WHAT IS SEX TOURISM?

By Mariel Branagan

Each year, well over a billion people travel internationally. While many are looking to escape, explore, work, relax, and volunteer, a shocking number of them are traveling

all over the world specifically to engage in sexual activity—this is sex tourism.

Many of the consumers cruising for sex are setting out to visit areas of the world where prostitution is legal. Southeast Asian countries have traditionally been the most popular destinations for sex tourists, but locations in East Asia, Central America, and South America have steadily been on the rise.1 By traveling to another place, some

consumers hope to act on their sexual desires without being caught if they purchased sex locally.

Sex tourism is directly related to human trafficking because traveling to other countries for sex increases the demand for

sex workers. Trafficking victims often fill this demand, increasing the number of men, women, and children caught in the web of trafficking and putting money back into the billion-dollar industry. The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.8 million people worldwide trapped in the world of forced sexual exploitation. According to ECPAT International*, an organization dedicated to eliminating child exploitation in travel and tourism, an estimated

250,000 tourists travel each year specifically

to engage in sexual activity with children.2 Add in those going to engage in sex with women and men, and the numbers of buyers, sex workers, and trafficking victims increase.

*ECPAT International was formerly End Child Prostitution & Trafficking. Exploited adults and children are at a higher risk of suffering from homelessness, poverty, all types of abuse, health problems, malnourishment, addictions, and sexually transmitted infections. On an even broader scale, the CDC says that sex tourism is a threat to community health, human emancipation, and gender equality, and increases the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.3

Sex tourists are predominately male and often come from industrialized, wealthy countries, including Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The most common scenario is a male traveling to purchase sex from a female, although female sex tourism, or the act of women going to a different country for sex, occurs as well. As more data is collected, agencies like ECPAT International are drawing attention to the wider variety of situations that may end in child exploitation. While many of the offenders are pedophiles who travel specifically to engage in sexual acts with children, others are businesspeople, voluntourists, transit workers, and even domestic tourists. ECPAT’s 2016 Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism reminds us that it is

essential to remember that offenders can be any type

of person.5

While our awareness of issues like sex tourism is growing, so is the crime itself. Researchers are noting that sex tourism and child exploitation in tourism are outpacing all of our collective efforts to stop it. One major factor in the growth of these crimes is an increase in cheap travel, making more remote areas of the world increasingly accessible. The internet has fueled the growth of sex tourism as well. Numerous websites are dedicated to advertising opportunities for commercial sex. International forums discuss the ins and outs of the crime, while many may even offer sex tour packages.7 Without cooperation

on the part of legislators, activists, companies, and communities, sex tourism will continue to increase.

The United States has enacted several laws that deter citizens from traveling to purchase sex. Most of them are centered around protecting children for exploitation.

For example, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act of 2003 increases the penalties for traveling throughout or outside of the United States to engage in illicit sexual conduct. According to the PROTECT Act, it is a federal crime to engage in illegal sexual conduct in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18, regardless of whether or not the U.S. citizen intended to do so when they began their travels.8 U.S. federal law also makes it clear

that paying for sex with a child under 18 is a crime that can be prosecuted in the United States, even if it is legal in the country where

the crime took place. Buyers are not the only individuals that can be prosecuted by the United States for participating in sex tourism. According to Section 2423(d) of Title 18, U.S. Code, anyone who facilitates travel, knowing that the purpose is to engage in sexual activity with a minor, can be charged with up to 30 years in prison.9 It is essential to have these laws so that people involved in sex tourism can be prosecuted. These laws target the exploitation of children because that crime is easier to define and more universally abhorred. It is much trickier to make

such firm stances against sex tourism that doesn’t involve minors because sex work is legal in some countries and

illegal in others. The lines blur between those who are engaged in sex work of their own volition and trafficking victims. As we fight human trafficking internationally, we can lessen the situations where trafficking victims are being used to supply the demands of sex tourists.

The International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT) has provided several ways the public can help combat sex tourism. First, contact local authorities if you suspect someone is a victim, whether at home or abroad. Second, support the work that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other various agencies do to protect people, including children, from sexual exploitation. In addition to supporting different agencies, supporting businesses that help victims gain safe employment and education is imperative. IAMAT also recommends researching the reputation of a resort or hotel before booking accommodations, as the location may unknowingly or knowingly be supporting or facilitating sex tourism and trafficking.10

The sex tourism industry, which contributes to the crime of human trafficking, can be combatted through education and awareness, prevention and response efforts, training, legislation, and community engagement both at home and abroad.

1 Magill, A.J. (2017, October 27). Implications of Sexual Tourism. IAMAT: Travel Health Journal. Retrieved from https://www.iamat.org/blog/implications-of-sexual-tourism/ 2 Magill, A.J. (2017, October 27). Implications of Sexual Tourism. IAMAT: Travel Health Journal. Retrieved from https://www.iamat.org/blog/implications-of-sexual-tourism/ 3 Sex Tourism. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https:// wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/sex-tourism 4 Andrews, S.K. (2004). U.S. Domestic Prosecution of the American International Sex Tourist: Efforts to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 94 (2). 415-454. doi: 0091-4169/04/9402-0415 5 ECPAT International. (2016). Offenders on the Move: Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism. Retrieved from https:// protectingchildrenintourism.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ex-Summary-for-Offenderson-the-Move_ENG.pdf 6 ECPAT International. (2016). Offenders on the Move: Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism. Retrieved from https:// protectingchildrenintourism.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ex-Summary-for-Offenderson-the-Move_ENG.pdf 7 Andrews, S.K. (2004). U.S. Domestic Prosecution of the American International Sex Tourist: Efforts to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 94 (2). 415-454. doi: 0091-4169/04/9402-0415 8 U.S. Department of State. Crimes Against Minors Abroad. Retrieved from https://travel. state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/arrest-detention/crimesagainst-minors.html 9 U.S. Department of Justice. (2015). Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on the Extraterritorial Sexual Exploitation of Children. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/ criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-extraterritorial-sexual-exploitation-children 10 Magill, A.J. (2017, October 27). Implications of Sexual Tourism. IAMAT: Travel Health Journal. Retrieved from https://www.iamat.org/blog/implications-of-sexual-tourism/