Stop Child Prostitution in Sri Lanka!
Sri Lanka is definitely one of the most visited places in Asia. Whether you’re after white sand beaches, or mountain trekking, or cultural city tours, Sri Lanka always has something to offer. And that’s why it’s no surprise if tourists are flocking.
Great. But where there’s tourism, the oldest trade in human history always seems to loom. And in Sri Lanka, thousands are being lured into prostitution, majority of which are young boys. It’s reaching alarming levels, so much so that the UNICEF has launched a two year campaign against child sex tourism.
The campaign will target tourists, children and adolescents, hoteliers, journalists, families and community leaders with the message that there is ‘zero tolerance’ for child sex tourism. As well as mass media campaigns on television, radio and in newspapers, messages will be relayed to tourists through a range of devices: in-flight magazines and videos, billboards, posters, car-stickers and flyers. Legal penalties for the sexual exploitation of children range from five to 20 years imprisonment.
I have to admit that in any big city in Asia, prostitution is a flourishing industry. But child prostitution? I have zero tolerance for such abuse! IHT says they will be launching ads and video clips about the campaign. If I can get hold of them, I’ll surely publish them here in this weblog. These child molesters are the one group of people I am not inviting to visit Asia!
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POSTED IN: General : Asia Travel
3 opinions for Stop Child Prostitution in Sri Lanka!
SH
Jul 1, 2006 at 4:11 pm
It is alarming that such a popular tourist spot as Sri Lanka would condone child prostitution. It’s very disappointing. They need to clean up their act.
Sathya
Sep 26, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Being a Sri Lankan native, but Canadian Citizen how MUCH can we do to stop this? I’ve been donating through unicef for the past two years. Is the money really going to the prevention of this?? With the civil war against the Army and Tamil Tigers, it is hard to trust where the funds are really distributed.
Ruth
Oct 18, 2006 at 3:48 pm
hello sathya, apologies for the late response. i’d like to believe that the UNICEF is fairly trustworthy. of course, with the ongoing conflict over there, issues like these might go to the backburner for a while. it’s a matter of setting the priorities, and in developing countries, it’s not an easy task, when everything seems to need urgent help.
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