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1 COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT JULY 2010

2 The trafficking of children for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation is one of the most significant human rights abuses in contemporary society. The survey and report on Community Attitudes on Child Sex Trafficking was supported by the generous donation of Intrepid Travel. Child Wise PO Box 451, South Melbourne, VIC, 3205, Australia. Ph: (03) Fax: (03) Website: The Body Shop Australia Cnr Jacksons Rd & Wellingtons Roads, Mulgrave, VIC, Ph: (03) Website:

3 Contents The Body Shop Child Wise Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia, Monash Universty The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign i ii iii iv Executive Summary: The Survey 1 Executive Summary: Recommendations 2 Introduction 3 Background on Child Sex Trafficking 4 Australia and Child Sex Trafficking 5 The Survey: Community Attitudes on Child Sex Trafficking 6 Purpose of the Survey 6 Survey Method 6 Survey Sample 7 Survey Limitations 8 Survey Findings: Community Attitudes on Child Sex Trafficking 9 Community Knowledge of Child Sex Trafficking 9 Sources of Information on Child Sex Trafficking 10 Concern about Child Sex Trafficking 11 Government Responses to Child Sex Trafficking 13 Knowing How to Respond to Suspicions or Concerns 14 Recommendations 15 References 17

4 The Body Shop The Body Shop is the original natural and ethical beauty company. The Body Shop creates products using the finest natural ingredients sourced ethically from communities all over the world. The Body Shop run their business based on a belief that they can be both profitable and a force for positive social and environmental change. The Body Shop campaigns are at the forefront of our way of doing business. Campaigning is not new to The Body Shop, for over 20 years they have demonstrated commitment to raising awareness and calling for change on many important social and environmental issues. Their campaign philosophy is based on the belief that change will only come when decision makers are informed and inspired to act in ways, which deliver long lasting, permanent solutions. Through more than 2,500 stores in 64 countries, The Body Shop can speak to millions of customers and make our collective voice heard where it will have the greatest impact. The Body Shop are pleased to be working with a new global partner, ECPAT International to launch the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign. The original inspiration for the campaign came from The Body Shop Founder, the late Dame Anita Roddick who, in 2007, took great interest in the issue of human trafficking. Anita s passion and determination to make a difference led The Body Shop to investigate the issue and discover the extent to which children and young people were affected. Despite the alarming number of children exposed to unimaginable acts of cruelty in every region and country in the world, public awareness appeared extremely low. It was clear that the international community should be doing much more to protect children and young people. We canvassed almost 18,000 of our customers across Australia between September 2009 to produce this Community Attitudes On Sex Trafficking Of Children & Young People Survey Report. We feel it represents the thoughts and feelings of the broader community especially women, on this important issue. The Body Shop wants to be an active part of the community locally and globally and this is why it is essential to campaign on this critical human rights issue. The way forward is clear, governments,businesses and individuals must do more to Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People. Mark Kindness Chief Executive The Body Shop Australia COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT i

5 Child Wise Child Wise is Australia s leading international child protection charity. Part of ECPAT International, a global network composed of more than 80 member organisations in 70 countries around the world, Child Wise works in a variety of ways to combat commercial sexual exploitation, including providing direct care to child victims, running public information campaigns and working with governments to protect children. Child Wise knows that the biggest threat to children s futures is abuse. It destroys lives. Child Wise is dedicated to protecting children from abuse and exploitation in Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Child Wise seeks to prevent child abuse by fostering greater awareness and understanding of the issue, as well as providing the tools and strategies for individuals, organisations and communities to address the problem. Child Wise programs are child-focused, and informed by a belief that children have a fundamental right to physical and psychological safety, and that individuals, communities and governments have the capacity and responsibility to protect children. Through counselling, advocacy, community education, research and training, Child Wise works to eradicate abuse and enhance the well-being of children. This report shows that Australians do not know how to report suspicions of child sex offenders and that Australians want more to be done to combat child sex trafficking. An ongoing education campaign is clearly needed to educate the Australian community on how to report suspicions of child sex offenders who travel overseas. Community-based international development programs that focus on prevention and protection against child sexual exploitation are also needed. The problem is growing and efforts have not been effective so far. More needs to be done to stop the supply and demand of child sex trafficking and to protect children from sexual exploitation. Bernadette McMenamin AO Chief Executive Officer for Child Wise Australia COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT ii

