitation:
- India 400,000
- Taiwan 100,000
- Thailand 200,000
- Philippines 100,000
- United States 244,000 - 325,000
- Eastern & Central Europe 175,000
- Brazil 100,000
- West Africa 35,000
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Source: UNICEF calls for eradication of commercial sexual exploitation of children
New Report Says Millions of Children are Sexually Exploited
www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr97.htm |
SITUATION ON CHILD SEX TOURISM IN THAILAND
As is the experience of developing economies around the world, child prostitution is one of the manifestations of a range of social ills brought on by unbalanced economic and social development. Poverty is the principle reason why children in rural communities in Thailand are driven into the sex trade.
For survival, children from impoverished families are forced to drop out of school in order to help their parents earn a living. When children enter the 'labour pool' early in life, their fate is sealed and they are likely to remain the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. This leads to an ever-ready supply of child labour, a situation that fuels the child sex trade. The growing demand for child sex tourism is another contributing factor.
Social pressures, parental expectations, poverty, and a lack of educational and employment opportunities can put girls at risk of economic and sexual exploitation. Each year thousands of young women flock to Bangkok and other urban areas in search of work. Many young women without appropriate skills end up working for bars, massage parlours, and brothels. Some girls are even sold into prostitution by parents and relatives. Research conducted by the Office of the National Commission on Women's Affairs in 2000 indicates that there are between 22,500 and 40,000 girls under the age of 18 are engaged in commercial sex work.
THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION & TOURISM
ECPAT International defines "Child Sex Tourism" as ... the commercial sexual exploitation of children by persons who travel from their own country to another usually less developed country to engage in sexual acts with children.
Child sex tourists come from all walks of life: they may be married or single, male or female, wealthy tourists or budget travellers. They may be paedophiles travelling specifically to exploit children or travellers who do not plan their trip with the intention of abusing a child.
Anonymity, availability of children and being away from the moral and social constraints that normally govern their behaviour can lead to abusive conduct in another country. They often justify their behaviour by claiming that it is culturally acceptable in that country or that they are helping the child by providing some money."
Tourism is not the cause of child sexual exploitation. However, it does offer easy access to vulnerable children for example through tourism-related facilities such as hotels, bars, nightclubs frequented by exploiters. In turn, the tourism industry may also help to drive demand by promoting a location's exotic image. In general, sex tours are arranged informally amongst friends or colleagues; however, there have been cases of travel agents being prosecuted for supplying and arranging sex tours.
Patrons are not exclusively limited to overseas tourists. Local demand provides equal impetus for the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC)
Hence the Tourism and Travel Industry plays an instrumental role in combating commercial sexual exploitation of children. Industry responses include: setting up task forces and monitoring systems, codes of conduct, declarations, in-flight videos* as part of education campaigns, training in tourism schools and training of tourism personnel.
* Air France video against child sex tourism
http://www.world-tourism.org/protect_children/air_france.htm
* Austrian Airlines in-flight video against the Sexual Exploitation of Children Through "Sex-Tourism"
http://www.world-tourism.org/protect_children/austrian_airlines.htm
* In-flight video "Toys" against child prostitution in tourism by terre des hommes', a German child rights organization
http://www.world-tourism.org/protect_children/lufthansa.htm
in co-operation with the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Cititzens, Women and Youth is addressed to all long-distance flight tourists and aims to point out the problem of sexual exploitation of children in tourism.
THAILAND RESPONSE TO CSEC
Given that the underlying causes of the child sexual abuse and the commercial sexual exploitation of children include poverty, gender discrimination, war, organized crime, globalisation, greed, traditions and beliefs, family dysfunction, and the drug trade, its prevention involves addressing much broader issues of obsolete and outdated laws and regulations, effectiveness of law enforcement and stamping out organised crime and corruption.
MEASURES TAKEN BY THAILAND
In its fight to prevent and eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of children, Thailand has adopted what is seen to be the most effective line of attack. It involves a two-pronged approach that focuses on the simultaneous pursuit of education and the creation of legitimate employment alternatives in tandem with legislation and law enforcement based on the UNICEF-inspired model.
