CHAPTER 3
staff of local businesses catering to tourists. In Japan girls arrange their enjokosai encounters with older men, arguing that they are rebelling against social norms.220 A major study in the UK found that gangs and bullying led many children and adolescents into situations of exploitation.221 Numerous reports of peers and siblings talking children into involvement in SECTT appear in the research undertaken for the Global Study.
Implications for Policy and Action The contexts faced by children across the world are complex and differ from country to country, affecting children differently at different stages of their lives. There is no silver bullet capable of overcoming these many factors; interventions must be tailored to address the wide variety of circumstances that increase children’s vulnerability. • Prevention: o Broader and more effective programmes to alleviate poverty and ensure that children have access to food, social services and education o More programmes offering parenting education and care strategies for families including single-parent OV\ZLOVSKZ MHJPUN KPMђJ\S[PLZ o Intensive efforts to promote inclusive societies and overcome discrimination • Education: o Redoubled efforts to inform vulnerable children and their families about the different pathways leading to SECTT and outcomes of involvement, especially in communities where cultural traditions exacerbate children’s vulnerability V 0U[LUZPђLK LMMVY[Z ^P[O MHTPSPLZ HUK JVTT\UP[PLZ to overcome cultural biases that devalue girls, and society-wide education on gender equality. • Services: Ensure the availability of care and support services for all child victims of SECTT, including boys and young children
CONTEXT OF OFFENDERS There is growing recognition that efforts to curb demand for SECTT require an adequate understanding of the VMMLUKLYZϦ WYVђSLZ HUK [OL JOVPJLZ [OL` THRL .HPUPUN such an understanding is a challenge when, as the L]PKLUJL NH[OLYLK MVY [OL .SVIHS :[\K` JVUђYTZ [OLYL is no such thing as a ‘typical’ offender. Some may be paedophiles, but most are not. They may be foreign or domestic, young or old. Some are women, and a few may be other children. But the one thing they certainly have in common is ever-greater opportunities to exploit children, especially in environments where corruption is rife and impunity is the rule.222
Offenders may have different motivations for sexually exploiting children – many of them linked to the power imbalances outlined in the next section. However, research by La Strada in Ukraine has pointed to impunity as a key determinant: analysis of the forums used by [YH]LSSPUN JOPSK ZL_ VMMLUKLYZ MV\UK [OL` ^LYL JVUђKLU[ that they would escape justice.223
4U Y[IN ZNOTM GY G ڛZ_VOIGR ڜUߛKTJKX 6GKJUVNORKY VXKLKXKTZOGR UߛKTJKXY GTJ YOZ[GZOUTGR UߛKTJKXY ;OL L]PKLUJL NH[OLYLK MVY [OL .SVIHS :[\K` ђUKZ that travelling child sex offenders do not fall into neat categories. Paedophiles and preferential offenders remain grave risks – looking for and exploiting every possible means to gain access to children – and this is emphasised across the research. Preferential perpetrators are individuals who travel with the deliberate purpose of having sex with children. A proportion of these are paedophiles who, according to the World Health Organization, have a sexual preference for children, usually of pre-pubertal or early pubertal age.224 Usually considered to be suffering from a clinical disorder, the paedophile may not show any preference for the gender of children and may not view sexual contact with children as harmful.225 However, the evidence also points to the presence of ‘situational’ offenders, who travel with no intention of HI\ZPUN H JOPSK `L[ ђUK [OLTZLS]LZ PU HU LU]PYVUTLU[ where SECTT is seen as normal, and where the risk of arrest – or of any personal consequence for the damage caused – is non-existent.226 They usually have no exclusive sexual inclination towards children and commit their crimes when the opportunity arises, generally targeting children who have already reached puberty.227 The Africa report notes that: (ڠZ H NYV\W [OH[ PZ ULP[OLY ZWLJPߚJHSS` H[[YHJ[LK [V JOPSKYLU UVY ^PSSPUN [V LUNHNL PU [OL JVTTLYJPHS ZL_\HS L_WSVP[H[PVU VM JOPSKYLU \UKLY L]LY` JPYJ\TZ[HUJL [OLYL HYL HZWLJ[Z VM [OLPY ILOH]PV\Y [OH[ JHUUV[ IL L_WSHPULK I` [OLZL YLSH[P]LS` ڜZ[HISL ڝWLYZVUHS [YHP[Z ;OPZ YLHSP[` [OLYLMVYL JHSSZ M\Y[OLY PU[V X\LZ[PVU [OL H[[LTW[Z [V L_WSHPU [OL WLYWL[YH[VYZ ڝHJ[PVUZ I` KLߚUPUN [OLPY WYVߚSLZ ڡ228
No ‘typical’ age group Some studies in Latin America have tried to characterise exploiters by age and profession, but this OHZ WYV]LK KPMђJ\S[ 229 In Brazil, for example, a study by Promundo showed that exploiters were younger HUK ђYZ[ OHK ZL_ H[ H `V\UNLY HNL [OHU UVU L_WSVP[LYZ undermining the myth that those who have sex with children in Brazil are always older men.230
OFFENDERS ON THE MOVE
53