6 Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia, Monash University Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia (CAPRA) was established as a joint initiative between the Australian Childhood Foundation and the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University. The Research Centre emphasises the right of children to be heard and respected. Recent research has included: Children s voices on abuse, therapeutic and support services (The Truth is Longer than a Lie by Neerosh Mudaly and Chris Goddard, published by Jessica Kingsley); The cost of child abuse (in collaboration with Access Economics and the Australian Childhood Foundation); and Children s views on physical punishment (Physical Punishment in Childhood by Bernadette Saunders and Chris Goddard, published by Wiley). The Director, Professor Chris Goddard, together with Professor Linda Briskman and Susie Latham, won the 2008 Human Rights Non-fiction Award for Human Rights Overboard (published by Scribe). Current research includes evaluations of therapeutic responses to child abuse, and a study into the murder of children. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT iii

7 The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign is a global initiative being implemented by The Body Shop International in partnership with ECPAT International, Child Wise s international peak body. The entire The Body Shop network across 64 countries is supporting the campaign against child sex trafficking, which was launched simultaneously in 45 countries in In November 2008, The Body Shop and ECPAT participated in the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children, in Brazil, introducing the world s leading experts on the issue, international governments, NGOs and activists to the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign. The campaign promotes specific actions to reduce the vulnerability of children to sex trafficking while also enhancing the protective environment for trafficked children and the assistance measures to which any child victim is entitled. This work on prevention, protection and rehabilitation will be implemented in both countries of destination, transit and origin, will be conducted at various levels, and will involve all actors concerned, including children and young people. Together, The Body Shop and ECPAT have identified three campaign goals and are calling for all states to take action immediately on their existing commitments. The campaign goals are: As part of the initiative in Australia, Child Wise and The Body Shop announced a three-year campaign partnership to Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People. The broad aims of the campaign are to: raise awareness of the global scale of the issue and its relevance to Australia and the Asia-Pacific region; raise funds for children at risk of being trafficked and those already exploited by sex trafficking; and inspire those with decision-making power to effect change and offer better protection for all children. More specifically, the campaign aims to engage the local community to take action against the sex trafficking of children for commercial gain. On 14 September 2009, the initial three-week campaign program was launched in Australia and focused on raising awareness of the issue in the community through in-store campaigning and the distribution of information booklets. During this period, customers were also invited to participate in The Body Shop s and Child Wise s Community Attitude Survey on Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People, which was available at all The Body Shop stores across the country. The survey, representing the first research on attitudes towards child sex trafficking in Australia, aimed to assess community attitudes and opinions on child sex trafficking and related issues relevant to Australia, such as child sex tourism (CST). To ensure that community-based prevention programs to stop trafficking of children and young people are reaching at-risk populations; To ensure that international legal standards for protecting children and young people from trafficking have been incorporated in the national legal framework; and That specialised government services for children and young people who are victims of trafficking are integrated into national policies. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT iv

8 Executive Summary: The Survey Almost 18,000 Australians completed the survey. The respondents came from every Australian state and territory. Key Findings: There was a high level of awareness of people trafficking (91%). Almost three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed were aware that children are trafficked for sex. Almost one in eight (12%) people surveyed were not aware that children were trafficked for sex. Overall, men had lower awareness levels than women. Of those who had prior knowledge of child sex trafficking, 48% gained their information about the issue from the media. The Body Shop s and Child Wise s, Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign was the next most common source of information. Of those who learned of the issue through the media, television (41%), newspapers (17%), magazines (12%), and the Internet (11%) were the most common sources. 91% of respondents expressed concern about child sex trafficking. 61% described themselves as feeling strongly about the issue. Respondents were extremely concerned about the impact of sex trafficking on victims (94%). They also felt strongly about demand for child sex trafficking caused by Australians sexually exploiting children overseas (91%) and by Australians accessing child pornography (92%). The lack of prosecution for offenders was also of significant concern (93%). Three-quarters (73%) believed that the Australian government should do more to tackle the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. The actions that the community preferred the Government to focus on were: better services for victims; prevention through community education; increased detection and prosecution of Australians who sexually exploit children; and increased detection and prosecution of traffickers. A major concern was that more than two-third of respondents (68.8%) did not know what action to take if they became aware of a possible case of child sexual exploitation overseas. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 1