EDUCATION
Providing quality, relevant and affordable education
The first approach is pro-active. Thailand focuses the principle thrust of its efforts in prevention through education which constitutes the first line of protection for children. The Royal Thai Government and its agencies represented by the Thai Education and Labour and Social Welfare Ministries, recognises that better education is vital in eliminating the root causes that lead to commercial sexual exploitation of children. They work to improve access to and the quality of education. Knowledge empowers children to protect themselves by helping them to recognize and avoid high-risk situations. A key effort here is to ensure that children, especially girls, attend school so that they can eventually support themselves and become less vulnerable to pimps and other people who may try to coerce them into the sex trade.
The government has granted educational scholarships as well as long-term and interest-free loans for children from low-income families. This has resulted in a significant decline of in child workers. The number of child workers age between 15-17 years decreased from 230,000 in March 1998 to 55,000 in July 2000.
Education only achieves its preventative goals if supported by job creation as the availability of alternative employment enables children and families to live in dignity.
SUPPORTING FAMILY-BASED ECONOMIES AT GRASS-ROOT LEVEL TO ELIMINATE POVERTY
Efforts to improve the quality of life through the dissemination of revenue to provincial areas is granted greatest importance on the national agenda for the economic and social development.
Acutely aware of the plight of his subjects, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, supported by members of the Royal Family, has worked tirelessly throughout his reign to alleviate rural poverty by providing education and skills development opportunities supported by job creation programmes. Today, with Royally-sponsored projects such as the "Klai Kangwon Distance-learning Project, more children in rural communities throughout Thailand finally have access to basic education via satellite TV, mobile libraries and other educational initiatives.
SUPPLEMENTAL OCCUPATIONS
AND SUPPLEMENTARY STREAMS OF INCOME
With over 60% of the Thai population engaged in agricultural or farming activities, farming communities form the backbone of Thailand's economy. However rice cultivation is a seasonal activity. Following the harvest, many farming families around the kingdom are left idle and unemployed until it is time to plant the next crop provided there is sufficient rainfall to support a second crop. Given this scenario, the majority of farmer families have difficulty subsisting on farm incomes alone.
To alleviate rural poverty, His Majesty King Bhumibol and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit have initiated a wide range of Royal Projects and royally-sponsored projects to create alternative income generating occupations to supplement their basic earnings. While His Majesty King Bhumibol mainly focuses on agricultural development projects, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit has concentrated her efforts in helping rural women become more aware of the potential within their own households and has taught them how to use traditional skills to improve their living conditions. During Their Majesties travel around the country on inspection trips, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit noted that each of the regions of Thailand has its own indigenous raw materials and cottage industries and became convinced that if these indigenous crafts were promoted, the rural poor would have supplemental occupations and incremental income.
In July 1976, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit established the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques (SUPPORT) to provide opportunities for farming communities to acquire new skills in traditional handicrafts. Trainees are usually selected from the unemployed and inadequately educated members of poor and large farming families. The training curriculum at the SUPPORT Foundation aims to give the future artisans all of the skills needed taking them from the basics to beyond the rote repetition of skills and eventually giving free rein to their artistic creativity.
Her Majesty's initiatives in promoting cottage industries and traditional craft now encompass most regions of the kingdom and has inspired the latest campaign launched by the Royal Thai Government - the "One Village. One Product" campaign, and the "Village Fund".
The "One Village. One Product" campaign, and the "Village Fund", recognises the availability of an abundance of naturally found raw materials, the tremendous wealth and diversity of indigenous folk knowledge and skills in rural communities throughout Thailand and sets out to unleash the inherent entrepreneurial spirit of the local residents. Under this policy, a fund of one million baht is allocated to each village for community development and the creation of more jobs in the village. Part of the funds are used for developing the skills of the local residents and to promote the production and sales of local products. These become a significant instrument of local economic development by diversifying the local sources of income, beyond the agricultural season.
