NCFC/ILO recruit media in fight against CSEC
The results of a survey conducted in Belize a couple years ago revealed that in addition to child abuse, the country’s children were also regular victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The issue is a complex one as unlike child abuse, CSEC has its roots in poverty and for many victims and their families it is a means of survival. Tonight News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports on how governments and organizations are tackling this problem.
Victim of CSEC (ILO Documentary)
Some friends led me into that life, they told me: life is free and I thought the same. You’re with a man and he gives you five, ten dollars and that’s enough to eat.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
Elizabeth is from Panama, but her plight of sexual exploitation as related in this documentary is experienced by adolescents in many other countries, including Belize.
Nidia Zuniga, ILO Project Officer, Costa Rica
“It’s very complex because it’s multi-factoral. We have children that have been victims of violence, children that are in poverty, children that are being taken advantage of from those situations to engage them in commercial sex. There is a demand side of it. There are adults that are willing to make money out of commercial sex with children and also there is a market for it, there are children willing to pay money for these kinds of sexual relations.”
Statistics from the International Labour Office and Interpol say that commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is the third most profitable criminal activity in the world … and now governments and organizations are fighting back.
Nidia Zuniga
“Ten years ago, this subject wasn’t even discussed, but now we can proudly say that we have government involved in it; that the issue is in the regional and local agendas and that states are learning how to tackle this from prosecuting to caring for victims.”
Belize’s efforts to deal with CSEC include becoming a part of the ILO project, Contribution to the prevention of sexual exploitation in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, which seeks to strengthen the institutional response of countries.
Nidia Zuniga
“We have created a care model that is being implemented by Y.E.S. in Belize City and the Cayo District and that helps children go out of CSEC and stay out of CSEC sustainably. And it has education, strengthening of the family, alternatives for making some money that doesn’t let children have to be bought for sex and get paid for that.”
Legislation is also in the works in the form of a CSEC Prohibition Bill, which intends to make the practice a crime and give support and care to victims. Pearl Stuart is the newly appointed Director of the National Committee for Families and Children.
Pearl Stuart, Director, NCFC
“To me this is one of the worst areas of un-protection to the child being perpetrated upon by adults and parents that should in fact be protecting them and ensuring their rights. It is my hope that this legislation will be passed as quickly as possible but making sure that we fine tune it to the point where we have no loopholes, we have not gaps, when we take this individual to court they will in fact be prosecuted properly.”
But the law is only one aspect of combating CSEC, the others are educating the public, changing attitudes towards children, and advocacy … which is where the media comes in. This morning the N.C.F.C. and ILO hosted a half-day workshop for media personnel from TV, radio, and newspaper to educate them on CSEC and in the process, recruit them as allies.
Pearl Stuart
“I think one reason we wanted to have this is to sensitize and to share information and knowledge with the media that in fact CSEC does exist.”
Nidia Zuniga
“If journalists start to get interested in the subject, point out who the responsible are, that the children are not the responsible ones, help us get a law bill approved that would prosecute the people that are paying for sex with children and also that are recruiting them and that are making money out of it, then this would be a lot of help.”
And to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children, these organizations need all the help they can get. Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
Because there are currently no laws against commercial sexual exploitation, perpetrators are usually only charged with carnal knowledge, human trafficking, or procurement.
