South Africa Gives the Red Card to Child Sex Tourism

Friday, 24 May, 2010 0

Cape Town Spearheads the Tourism Child Protection Code

Cape Town Tourism last week hosted a workshop for member hospitality establishments on the Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct.

The Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct aims to protect the safety of children and prevent the effects of child sex tourism – including human trafficking, child pornography and child prostitution.

In South Africa, the Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct was launched in Johannesburg on 9 May 2010 by Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) who has been tasked with being the driving force behind the initiative, in partnership with funding and advisory partners, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

In Cape Town, awareness and implementation of the Code is being encouraged by Cape Town Tourism together with FTTSA. A formal launch date for Cape Town will be set ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ as soccer fans prepare to bring their Euros, Dollars and Pounds into the country providing short term temptation to the vulnerable and less fortunate.

Tourism businesses of all kinds are encouraged to join the cause and fight against the exploitation of minors in South Africa, and Cape Town. Those businesses that choose to embrace the responsible tourism culture and implement the Code will have to commit to certain measures, namely:

To establish an ethical corporate policy regarding the sexual exploitation of children;
To train establishment personnel in prevention measures and Code contact personnel;
To introduce clauses in supplier contracts stating a common alliance against the exploitation of minors.
To provide information and help centre details to key people at the tourist destination as well as to travellers; and
To report back annually on incidents and progress.

CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Mariette du-Toit Helmbold, said “We cannot turn a blind eye and just focus on the pretty postcard pictures of a destination. There is a dark underbelly in tourism, whether we like it or not. And that underbelly needs to be exposed and proactively dealt with,” she continued, ”When people travel, with the intention of exploiting women and children, it becomes a matter of interest not just for tourism but also for society and the law. Exploitation of this sort is a global problem, but it often goes hand in hand with developing societies such as ours and should be a concern for anyone involved in the tourism industry.

Our message is simple: If you are going to make yourself guilty of irresponsible behavior, you are not welcome! We now have the South African government, Fair Trade in Tourism, as well as members behind this message, not just for June and July 2010, but increasingly going forward”.

FTTSA Executive Director, Jennifer Seif told Vision on Sustainable Tourism that approximately 25 leading South African hotel and travel companies are in the process of signing the Code. "The response from industry has been overwhelmingly positive," said Seif. The first group of signatories will be announced immediately prior to kick off. "FTTSA will continue to facilitate signing of the Code by industry long after the whistle has blown, and we expect a stronger commitment to child protection in tourism to be a concrete legacy of the 2010 event."

Seif told Vision that the campaign to prevent child sex tourism will reach hundreds of thousands of World Cup visitors and fans through partnerships with hotels, car hire companies, retailers and other organizations.

Related material targeting parents and children will be disseminated to the tourism and hospitality workforce, which Seif views as critical to building a culture of child protection. "The travel and tourism industry is uniquely positioned in the fight to prevent child exploitation," says Seif. "The tourism private sector is able to empower staff to take action in the workplace and, more importantly perhaps, in their communities while simultaneously appealing to tens millions of tourists (including domestic tourists) to report suspicious behaviour."

According to Seif campaigning will continue post 2010 in partnership with industry and key partners including South African Tourism and Cape Town Tourism.

Valere Tjolle

Valere

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