THE YOUTH CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
The Youth Career Development Programme provides yet another positive role model of how the dual approach of education-and-job creation is an effective preventative measure in countering CSEC.
The Youth Career Development Programme, formerly the Youth Career Development Programme or YCDP, was first launched by the Pan Pacific Hotel Bangkok and the UNICEF Office for Thailand in 1995 as a preventative strategy against the exploitation of children and youth. The YCDP provides disadvantaged adolescent girls and young women with access to vocational and life skills training, English language instruction and subsequent employment opportunities.
By providing vocational and life skills training, the YCDP ensures long-term social and economic security for young girls who otherwise would have been at risk of economic and sexual exploitation. When the YCDP was first launched in 1995, it had nine participants. A year later, the programme expanded to include five other hotels with a total of 35 participants. To date, the programme has the support of 19 hotels and has trained a total of 550 young women from 17 provinces.
The 20-week long training curriculum in hotel hospitality covers technical training in areas such as housekeeping, laundry, engineering, floristry, food and beverage service and kitchens. Trainees also receive basic English language instruction and participate in courses designed to impart life-coping skills including sex education, AIDS awareness and prevention, job interview skills, and child rights awareness and child protection. A typical day comprises 3-hours of theoretical instruction and 4-hours in hands-on training in technical areas. They also spend 3 hours a week in basic English-as-a-second-language training.
Of the 550 trainees who have participated in the programme, 60% were offered employment in the hotels where they receive training, or in other hotels. Others are working in various business sectors for example, as teachers in day care centres, in retail outlets and in hospitals.
The success of the Youth Career Initiative initiated by the Pan Pacific Hotel in Bangkok and the UNICEF office in Thailand proves that access to education early in life raises the quality and security of life for Thai youth.
The expansion and replication of the YCDP integrated model of livelihood/life-skills and child rights awareness is being pursued by both the Government's Skills Development Department for training nationwide in the services sector and NGOs, such as The Royal Project Foundation, for the training of hill-tribe youth in agriculture in the five provinces of the north. The Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Centre, the Ministry of Science has also joined in providing training for at-risk adolescent girls in tissue culture and other areas of agro-industry.
For further details on the Youth Career Initiative, please click on this link.
LEGISLATION AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
PROTECTION
Protection focuses on countries' laws and law enforcement.
Thailand is also working to strengthen legislation and legal enforcement to stop the commercial sex trade of children.
WTO STATEMENT ON THE PREVENTION OF ORGANIZED SEX TOURISM
Adopted by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization at its eleventh session -
Cairo (Egypt), 17-22 October 1995
[Resolution A/RES/338 (XI)]
"Establish and enforce, where applicable, legal and administrative measures to prevent and eradicate child sex tourism, in particular through bilateral agreements to facilitate, inter alia, the prosecution of tourists engaged in any unlawful sexual activity involving children and juveniles;" |
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Thailand's new constitution which came into effect in 1997 places considerable importance to the upholding of human rights. Much attention is also being placed on educational reform. Both these developments have provided a valuable framework and Thailand is making headway in efforts to alleviate and eradicate poverty in its various manifestations, including the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
As in many countries around the world, there is increasing recognition of the need to enforce laws with tough criminal penalties against abusers to promote children's well-being and protect them from abuse. |
There are two Acts dealing specifically with prostitution and trafficking while the Labour Protection Act (1998) clearly states that the employment of children under the age of 15 is illegal. Given the scale of the problem, enforcement is a considerable challenge.
Efforts are being made by consecutive governments to influence attitude change among those who exploit children as well as the children themselves. Initiatives are aimed at raising the awareness of teachers, parents and community leaders, helping them to understand the nature and complexities of the issue and how best to help children protect themselves. The introduction of sex education is underway as part of Thailand's educational reform process.
In April 1996, the Royal Thai Government of Thailand passed stringent anti-prostitution laws with the most severe penalties reserved for those involved in child prostitution. Now customers, procurers, brothel owners, those who force children into prostitution and even parents, face long prison sentences as well as large fines.
