International News
Published in ECPAT-USA news
(December 2000)
Japan
Japan is cracking down on child pornography and child sex tourism, using its
extraterritorial laws for the first time. Seven people have been arrested for
child sex offences committed abroad. Five of them are accused of making
pornographic videos of Thai minors.
France
A 48 year-old Frenchman has been sentenced to 7 years prison for the sexual
abuse of an 11year old girl during a sex holiday in Pattaya, Thailand in 1994.
He was the first person to stand trial under France's 1994 extra-territorial
child sex tourism laws. The man was caught because his travelling companion made
a video tape of the sexual encounter. French police have so far investigated 20
child sex tourism cases.
Mauritius
A recently released 1998 report indicates girls aged between 11 and 13 years are
being forced into prostitution in several tourist regions in Mauritius. The
Government is shocked at the organised network that operates by recruiting girls
from poor families, childcare
institutions and local schools, and has promised to take action.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has handed down its harshest sentence to a foreign child sex offender
imprisoning a Norwegian man to 14 years jail.
Cambodia
A 55 year-old British headmaster has been sentenced to 3 years prison for
filming a group of 8 to 10 year-old girls in a sexually explicit manner. The
girls were given money and sweets to be filmed. The sentence is one of the
severest handed down to a foreigner as the Cambodian Government has made a
strong commitment to acting against child sex tourism. The Briton will be
deported after serving his sentence.
Thailand
A 62 year-old Canadian man has been arrested for child sex offences against a 15
year-old boy, after police raided a Bangkok guesthouse suspected of offering sex
services to foreign tourists. The owner was also detained. Education and
declining fertility rates are reducing the number of children engaging in
prostitution in Thailand's northern provinces. An estimated 87.6% of children
are now in high school compared to 27.6% in 1984. Although being a student does
not stop children from being involved in prostitution it limits it. It is
estimated the decline in the number of girls aged 10-19 who are at risk of
becoming child prostitutes will continue for the next 10 years.
However high demand is forcing sex industry operators to find children in other
regions. Children from Myanmar and hill tribe areas are increasingly replacing
Thai children in the sex industry.
India
The Indian guru Sai Baba, with an international following of over 25 million
devotees, is facing allegations of child sexual abuse. Followers are divided
over the growing allegations coming from all parts of the world. It is alleged
boys have been sexually abused by the guru at his
ashram in India during so-called 'special interviews'. The ashram was
established in 1950 and now accommodates 10,000 people. Sai Baba has not been
charged but the sect is being investigated in France, Germany and the US and has
already been shut down in Sweden. Former devotees in Australia have also alleged
abuse.
