Bangkok--Nov 12--UNISBKK
ECPAT INTERNATIONAL, UNESCAP, UNICEF DELEGATES AGREE TO STRENGTHEN EFFORTS TO REDUCE DEMAND FOR COMMERICAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
Representatives from more than 20 countries meet in Bangkok to report on their governments' progress toward commitments made at the 2001 East Asia
and Pacific Regional Consultation against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children
At a three-day meeting in Bangkok, which concluded yesterday, representatives from more than 20 countries in East Asia and the Pacific agreed to strengthen efforts to reduce demand for the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
From 8-10 November, delegates from government and civil society as well as young people reported on a raft of new measures and improvements to existing interventions designed to protect children from commercial sexual
exploitation, assist victims and punish exploiters. They noted that while
progress had been made, the region also confronted challenges such as new
technology, new victims and new exploiters, as well as the spread of
HIV/AIDS and greater global integration.
At the meeting, participants committed themselves to addressing the behaviours, beliefs and attitudes that drive male demand for commercial sexual exploitation of children. This includes mores such as
virginity-seeking and child marriage with a bride price. They also
recognized that until demand is reduced, the supply of children will
continue and they called for more men to join the fight to end this
inhumane violation of young lives.
The meeting was organized by an Inter-Agency Group comprising End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Purposes (ECPAT) International, the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), in cooperation with the governments of Italy,
Japan and Thailand and the NGO Group on the Convention for the Rights of
the Child, represented by the Save the Children Alliance.
Participants also considered strategies to stop the exponential rise in the supply and demand of child pornography over the internet. New technologies, including the internet, digital cameras and mobile phones, have increased the spread of child pornography, the demand for it and the risk for children of sexual exploitation.
National laws have not kept pace with these trends. Most countries in the region do not have laws that refer specifically to child pornography, and few criminalize its mere possession. This means that the end user of child
pornography is not regarded as a criminal, or is subject only to minimal
penalties, even though consumers of child pornography further the abuse and
exploitation of more children because their demand fuels the incentive to
make it.
Other efforts discussed included the world's first multi-country Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) against trafficking, which was signed by ministers from Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam on 29 October in Yangon, Myanmar. The MoU covers the prevention of trafficking; the repatriation, rehabilitation and sensitive treatment of victims; and the
extradition and prosecution of exploiters.
Several other agreements are being negotiated between governments in the region, and the Bangkok meeting resulted in the initiation of positive discussions between Indonesia and Malaysia concerning potential cross-border arrangements on trafficking.
Action has also been taken to address the prostitution of children within their home countries. Community-based projects in the Philippines and Thailand, for example, have empowered local people, including children, to
resist exploitation through greater awareness of child rights and the
methods of exploiters. Local monitoring systems mean that members of the
community can report abuse, while local officials have been trained to
respond with greater sensitivity and effectiveness.
Despite this progress, a lack of reliable data remains a major hindrance to the implementation of well-targeted and effective measures to stop the commercial sexual exploitation of children. New research designed to address this shortcoming and better support the need for monitoring was also presented and discussed at the meeting.
In Lao PDR, an unprecedented government study released last month found child trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in all 17 provinces
covered. Interviews with 253 victims (of whom 60 per cent were girls
between the ages of 12 and 18), their families and other key informants
found that regional economic disparities, a lack of opportunity at home and
the negative influence of the media all contribute to vulnerability.
In the Pacific Islands, ongoing research is revealing growing problems of commercial sexual exploitation. In the Solomon Islands, for example, girls are still forced into early marriages and recent violence has led to a surge in child rapes and in boys and girls being forced into prostitution for economic survival. Child marriage is also a major problem in Papua New Guinea, and is a basis of demand for internal trafficking of children.
This research is being complemented by the CSECInfo database ? a state-of-the-art information management system that collects the data necessary for monitoring the commitments being reviewed this week ? which was developed by the Inter-Agency Group.
Young people were active throughout the meeting. The youth delegation presented statements assessing the situation of commercial sexual exploitation of their peers and multi-level efforts to address the problem.
They expressed support for various actions, but they also identified many problems and gaps, and urged action to address them. In particular, they
stressed that high-level policy decisions, such as cross-border agreements,
require greater awareness raising and concrete action at the grassroots
level in order to ensure positive change.
Delegates included representatives from Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, the Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa,
the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.
For more information, please contact:
Deborah Muir, Communications Associate, ECPAT International
07 052 0671; [email protected]
Margaret Hanley, Information Officer, UNESCAP
02 288 1862-69; [email protected]
Robert Few, Communications Consultant, UNICEF
01 746 3048; [email protected] End.