WTO STATEMENT ON THE PREVENTION OF ORGANIZED SEX TOURISM
Adopted by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization at its eleventh session -
Cairo (Egypt), 17-22 October 1995
[Resolution A/RES/338 (XI)]
"Gather evidence of organized sex tourism . Assist intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations concerned in taking action against organized forms of sex tourism;" |
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EXTRATERRITORIAL LEGISLATION
Another loophole in the legal system enables the offender to easily escape the arm of the law in the country where the crime has been committed by leaving the 'scene of the crime' and returning to the safe refuge of their country of origin. This poses a real challenge in actual law enforcement against the child sex abuser.
Extraterritorial legislation enables a country to prosecute its citizens for crimes (against children) even if they are committed outside of the country. Many laws do not require that the act for which they are charged within their own country be a crime in the country where the act was committed (double criminality). To date, at least 32 countries have enacted extraterritorial legislation.
Extraterritorial legislation has proven to be a very effective measure in the prosecution of the offender. Based on Thailand's experience, in 1995, FACE (Fight Against Child Exploitation), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Thailand, escorted the first child victim to testify against an abuser in the Swedish Court with the support of ECPAT, Radda Barnen and the Royal Thai Embassy in Sweden.
It was the first ever case in which extraterritorial legislation was invoked with the victim travelling from Asia to testify in a European court. This set an important precedent which sent a clear and indisputable message across Europe, in particular the United Kingdom, and the world, proving that in spite of differences in the legal systems of both countries, extraterritorial legislation can be pragmatically enforced.
Recently FACE brought forth another child victim to testify in the court in Paris with the support of UNICEF France and Thailand. Both cases resulted in the successful convictions of the sex tourists. In another instance, a Japanese legal team is working jointly with FACE in an attempt to prosecute a Japanese abuser in Japanese court.
Such level of cooperation to enforce extraterritorial legislation is now prevalent around the world. There have been several such cases between Sri Lanka and Switzerland, Cambodia and Australia, the Philippines and EU countries, and others.
From time to time, authorities may face obstacles when conducting investigations and prosecuting offences committed abroad. Gathering reliable evidence and testimonies depend on cooperation with the local police. Wanchai Roujanavong, Chairman of FACE (Fight Against Child Exploitation), Thailand, stresses that mutual legal assistance is a crucial to success in the enforcement of extraterritorial law. International cooperation must be enhanced through domestic legislation, bilateral or multilateral treaties. Thailand as well as a majority of countries around the world are in a position to cooperate with any country on a reciprocal basis
THAILAND INTRODUCES CHILD FRIENDLY LAWS
Child sexual abuse, a criminal offence in all countries, is one of the worse side effects of tourism. Having legislation is one thing. Actual enforcement is another different matter requiring effort, determination, resources and often political will.
The cooperation of the victim is frequently an essential element and deciding factor in the success or failure of each child sexual abuse case brought forward. It takes a lot of courage of the part of the child victim to be exposed as a witness in both the investigation and the trial itself. The trauma and agony that has to be endured is overwhelming. As a result, few child victims opt to testify under this legal process. Hence the task of proving a child sexual abuse case in court is both difficult and time-consuming. Such factors result in the offenders viewing crimes of this nature as being "low risk crime".
Thus many individuals who are not tour operators but who are indirectly involved in tourism in some way try to reap benefits from child sexual abuse by offering and providing children to tourists for sexual exploitation as though they are merchandise or commodity. Some tour operators violate industry code of ethics and knowingly and intentionally offer child sex tourism.
In order to protect the rights of children, many countries have introduced a range of special procedures to make the legal process less of a traumatic experience for the children. As of September 2000, Thailand has enacted a child-friendly legal process with the introduction of a multidisciplinary team during the interview process. The interview is recorded on videotape and then played back in court. During the trial, the child victim is placed in another room and offers testifies through a video-link that is relayed into the room where the trial is in progress.
The result is that more and more victims of child sexual abuse have come forth to offer cooperation with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting the abusers.