9 Therefore, this lack of knowledge about to whom and how to report child sexual exploitation overseas is a clear priority area for education and awareness campaigns in Australia and overseas. Executive Summary: Recommendations There is an urgent need for: The Government to fund an ongoing education campaign and support service which helps Australians to identify and report suspicions or concerns about child sex offenders who travel overseas; The Government to fund community-based, international development programs which focus on the prevention and protection against forms of child sexual exploitation such as child sex trafficking and child sex tourism; and Greater Government action and funding to be directed toward strategies to deter, detect and prosecute Australian child sex tourists / travelling sex offenders. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 2

10 Introduction The use of children and young people as commodities to be bought, sold, transported and re-sold for sexual exploitation, prostitution, pornography and forced marriage, was described by Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, as a modern-day slave trade. In 2008, The Body Shop, in partnership with ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) announced their global campaign to Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People. Child Wise is the Australian branch of ECPAT International and is dedicated to preventing the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Child Wise and The Body Shop have united in a three year partnership from 2009 to 2011 to conduct the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign in Australia and Cambodia. The campaign aims to raise awareness amongst the Australian population about the global incidence of child sex trafficking and child sex tourism, and to support projects working towards the prevention and recovery of child sex trafficking in Cambodia. In 2009, the campaign raised funds from the sale of a hand lotion in The Body Shop stores throughout Australia and through donations from the Australian public. These funds have been utilised by Child Wise for the implementation of programs to reduce the vulnerability of girls and boys in Cambodia falling victim to human trafficking. It has also assisted to improve the services provided to children who have been victims of human trafficking, giving them greater opportunity to lead happy and fulfilling lives in the future. The campaign is relevant to Australia because: Australians have been identified as child sex tourists in more than 25 tourist destinations worldwide; Australians are consumers of child pornography, the majority of which is produced overseas; and Australia has a responsibility to protect children everywhere. Australia has been identified as a receiving country for trafficked children and as a sending country for sex tourists. Indeed, Australians constitute a large percentage of child sex tourists in many Asian and Pacific countries -particularly in the Philippines, Cambodia and Fiji - and have been identified as the largest group of sex tourists prosecuted in Thailand. However, very little research exists on how the Australian community understands and views child sex trafficking, despite the relevance of the issue to the country and the region. Child Wise believe that child sex tourism and child sex trafficking are intrinsically linked, as trafficking is the means of providing children into prostitution. During year one of the campaign, a survey was conducted to gauge Community Attitudes to Child Sex Trafficking. Almost 18,000 of The Body Shop customers completed the survey and were from every Australian state and territory. The Body Shop and Child Wise commissioned Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia (CAPRA), Monash University, to develop and analyse a customer survey on child sex trafficking. The results of the survey have provided invaluable information on the demands and needs of the Australian public for addressing the problem of child sex trafficking. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 3

