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Child
Sexual Exploitation Needs Fight on Many Fronts
By
Suvendrini Kakuchi
YOKOHAMA, Japan, Dec 17 (IPS) - The continued growth of commercial
sexual exploitation needs no less than urgent action on all
its different fronts across the globe, political leaders and
experts said here at the start of a global conference on the
issue Monday .
''Despite five years having passed since Stockholm, the problem
has only grown larger,'' Queen Silvia of Sweden said at the
opening of the Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children, taken part in by some 3,300 government
officials, activists and young people.
The queen, whose country hosted the first world congress in
1996, cited statistics that indicate how there are 125 new child
victims every hour and how the advent of the Internet has encouraged
the massive spread of child pornography and other sexual abuses.
''The commercial sexual exploitation of abuse of children is
nothing less than a form of terrorism - one whose wanton destruction
of young lives and futures must not be tolerated for another
year, another day, another hour,'' added United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) chief Carol Bellamy.
Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka pointed out that political
will could not flag five years after Stockholm, which is credited
for creating awareness on the issue. ''Here in Yokohama, let
us declare to the world our firm resolve to fight against the
commercial sexual exploitation of children,'' Tanaka said.
She was joined by Princess Takamado of Japan and several high-profile
speakers like Japan Minister of Justice Mayumi Moriyama, and
Josephine de Linde of End Child Prostitution and Trafficking
(ECPAT) International.
The speakers outlined issues such as poverty, abuse, denial
to education, and the lack of protection for children's rights,
which have pushed millions of children into becoming victims
of commercial sexual exploitation.
Huge demand, as well as efforts in the last years to control
the problem in some parts of the world, has also encouraged
sex exploiters to reach children in new regions such as East
European countries, India, Mexico, and Africa.
''The proliferation of armed conflict and the displacement of
whole populations, widening disparities within countries and
around the world, increased consumerism, widening of communication
networks including roads, air transport and electronic and satellite
media and connections between individuals and groups - all help
create conditions that fuel rising demand,'' Bellamy added.
But despite the disturbing developments, participants also pointed
to several steps that have marked progress in addressing commercial
sexual exploitation since Stockholm.
One of these is the trend of greater participation by young
people - and the Yokohama congress marks the first time they
have been included as equal participants to the rest of the
attendees. More than 90 children have gathered from more than
20 countries.
A document produced by the youth was presented to the congress
during the opening ceremony Monday.
Reading the document, Japanese youngster Junnosuke Tashiro called
government officials, activists and individuals not to forget
the faces of children who at this moment are dying or facing
horrifying abuse after being forced into providing sexual services
in other countries.
''We have not forgotten the voices of our brothers and sisters.
Let's not fail them - they have been failed in the past,'' he
added.
The children also called for more effective rehabilitation and
re-integration programmes for exploited children, better access
to education and more research and documentation to be produced
by governments and non-governmental organisations on children.
Foremost, however, the children called for equal partnership
in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The speakers also said Yokohama would be a crucial base for
participants to exchange information, share plans for action,
and debate the lessons and difficulties in the five years since
the Stockholm conference.
''The first congress was significant in that it raised awareness
for the first time In Yokohama, the issue is taken a step further,''
said Princess Takamado.
Officials of Japan, host of the congress, also took occasion
to point out ways it has tried to address the problem of commercial
sexual exploitation.
Moriyama pointed to the Child Anti-Pornography Act, and a law
passed in December 1999 aimed at protecting minors by prohibiting
sexual liaisons between adults and children below 18 years old,
as major steps in the right direction.
''The laws help the Japanese understand that the sexual exploitation
of children is wrong. This is a landmark considering deep-rooted
tradition that has been tolerant of the issue,'' she said.
Indeed, the recent trend of 'enjo kosai' or 'compensated dating',
where teenage girls provide sexual services to older men in
exchange for material goods, is an apt illustration of the lack
of moral focus and the emergence of commercialism as a factor
in commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The term, says Maruyama, was actually coined by the male-dominated
Japanese press, and reflects the loose moral standards observed
in Japan.
Society's tolerance of this trend can also be seen in the social
hesitance to describe 'enjo kosai' as prostitution - and the
preference to couch the act as a dating trend instead.
Several other countries too have passed laws to curb the sexual
exploitation of children. One example is the toughening of punishment
for the non-violent molestation of children under 15 years in
France from two to five years, passed in June 1998.
In recent years, new laws were also passed in other countries
that pave the way for their nationals to be tried in home courts
for sexual crimes they committed against children in other countries.
On this however, experts say more experience is probably needed
to gauge its effectiveness not only to curbing abuse in some
countries but internationally as well. ''The jury is still out
on that,'' Bellamy said. (END)
