Bali a haven for foreign pedophiles, report says<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n
Pedophile rings of Australians, Europeans and Americans are
\noperating freely on the Indonesian island of Bali and pretend to
\nadopt or foster poverty-stricken children to abuse them, a new
\nreport claimed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Australian child advocacy group Child Wise said children on
\nBali's streets had reported networks of thousands of foreign men
\npreying on them, working together and sharing the children.<\/p>\n
The Melbourne-based group said Bali had became more vulnerable
\nto pedophiles following the car bombings 18 months ago which
\nclaimed 202 lives, including 88 Australians.<\/p>\n
\"Significant child prostitution industries are created when
\ncommunities are vulnerable and we felt Bali was particularly
\nvulnerable,\" Child Wise national director Bernadette McMenamin
\ntold AFP.<\/p>\n
The release of the report followed the arrest in Indonesia
\nlast month of former Australian diplomat William Brown on child
\nsex charges involving two Balinese boys aged 13 and 15.<\/p>\n
About two years ago, HIV\/AIDS outreach workers on the resort
\nisland said children on the street were talking more about
\nforeign pedophiles, saying they were connected, they knew each
\nother and that they had developed lists of children to target,
\nMcMenamin said.<\/p>\n
She said there were also reports of pedophiles meeting in the
\nneighboring island of Lombok to the east of Bali, \"abusing kids
\nand hanging out there.\"<\/p>\n
The group later sent a researcher to the island to interview
\nchildren, tourists, expatriates, government and tourism officials
\nculminating in a report which has been given to Australian
\nJustice Minister Chris Ellison.<\/p>\n
\"We can sound the alarms and they must act,\" McMenamin said.<\/p>\n
She said pedophiles were choosing Bali because there had been
\nvery few arrests and unlike Bangkok and Cambodia, the child sex
\nindustry was hidden.<\/p>\n
\"It's much more in the villages, in the community. Pedophiles
\nare moving into communities sponsoring or supporting poor
\nfamilies and exploiting their kids. That's how they groom,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"They embed themselves in communities where they feel safe and
\nprotected.\"<\/p>\n
She said the Indonesian government had acknowledged Bali was
\nvulnerable to pedophiles and that child sex tourism was
\nincreasing. There is also evidence that some pedophile networks
\nwere organizing sex tours.<\/p>\n
McMenamin said police caught an Australian man last year who
\nwas promoting child sex tours to Thailand.<\/p>\n
\"He received 3,000 calls within two weeks, I think this
\nindicates the level of demand,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Child Wise said Australians were well known as child sex
\nabusers in southeast Asia and \"conservatively estimate\" that more
\nthan 2,000 travel overseas each year to exploit children.\"<\/p>\n
Last month the group launched a regional campaign, which has
\nUnited Nations approval, to educate travellers and tourism
\nofficials about stopping the spread of child exploitation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bali-a-haven-for-foreign-pedophiles-report-says-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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