'Data on child prostitution in RI difficult to obtain'
BEIJING (JP): Unicef has cited the difficulty of obtaining data on child prostitution in Indonesia as one of the factors hampering its efforts to deal more effectively with the growing problem, an organization official said.
Pratima Kale, the United Nations Children's Fund's director for East Asia and the Pacific region, spoke yesterday of the causes and the dire consequences of child prostitution and trafficking.
She spoke of the need to network and establish cooperation with governments, non-governmental organizations and other parties to handle the problem of getting enough data to plan strategies of intervention.
"We don't have official data on the problem in Indonesia," she said, pointing out that the issue is sensitive because of the stigma it carries and the links it has with questions of economic growth. However, she added, "it's not our intention to embarrass any government."
Two other agency officials, Dr. Saisuree Chutikul of Thailand and Lisbet Palme of Sweden, also explained that the ongoing Fourth World Conference on Women, and the planned adoption of the Platform for Action, will contribute significantly to helping exploited children.
Cultural factors
Chutikul, whose country is a favorite among foreign pedophiles entering as tourists, named poverty and the deeply-rooted cultural factors such as greed, consumerism and "breastmilk money" as contributing to the increasing incidence of child prostitution.
Breastmilk money is the term used to characterize the tradition of urging Thai children to work in order to pay their parents back.
Tourism accelerates the condition, she said, which looks more like "organized crime" given the tight network of those sexually exploiting children.
"Many street children, especially boys, are serving pedophiles visiting our country," Chutikul admitted.
The officials agreed that the problem occurs in all countries.
"We need to keep on trying for the sake of the children who are exploited in the name of sex tourism," Kale said.
"What we need to do is to increase the penalties against those who commit sexual relationship with a minor, and the police who collaborate with the procurers, and even the parents" who force their children into prostitution, Chutikul said.
The three speakers agreed that in many cases, laws against the crime are insufficient or poorly enforced. Chutikul recalled the case of a Swedish man found guilty of having sex with an underage girl who was only sentenced to three months in jail.
"Many countries are having problems in terms of establishing judicial processes for people who sexually abuse children, many of the existing laws are outdated," Palme said. "And the bail for such an offense is so cheap."
Palme also spoke of the difficulties to legally snare offenders once they leave the countries where they commit the crimes due to the lack of extradition agreements among countries.
Sweden and Germany already have such laws, while Belgium, France and Britain are currently preparing similar measures. "Enforcement, however, is another question," Kale said, stating that "it's an economic problem as well', given the amount of money involved.
Kale also pointed out how costly the growing problem is, especially in relation to the high risk of infecting the children with the HIV/AIDS.
Cost
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the deadly Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome will cost Thailand, for instance, around US$800 billion in health services annually, she said.
More than one million children worldwide are reportedly forced into the sex market annually--a multi-billion dollar industry that subjects children "to a crushing form of exploitation".
Commercial sexual exploitation, Kale pointed out, endangers children's mental and physical health and impairs aspects of their development. "It's one of the worst violations of their basic human rights," she said.
Unicef reported that around the world, children as young as five are treated like commodities; they are bargained for, smuggled and sold. Many are kidnapped and tricked into brothels by promises of legitimate employment.
"In the age of HIV/AIDS, the sexual demand for younger children, who are the most vulnerable, is growing," the report said.
The government of Sweden, Unicef, End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism and several other organizations plan to hold the World Congress on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm next August. (swe)