By Esther Han for PM
ABC Radio Australia
The global financial crisis has hit hard at the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and child protection agencies that fight child sex crimes in South East Asia.
Funds are running low, and the child sex tourism industry has boomed.
Now a US study has found that sex offenders from Australia are a big part of the problem in Thailand.
A report from the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University found that sex offenders from Australia topped the list of foreigners involved in child sex tourism in Thailand.
Its executive director, Mohamed Mattar, says the economic downturn means plenty of cheap flights and more children and women living under the poverty line.
"We found that casual tourism and business is part of the problem. So you have a businessman, he goes abroad, and then he would like to have some sex on the side, and he would maybe go for younger boys or girls," he said.
Child sex trafficking may be booming, but donations to NGOs are not.
The Cambodian Children's Painting Project is one of 450 NGOs in Cambodia struggling to survive the global financial crisis, as manager Felix Brooks-Church explains.
"We're an art-based project working with about 100 of these children and our whole focus is to use art as therapy and also as a means to get them off the beach, alternative income and into schools with full sponsorship," he said.
"Our donations have really dropped. We run on a budget of about $3,000 a month and that feeds over 100 kids, schools them. That [has] probably dropped down to $2,000 if not less."
The project has just launched a paintings roadshow in Australia to boost their funds.
"What's remarkable about this piece, and more so the artist, is Sok Piset is 15 years old but he is extremely mentally handicapped, probably learning and acting like a five-year-old," Mr Brooks-Church said.
"But he is able to create these works of art that surpass - as far as abstract and impressionism - surpasses any of the other children."
Cronulla Sharks chairman Damian Irvine was auctioneer at the charity event.
"We should be more charitable in the harshest financial climate, as opposed to cutting back. That is where you must expend all your assets," he said.
Laws
Mohammad Mattar says Australia's law against child sex tourism could be more effective if it is fully implemented.
"The problem is that you're talking about a trans-national crime, you're talking about a distance, you're talking about sex crime, you're talking about a crime that involves children and all these are very complicating factors when you want to prosecute cases of child sex tourism," he said.
But Bernadette McMenamin, the CEO of Child Wise Australia, says the law is not good enough.
She is lobbying the Federal Government to introduce amendments, which include higher penalties for preparatory offences.
"These changes include preparing to travel overseas to sexually abuse a child; so if there is firm evidence, witness, flight tickets. It also includes grooming a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation overseas," she said.
"So we are focusing on the prevention before the sexual acts happen."
Sydney art lover Justine Carter was the winning bidder at the auction, buying Sok Piset's painting for $1,300.
"It is absolutely beautiful and personally I think I got a bargain. Knowing the history and what happened behind it, that money can go to that child and go to that community and it's just absolutely fantastic," she said.
But the extent of the problem is so broad it will take a lot more auctions and many more donations to keep the fight against child sex tourism in Cambodia going.
Funds are running low, and the child sex tourism industry has boomed.
Now a US study has found that sex offenders from Australia are a big part of the problem in Thailand.
A report from the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University found that sex offenders from Australia topped the list of foreigners involved in child sex tourism in Thailand.
Its executive director, Mohamed Mattar, says the economic downturn means plenty of cheap flights and more children and women living under the poverty line.
"We found that casual tourism and business is part of the problem. So you have a businessman, he goes abroad, and then he would like to have some sex on the side, and he would maybe go for younger boys or girls," he said.
Child sex trafficking may be booming, but donations to NGOs are not.
The Cambodian Children's Painting Project is one of 450 NGOs in Cambodia struggling to survive the global financial crisis, as manager Felix Brooks-Church explains.
"We're an art-based project working with about 100 of these children and our whole focus is to use art as therapy and also as a means to get them off the beach, alternative income and into schools with full sponsorship," he said.
"Our donations have really dropped. We run on a budget of about $3,000 a month and that feeds over 100 kids, schools them. That [has] probably dropped down to $2,000 if not less."
The project has just launched a paintings roadshow in Australia to boost their funds.
