|
In
the Light of Child Rights
Volume V Issue 2 April 1999
" … the
national bourgeoisie organises centres of rest and relaxation and pleasure
resorts to meet their wishes of the Western bourgeoisie, such activities
is given the name of tourism and for the occasion will be built up as
a national industry….
The national
middle class will have nothing better to do than to take on the role
of manager for western enterprises, and it will in practice set up its
country as the brothel of Europe." Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the
Earth. T here is a saying that childhood is coated with "sugar and spice
and everything nice". It's a period of joy, sports, games and unbound
growth. But in the poignant Third World reality, an estimated 250 million
children have to bear the burden of survival almost from the day they
learn to walk.
 Child
exploitation is not a new term for Third World Countries. Society and
the law enforcing agencies have recognised the existence of the exploitation
of children. Steps are being taken to address the issue. Continuous
campaigns are made to make people aware of the problem and it's magnitude.
Laws have been established to regulate child labour starting with the
Employment of Children Act, 1938. The act was repealed and replaced
by the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. Different
groups are working to reduce the incidence of child Labour. It is being
debated as the denial of Child Rights- the exploitation of childhood
and dignity.
Child Rights
Abuse - from the known to the hidden Among the conventional forms of
child abuse, child labour is well recognised today. But the most base
form of modern child abuse Paedophilia - still goes unrecognized. The
modern tourism industry, which promotes this act, is not scrutinized
for the role it plays.
The nexus between child prostitution and the tourism industry is no
more a hazy domain. In the Statement on the Prevention of Organised
Sex Tourism, the 11th General Assembly of World Tourism Organisation
(WTO), held in Cairo in 1995 says it "denounces and condemns in particular
child sex tourism, considering it a violation of Article 34 of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989) and requiring strict
legal action by tourist sending and receiving countries.
" Policy guidelines state that tourism must contribute to the better
understanding between different cultures and to economic development.
In reality we find that tourism is neither a tool for cultural exchange
nor is it an ideal model for economic development. It has been observed
in several countries like Philippines, Thailand and Srilanka that the
unchecked or unquestioned growth of tourism can't escape from exploiting
people.
The problems are there to be seen. It has taken a long time for NGOs
and other interest groups to point out the negative impacts of modern
tourism and bring them into focus. It has taken an equally long time
for these groups to make the Tourism industry acknowledge it's impacts.
It is the product of this relentless pressure on the tourism industry
that the National Associations of Travel Agents and Tour Operators within
the European Union castigated any form of sexual exploitation of children
and pledged never to promote tours with paedophile purposes.
Many international Tourism organisations have passed resolutions and
have declared their willingness to cooperate with the authorities in
countering child sex abuse at all levels. Some of these declarations
are:
- The
Children's and Travel Agents' Charter approved by the Universal Federation
of Travel Agent' Associations (UFTAA);
- the
End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism resolution of the International
Hotel Association (IHA);
- and
resolutions on prostitution in tourism drawn up by the International
Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and
allied Workers' Associations;
- the
International Federation of Tour Operators.
While
the above resolutions remain on paper, over one million children in
Asia alone are victims of the tourism industry and their clients
Indian
Tourism and Paedophilia While the international tourism industry
has acknowledged the problem of paedophilia to a certain extent, their
counterparts in India are yet to pay any heed to the problem. Tourism
has been given the status of an industry in India. Tourism is seen to
be a prime source of foreign exchange and a panacea to all the economic
ills of a developing country. Most of the States have incorporated tourism
in their development strategies. Beaches are being thrown open to tourism.
Special Tourism Areas are being demarcated in the most environmentally
sensitive region - the coastal region of India. The economic arguments
in favour of tourism development have led policy-makers into ignoring
the social costs associated with tourism.
The National Women's Commission has found that Bangalore is one of the
five major cities, which supplies 80 percent of the child prostitutes
in the country. Based upon this finding, when the Karnataka State Commission
for Women tried to investigate it further, they stumbled upon a major
smuggling gang whereby girls from impoverished rural families were lured
to Goa and pushed into the flesh trade. The coastal areas in Calangute,
Candolin and Baga in Goa have been converted into a paedophiles' paradise.
Kovalam in Kerala, Mahabalipuram in Tamilnadu are also following in
the same footsteps.
While efforts are being made by NGOs and the Women's Commission to address
the issue adequately, the Law enforcing agencies are still pretending
to be ignorant of the presence of child Sexual abuse in India. The issue
of Paedophilia gained prominence in India only after the arrest of Freddy
Peats in 1991. He was charged with forcing boys into homosexual activities
and for possessing drugs and pornographic material. Freddy Peats who
claims to be an Anglo-Indian has been a resident of Goa for over a decade.
Investigations, after his arrest, revealed that Peats had been operating
a paedophile den where boys between 6-16 years were forced into prostitution
catering mainly to German tourists.
The
role of State Mechanism: The Indian Government has on paper ratified
and accepted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 35
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that "all appropriate
national, bilateral and multinational measures will be taken by the
state to prevent abduction, sale, trafficking, and coercion to engage
in unlawful sexual activity and forms of exploitation such as prostitution,
pornographic performances". The convention also states that all children
must receive the opportunity to discover their identity and realise
their self worth in a safe and supportive environment.
The intent and purpose of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
have not been incorporated in any Government Policy that would put an
end to child prostitution. India is not immune to the problems of tourism
related development. Existing State mechanism have to acknowledge the
enormity of the problem and the shortage of applicable laws addressing
trafficking in girls and boys and other abuses typical of the sex industry.
Greater political will, more effective enforcement and adequate allocation
of resources are needed to give effect to the spirit and letter of existing
laws and conventions, policies and programmes. If the Government is
not implementing these, then it is covertly abetting in the exploitation
of the child.
The
role of other actors: Here lies the role of other actors in addressing
the issue adequately. It is not an easy task to procure facts and figures
to understand the issue due to its disguised and shrouded forms. The
role of Family, Educational Institutions, Local Governance and Media,
particularly in the tourist areas where children are vulnerable to this
abuse can not be ignored.
Family rears the child first, who as an infant enjoys a long period
of dependency, the family is the most effective initial agent to address
the issue. Therefore it becomes important for the parents and elders
to be sufficiently sensitised to understand the problem and act accordingly
with sympathy and compassion.
Teachers and Educational Institutions should be sensitised and equipped
to handle the problem. Educational institutions should create a friendly
atmosphere for the students to feel free to speak of any aberrant behaviour
they experience outside or inside the campus. The platform to tackle
the issue of Child Prostitution effectively starts at the Panchayats,
Municipalities and Corporations. They should foster close cooperation
and coordination with NGOs and other interest groups to plan, implement
and evaluate measures, coupled with campaigns to mobilise local people
to fight against this evil of the Tourism Industry. The media should
not shrug away from its responsibility of providing a platform for advocacy.
There is a need for a continuous campaign to keep the issue alive. While
the media, NGO's, Panchayats, Schools, Colleges and the Government are
players…the issue will not be resolved till the people take it on.
To
quote the Chilean Poet, Gabriel Mistral:
" We are guilty of many errors and many faults but our worst crime is
abandoning our children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the
things we need can wait. The child cannot."
|