CONVICTED OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
- James Ronald Hammond, a British national, caught in 1997 having sex with a 17-year old child from a bar in Chiang Mai was arrested, prosecuted and served a one-year prison sentence in Thailand.
- Bjorndal Alf Oddvar, a Norwegian national, was prosecuted in January 1998 for having sex with an 11-year old boy in Pattaya and sentenced to 40-months in prison.
- Chemouil Amnon Itshaac has oral sex with a 16-year old girl in prostitution in Chonburi in 1997, was apprehended in France and prosecuted in Paris in October 2000. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation to his victim.
Source: Excerpts from "Tourism Industry and Child Sexual Abuse"
by Wanchai Roujanavong
Executive Director - Thailand Criminal Law Institute
Office of the Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
and Chairman of FACE (Fight Against Child Exploitation)
Contact information:
E-mail: facebkk@hotmail.com
Tel: 66-2-541-2965, 521-2974
Fax: 66-2-512-1213
MEASURES TAKEN BY THE TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND
TAT Supports The Fight Against The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) unequivocally supports the fight against child prostitution and opposes all forms of sex tourism to Thailand.
TAT has taken a firm stance on preventing and discouraging sex-related tourism and pursues the following policies on the prevention of sex tourism, and particularly child prostitution.
While the primary responsibility in dealing with child prostitution or CSEC in Thailand lies in the hands of the enforcers of law - the police and the public prosecutors, TAT does what it can within its scope of authority to eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Under its mandate, TAT's role is defined as being "an agency responsible for the promotion and control of tourism and tour-guide businesses and is entrusted with ensuring compliance with standards as prescribed by law for the benefit of all parties concerned and for the nation's tourism industry." To translate policy into implementation steps and set standards for the industry, TAT initiated the draft of a Tourist Business and Guide Bill which was passed by the National Assembly on May 18, 1992, followed by Ministerial Regulations that have been in force since May 28, 1993. The Bill empowers TAT to take punitive action against tourism operators whose actions are seen to be detrimental to the Thai tourism industry and negatively impact the country's image and reputation.
According to the Tourist Business and Guide Bill and the accompanying Ministerial Regulations, individuals wishing to become tour operators and tour guides are required by law to apply for a permit either from the Tourist Business and Guide Registration Office, or the Governors of provinces with tourism business offices. The Tourist Business and Guide Bill also stipulates that tourism operators are to refrain from any acts that will compromise the honourable reputation, integrity and ethical standards of the tourism industry. A tourism operator who is found to be in violation of this particular Article faces a penalty of between 5,000 to 20,000 Baht in fines and suspension of the permit for a period deemed appropriate by the Registrar, but not exceeding 6-months. In the case of repeat offences, the permit will be revoked.
TAT emphatically does not promote Thailand as a sex tourism destination and works strenuously against independent tour operators that do so. While TAT is limited in what it is able to do in the enforcement of laws which protect children from sexual exploitation, it keeps a close monitor on tour operators and promotions offering sex tours to Thailand and works closely with law enforcement authorities, keeping the relevant authorities informed in order to pursue appropriate courses of action.
- Over the past years, TAT has cooperated with the Tourist Police to strictly enforce Thailand's anti-prostitution laws, on seeking out and prosecuting/taking legal action against tourism operators in Thailand that contravene the laws.
- TAT overseas offices have been instructed to monitor the activities of foreign countries' tour operators and report any that offer sex tours of any kind, so that action can be taken to halt these activities.
- To discourage all forms of sex tourism, TAT has also taken a pro-active and pre-emptive approach in its destination marketing efforts and promotional campaigns.
To ensure that Thailand is not seen to be "a sex tourism destination", TAT has made a
conscious and consistent attempt over the past many years to radically change the
perceived image of the country as being a predominantly "male" destination, an image that
has been the country's legacy as a result of its involvement as an "R&R" base serving
military personnel during the Cold War years.