"What's remarkable about this piece, and more so the artist, is Sok Piset is 15 years old but he is extremely mentally handicapped, probably learning and acting like a five-year-old," Mr Brooks-Church said.
"But he is able to create these works of art that surpass - as far as abstract and impressionism - surpasses any of the other children."
Cronulla Sharks chairman Damian Irvine was auctioneer at the charity event.
"We should be more charitable in the harshest financial climate, as opposed to cutting back. That is where you must expend all your assets," he said.
Laws
Mohammad Mattar says Australia's law against child sex tourism could be more effective if it is fully implemented.
"The problem is that you're talking about a trans-national crime, you're talking about a distance, you're talking about sex crime, you're talking about a crime that involves children and all these are very complicating factors when you want to prosecute cases of child sex tourism," he said.
But Bernadette McMenamin, the CEO of Child Wise Australia, says the law is not good enough.
She is lobbying the Federal Government to introduce amendments, which include higher penalties for preparatory offences.
"These changes include preparing to travel overseas to sexually abuse a child; so if there is firm evidence, witness, flight tickets. It also includes grooming a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation overseas," she said.
"So we are focusing on the prevention before the sexual acts happen."
Sydney art lover Justine Carter was the winning bidder at the auction, buying Sok Piset's painting for $1,300.
"It is absolutely beautiful and personally I think I got a bargain. Knowing the history and what happened behind it, that money can go to that child and go to that community and it's just absolutely fantastic," she said.
But the extent of the problem is so broad it will take a lot more auctions and many more donations to keep the fight against child sex tourism in Cambodia going.
12 comments:
Talking about child-sex, I found that the white-skin men are the sex offenders more than the other nationalities, according to www. all asian porns.com. And there are lot of under-aged girls.
9:44 PM,
I'm Khmer but I found that your comment is biased. How about if I say Cambodians are the most vicious people in the world because they killed 2 Millions of their citizens. How is that sound to you? Every country has good and bad people and you cannot judge people based on race. Do you think Cambodia don't have sex offenders?
10:46PM, You are dumb. I am as decent as you are.
Did I say "according to..."? The pictures show the truth, fool.
. . .oh, and you don't need to tell me your nationality. I don't a damn if you are a Khmer, a Chen, a Yuon or others.
...and the article mentioned that "South East Asia", not Cambodia alone, but I don't deny that Khmer men are free from faults of having sex with under-aged girls. If am racist against any nationalities, I wouldn't have been living safely for 30 years in the US.
People who cursed at people who don't curse is just like Hun Sen. People are entitled to have different opinions and as such they don't deserve to be cursed.
10:46PM,
You are dead wrong if you say (you said it already) "Cambodian people are the most vicious people in the world." Most Cambodian people are not Khmer Rouge. Only Khmer Rouge are vicious.
did you know it is illegal to have sex with underage kids in cambodia. who make sure they are old enough because you can get in trouble in your own country even you are doing it in cambodia, ok! just think smartly about it, ok. that's all!
Here we go again. Same story , different page. NGO's running short of money so they stir the pot again to advertise the facts on child porn, to let everyone in the world know about Cambodia. The results are, you get more offenders coming to Cambodia, therefor NGO's get more victims, then more money.
It's called ''advertising your product ''
When I tell people that I will vist Cambodia, they automatically assume I am a "sex tourist" thanks to the unfair publicity the NGOs have spread about Cambodia. Over here in the USA, everyone thinks that Cambodia is just one big brothel full of little girls and boys that were sold by their Khmer parents.
All those "Christian" NGO people are making Budhist Khmer people look like murderous savages that sell their enslaved children into sex. How about some real invbestigative journalism on the subject of underage prostitution? Let's get some real numbers! (Then maybe we can compare them to the numbers of child sex abuse cases by religious authorities in the Western world.)
You are right.
AH Hun Sen is so powerful killing so many innocent Khmer peoples, if he want to shut down the child sex businesses, it will get shut down within two hours. But no AH Hun Sen want to keep them open.
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