Dark side of tourism: Sexual exploitation of children

September 27, 2011
Calgary Herald (Canada)

Today is World Tourism Day and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was right when he described tourism as “a force for a more tolerant, open and united world.”

But tourism can also be a force for evil.

The numbers of visitors to southeast Asian countries is growing exponentially. But with that growth comes a perversely abhorrent trend: child sexual exploitation.

More than ever, we’re travelling to countries perhaps we would have never set foot in five or 10 years ago because of internal strife of one kind or another. Countries that were once on the risky lists are now on the must-go lists: like Laos and Cambodia, and the Philippines. Meanwhile, countries like Vietnam and Thailand have become de rigueur among world travellers.

Thailand’s tourism grew by 26 per cent in the first six months of 2011 (11.7 million visitors), according to a news release from World Vision. Laos saw 2.5 million visitors last year – equal to Cambodia – while Vietnam had five million.

These numbers present mostly incredible opportunities for the people living there as their economies diversify to accommodate the demands of international tourists.

Sadly, with the good tourism comes the bad — including people who travel overseas to have sex with young boys and girls.

“Wherever the money flows, there is power,” says Caroline Riseboro, vice-president of public affairs for World Vision Canada. Her organization is marking World Tourism Day by trying to educate the public about child sexual exploitation in the world’s “hot-spot” countries, which are mainly in southeast Asia.

Forty per cent of male tourists who travel to the Philippines go there for sexual purposes, according to information provided to World Vision by the Philippine ambassador to U.S.

If you’re wondering why the problem persists in these countries, Riseboro, says it’s the extreme poverty that forces people into desperate ways of making money. That includes children selling their bodies for sex, often as part of prostitution rings.

World Vision, is shining a light on the issue in the hopes of educating all travellers.

Riseboro says tourists can help effect change by asking questions. For example, when you’re booking into a hotel or with a tour operator, ask them if they have a policy protecting children from sexual exploitation. That means the company makes it their business to be on the lookout for child sexual exploitation in their daily duties. For example, at a hotel, employees would report an adult checking into a hotel room with a local youngster and reporting the suspicious activity to authorities. (Even so, Riseboro says enforcement is weak in many of these countries.)

Riseboro also encourages Canadian travellers to report to authorities any type of crime of child sexual exploitation that they may see in their travels, especially if they believe it’s a Canadian.

“It’s challenging. Get a description or make enquiries.” It may be more difficult to pursue, she says, but it’s worthwhile. If the perpetrator is a Canadian, she encourages travellers to get a description (if the person is travelling on a visa the he may be easier to track down).

“If Canadians are putting pressure on destinations, like the Philippines, that will help change the system,” she says.

Bill C268, which was passed into law in 2010 in Canada, imposes a minimum five-year sentence on Canadians convicted of travelling overseas to have sex with children. Previously, there was no minimum sentence.

“We wouldn’t turn a blind eye if this happened to children in Canada, why should we turn a blind eye to a child in the Philippines or any other country for that matter, Riseboro says, adding, “People don’t understand they have the power to combat this issue.”

For more information on this issue go World Vision and learn more here about corporate responsibility in travel and tourism.