11 Background on Child Sex Trafficking Child sex trafficking is a global problem that affects the majority of nations and remains one of the most profitable forms of global organised crime. It occurs transnationally and within domestic borders and adversely affects children s health, development and wellbeing. Sadly, its incidence has been increased by the recent global recession (ECPAT International, 2009). A range of factors such as poverty, armed conflict,family breakdown and violence causes child sex trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Demand is also a significant causal factor, which continues to be inadequately addressed. A number of international instruments exist, which define child sex trafficking and CSEC and guide nations attempts to combat these crimes. At best, these instruments have been inconsistently ratified and significant work needs to be carried out globally to protect children from sexual exploitation. Child sex tourism (CST), is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by people who travel domestically or internationally, and while there, engage in sexual acts with people under 18 years old. Often, offenders travel from a richer country to one that is less developed, but child-sex tourists may also travel within their own countries or region. It involves the remuneration of the child or a third party in cash or in kind in return for sexual contact. It can occur as the result of a one-off commercial transaction facilitated by a third party who makes a child available to the tourist or as the result of an extended grooming operation, whereby the perpetrator befriends and gains the trust of a child in preparation for sexual exploitation (ECPAT International ). It is also important to highlight that demand for sex with children does not come exclusively from paedophiles. In fact, persons who patronise domestic and foreign commercial sex markets, who may knowingly or unknowingly sexually exploit a child, generate the majority of demand. Child sex tourism is connected to child trafficking, with children being trafficked both internally and across national borders to service sex tourists. For example, in Southeast Asia, the trafficking of Vietnamese children to Cambodian tourist destinations is a particular problem. Tourist destinations are economic magnets and children and adults can be susceptible to traffickers false promises of lucrative job opportunities. While some children may be trafficked to tourist destinations for other purposes, they can be particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation once they arrive because of the absence of parental and family care, and their fragile legal status if they have been trafficked across national borders. As with child sex trafficking, it is difficult to obtain accurate statistical data pertaining to child sex tourism and the number of victims or perpetrators involved. This is due to the illegal nature of the activity and involvement of criminal groups; the taboo nature of the crime and its potential negative impact on tourist industries, which leads to key stakeholders denying or downplaying its significance; and the general lack of understanding of child sex tourism possessed by law enforcement systems, which leads to its misclassification as child sex abuse, prostitution or paedophilia. Factors that heighten a child s risk of being exploited by a sex tourist include socio-economic disadvantage, being part of an ethnic minority, displaced community or marginalised group, or being a victim of domestic violence or neglect. Child Wise also identifies working children, especially those involved in the tourist industry or reliant on seasonal incomes, as particularly vulnerable to CST. Sometimes, simply being born in a tourism destination characterised by major wealth discrepancies between incoming tourists and local inhabitants can be enough for a child to become exploited through CST. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 4

12 Australia & Child Sex Trafficking The current situation of trafficking and sexual exploitation of children affects Australia in the following ways: The existence of Australian child sex tourists is damaging to the reputation of Australians as safe and respectable travellers and to the reputation of Australia as a friendly and protecting country; The low detection rates of Australians travelling for child sexual explotiation allows offenders to continue to offend in both Australia and overseas; and Australians involved in child sex tourism overseas pose an increased risk to Australian children being abused upon the offenders return; and There is a high cost of prosecution of Australian child sex offences when the offence occurs overseas. In recent decades, the Australian Federal Government has made concerted efforts at the national and regional level to combat child trafficking, the sexual exploitation of children and child sex tourism. It has done so through: The enactment of domestic legislation and policy to improve prevention, detection and prosecution measures; Increased support for victims in Australia; Development and funding of anti-trafficking efforts throughout South East Asia implemented in partnership with regional governments; and Support of community awareness raising efforts in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 5

13 The Survey: Community Attitudes on Child Sex Trafficking Purpose of the Survey Australia has been identified as a receiving country for trafficked children and as a sending country for sex tourists. However, very little research exists on how the Australian community understands and views child sex trafficking, despite the relevance of the issue to the country and the region. The Body Shop and Child Wise commissioned CAPRA, Monash University to develop and analyse a customer attitude survey on child sex trafficking to inform future education and advocacy efforts to prevent and respond to the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. By gathering information and examining the attitudes of a portion of the Australian community towards child sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children the survey aimed to: Assess the degree to which child sex trafficking is considered a concern; Inform the design of campaign awarenessraising and education messages and strategies; and Inform advocacy initiatives and strategies. As it is the first community attitudes research on child sex trafficking in Australia, this survey represents a fundamental step in identifying areas for future inquiry and research, which is particularly important given the role of community attitudes in shaping behaviour, behavioural change, and government policy responses and actions. Survey Method During the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign s initial three-week launch, 20,000 copies of the survey were placed in every Australian The Body Shop store and customers were invited to complete them voluntarily and anonymously. The survey asked people to provide demographic information about their sex, age, the state they live in and recent travel history. It also focused on their knowledge of the issue of child sex trafficking and how they became aware of the issue. More importantly, the survey measured the participants attitudes towards the following: The importance of child sex trafficking as an issue; Which aspects of the problem are important or concerning; What, if anything, the Australian Government should be doing to address it; and What actions are available to community members who have suspicions or concerns about child sex offenders who travel internationally. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 6