Some of the key strategies include:
 Promoting Thailand as a family destination
TAT has been a vital catalyst in leading and orchestrating industry-wide efforts in the development and re-positioning of Thailand as a destination for female visitors of all ages including working women and housewives
For example, TAT has introduced a variety of innovative niche tourism products with special appeal for women travellers such as shopping, Thai cuisine, health, natural healing and beauty, and has organised several high impact promotional campaigns, jointly with other public and private sector operators nationwide. Recent surveys conducted by several leading travel publications prove that these destinations promotions have successfully reinforced Thailand's reputation as a world-class "Shopper's Paradise", "Spa Paradise", and a hub of cosmopolitan cuisine, among others such as one of the world's Top-10 diving sites and "Golf Capital of Asia".
In 2000, female visitors to Thailand grew by 12.17% - higher than the 9.93% growth in male visitors. There was also a 19.48% increase in the number of visitors who identified themselves as being 'housewives'. The gap is closing and Thailand is seeing a more balanced male-female ratio of international visitors.
The conduct of public relations campaigns to deter tourists from visiting Thailand for sexual purposes of any kind.
In its advertising and marketing campaigns, TAT consciously and strictly avoids the use of suggestive images that may inadvertently encourage sex tourism. Information on the subject and on the penalties for breaking the law is disseminated to the public through various channels including the TAT web site.
Working in Partnership with other domestic and international front liners
TAT works closely with many international organizations such as the World Tourism Organization, UNICEF and ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes). For example, in serving as the Steering Committee on the update the Code of Conduct (CCC) for Tour Operators against Child Sex Tourism -- a set of clear guidelines for actions to be taken by tour operators to combat all forms of child sex tourism.
The Steering Committee of the Code of Conduct
The development of the 'Code of Conduct' Project is supervised by an international, multi-stakeholder Steering Committee formed of: Interpol, WTO, IH&RA, TAT, representatives of the tourism industry, of tourist sending and receiving countries. The Steering Committee Secretariat is hosted by the World Tourism Organization. The project is co-financed by the European Commission and the Code of Conduct National Partners are ECPAT - Italy, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Sweden, and Respect Austria.
There has been increasing involvement of partners from tourism-related businesses, government agencies NGOs, intergovernmental organizations and media in the consultative meeting. This joint participation will help to define the operating modalities, establish a network of partners and initiate a series of joint activities to eradicate CSEC.
The TAT also jointly hosted the "TAT/WTO Regional Consultation on the "Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism" in Bangkok on July 1, 2001.
As a follow up to the World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, a series of regional consultations were held ahead of the Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children to be held in Yokohama, Japan from December 17-20, 2001. The first regional consultation, for the East Asia and Pacific region, ran from October 16-18, 2001 in Bangkok and was attended by 280 participants, including 70 government representatives and 20 children. A regional plan and strategy came out of the meeting.
Note:
ECPAT - End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes (formerly named End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism) is a network of organisations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.
WTO STATEMENT ON THE PREVENTION OF ORGANIZED SEX TOURISM
Adopted by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization at its eleventh session -
Cairo (Egypt), 17-22 October 1995
[Resolution A/RES/338 (XI)]
"Encourage education of concerned government officials and top executives in the tourism sector about the negative consequences of this activity; Issue guidelines to the tourism sector insisting that it refrains from organizing any forms of sex tourism, and from exploiting prostitution as a tourist attraction; Commends the tourism companies and tourism industry organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations such as ECPAT, which have already undertaken measures against sex tourism, in particular with respect to the sexual exploitation of children and juveniles;" |
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THE CODE OF CONDUCT
for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism
www.thecode.org
The next critical step for Thailand is for TAT is to introduce, roll-out and jointly implement the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism together with industry associations and NGOs.
Once introduced to Thailand, Suppliers of tourism services adopting the code commit themselves to implement the following six criteria:
- To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children
- To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations
- To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children
- To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
- To provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations
- To report annually
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In its role as the 'custodian' of ethical practices and the designated regulator of standards within the Thai tourism industry, TAT will continue to play an instrumental role in the introduction and adoption of the Code of Conduct by the Thai tourism industry.
THE CODE
Please click to view details. |
