World doing Little to Save Children from Sexual Exploitation
BANGKOK: Child sex exploitation has been allowed to flourish around the world as national governments fail to act on their commitments to stamp out the practice, a report said.
Four years after the Stockholm World Congress on child sex exploitation where 122 nations resolved to draft action plans to protect their young, only 29 had kept their promises, said child rights campaigners ECPAT.
The findings were compiled by the committee to End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking (ECPAT), one of three international agencies that organised the Stockholm conference.
The 178-page report, titled "Looking Back, Thinking Forward," was funded by the European Union and the Swedish International Development Agency as part of an ongoing plan to monitor the responses of countries that participated in the conference.
"In every continent, child victims of commercial sex exploitation are found," ECPAT -- End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking -- said in a statement.
"Law enforcement officials impeded by ignorance and corruption are failing to provide these children with the protection that they are entitled to."
At the second world congress, to be held in Yokohama, Japan, from December 16 to 20, governments will be urged to step up their efforts to develop plans to end the abuse.
"States must be forcefully reminded of their failure to live up to the promises made in Stockholm only four years ago," said ECPAT International chief Muireann O Briain.
The child sex industry is continuing to thrive thanks to several new factors, including the advent of the Internet which has helped paedophiles form networks and gain better access to victims, ECPAT said.
HIV-AIDS has made children the main targets, as they are considered less likely than the adult prostitutes to infect their clients with the disease. Some even believe sex with a young child is a cure for the infection.
Trafficking in children, particularly in Eastern Europe, has boomed since the break-up of the Soviet Union, it said.
Report co-ordinator, Emma Morley, said that on the positive side, rights groups had succeeded in substantially boosting awareness of commercial child sex abuse.
Several airlines had agreed to screen videos warning their passengers against procuring children for sex, before they touched down in notorious red-light holiday destinations.
Also, many countries had taken steps to improve legislation to protect children.
"However, extremely poor law enforcement remains a major problem," Morley said, adding that exploitation of children often went hand-in- hand with corrupt police forces and courts.
"Too often, victims are treated as criminals rather than as victims," she said.
Another problem was the severe lack of rehabilitation and recovery services for children after they are rescued from sexual slavery.
The report urged nations attending the Yokohama conference to
act swiftly on establishing action plans and to improve the enforcement of
current laws.
