TravelMole announces Child Wise as official charity

In recent months TravelMole has published a number of articles on this amazing charity and has built an excellent relationship with the team at Child Wise.

You may also recall that last week TravelMole published an invitation to travel industry colleagues living in Brisbane to attend a seminar in Brisbane on the work of Child Wise and these appalling issues on 22 March, 2006 at the Sofitel Brisbane from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. 

We trust that our Brisbane and QLD based colleagues will be able to attend and show their support for Child Wise – please RSVP to [email protected] or phone: (03) 9645 8911 

More information is available on http://www.childwise.net

In the meantime, The Mole has been so appalled at some of the things we have heard about child sex tourism, that The Mole is delighted to announce that Child Wise is to become an official charity partner of TravelMole.

The Mole believes that Travel Mole and our subscribers, being at the coal face of the tourism industry, have a vital role in promoting the safety of children in all countries in the world, through publicising the horrendous issues affecting children in our region in tourism and doing what we can to prevent these occurring. 

The Mole also believes that we all have a responsibility to increase understanding of the relationship between tourism and the sexual exploitation of children, identify incidences of child sex tourism and how the travel industry can respond to concerns and increasing understanding of the Australian child sex tourism law and the travel industries legal requirements under the law.

Sonya Tufnell, Development Manger for Child Wise said, “We are delighted to be TravelMole’s charity partners and we thank TravelMole very much for their offer to work with us in securing support and publicising our work”.

“We are running some Charity Challenges, cycling through Vietnam this year and we look forward to telling TravelMole subscribers all about our activities in regular features over the coming months”.

Sonya added, “We have a very active team that works throughout SE Asia in preventing child sex tourism and we are currently working in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, doing what we can to make tourism safe for children as the focus of the Child Wise Tourism training across South East Asia”.

“Across Asia, hotel staff, taxi drivers, tour guides and travel agents have attended our workshops to learn simple methods to protect children from child sex tourism”.

“We look forward to working with TravelMole subscribers in securing even greater support and preventing the continuation of this horrible business”.

TravelMole urges industry leaders, the movers and shakers of the hotel industry, the travel agencies, the airlines, the wholesalers, the tour operators, etc, etc  to support Child Wise in whatever way they can – please ask The Mole or Child Wise how you can assist, either by emailing [email protected], [email protected]  or phone: (03) 9645 8911

his is an extract from previous TravelMole articles about child sex tourism and how Australians are key perpetrators – for those who have not read it before it may assist you in understanding what child sex tourism is all about.

So, what is child sex tourism all about?  

Well, so that you have no illusions, The Mole will not be as delicate about it as the excellent presenters at the very poorly attended seminar in Sydney last year. 

It is quite simply about a number extremely perverted and The Mole believes very sick Australians (and others from other developed countries) who get their kicks and sexual gratification from travelling to other countries, in our case mainly in Asia, to sexually exploit and have sex with young and often very young children – boys or girls – they behave as the ultimate evil predators and most frequently they are men. 

In case you are having problems getting the real horror of this activity, close your eyes for a few seconds and visualise how really disgusting this is. 

If you have children, nieces or nephews, or you have friends who have young children, imagine this happening to these children. 

Yes, it is disgusting and frightening that these perverts get away with it – well not quite – the Australian Federal Police is right on their trail. 

There are increasing numbers of people who travel from their own country and in particular Australia as tourists or business people to sexually abuse children in another, usually poor and underdeveloped country. 

This practice is called child sex tourism.

Some facts and figures:

§         22 Australians have been charged with child sex tourism offences under Australian law

§         Australians have been the first people charged with child sex offences in Thailand, the Philippines, Fiji, Samoa, Sierra Leone, East Timor and Papua New Guinea

§         It is reported that thousands of Australians are travelling overseas every year to abuse children

§         Australian child sex offenders have been reported in over 25 countries.

Please join us as tourism professionals and leaders, in doing what we can to prevent child sex tourism and protecting the safety of children throughout the region.

Report by The Mole

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