14 Survey Sample A total of 17,949 The Body Shop customers completed the in-store survey during a two week period from the date of the Australian launch of the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign on 14 September Most survey participants (87%) were female, which reflects The Body Shop s primary customer base. Half (51%) of all respondents were aged between 18 and 34 years. Figure 1 below shows respondents by age, and Figure 2 shows the breakdown of respondents by age and sex. Figure 1: Respondents by age < Male Female Figure 2: Respondents by age and sex % % 65+ 2% <18 12% % % % COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 7

15 Half (51%) of all respondents were from NSW and Victoria, with 20% from Queensland. Figure 3 shows respondents by state. Figure 3: Respondents by State WA 14% ACT 3% NSW 24% VIC 27% NT 1% TAS 4% SA 7% QLD 20% Nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents had travelled overseas in the past five years, and as Figure 4 shows, the most popular destination for overseas travel was the Asia-Pacific region, a region in which Australians form a substantial proportion of the child prostitution clientele (Brungs 2002; ECPAT 2006). This information has implications for geographical targeting of community education campaigns in countries where there are Australian travellers. Figure 4: Travel destination of those who travelled in the past five years Middle East 5% Africa 5% Americas 15% Asia Pacific 44% Europe 31% Survey Limitations Due to its design and scope, the survey s sample was not randomised. Thus, the responses obtained are representative only of the attitudes of The Body Shop customers who volunteered to participate in the research. Inherent biases within the study include that: the majority of The Body Shop stores are located in urban areas; the majority of their customers are women; and only limited demographic information was requested from survey respondents. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 8

16 Survey Findings: Community Attitudes on Child Sex Trafficking Community Knowledge of Child Sex Trafficking Child sex trafficking was defined in the survey as the cross-border or internal recruitment, abduction, transportation and exploitation of any person under 18 years of age for sexual purposes, including prostitution and pornography. Table 1 displays the respondents awareness of the broader theme of people trafficking (human trafficking) and the more specific topic of child sex trafficking. Table 1: Level of awareness of child sex trafficking Level of Awareness Aware of the issue of child sex trafficking Aware of adult sex trafficking, but not aware that children were trafficked for sex Aware of people trafficking, but not aware that they were trafficked for sexual purposes Not aware that people are trafficked % There was a high level of awareness of people trafficking with most respondents (91%) indicating they were aware of the issue. Almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents had prior knowledge about the specific issue of child sex trafficking. Overall, men had lower awareness levels about people trafficking and child sex trafficking than women. As Figure 5 shows, this result is consistent across age groups. Figure 5: Awareness levels of child sex trafficking <18 Not aware of people trafficking Aware of people trafficking but not for sex Aware of adult trafficking but not child sex trafficking Aware of child sex trafficking 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 9

17 While awareness levels of men are not significantly lower than those of women, the gendered variation in knowledge about the issue is an important consideration for future community education campaigns. As men constitute the largest group of users of both child prostitutes and pornography, campaigns should be specifically targeted at primary prevention and behaviour change strategies. Awareness of the issue of child sex trafficking did not significantly vary for those who had travelled in the past five years compared with those who had not travelled. Three quarters (76%)of people who had travelled were aware of child sex trafficking, while 69% of people who had not travelled had prior awareness of the issue. Of those who had travelled in the past five years, awareness of the issue of child sex trafficking did not significantly vary by travel destination. These findings suggest that community education and awareness raising that targets the general Australian public are equally effective as awareness raising campaigns specifically targeting Australian s who travel internationally. Sources of Information on Child Sex Trafficking Of the three-quarters of respondents who had prior knowledge of child sex trafficking, 48% obtained information about the issue from the media, with television being the most common source of information. The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign was the next most commonly cited source of information, followed by interpersonal communication (see Figure 6 below). Figure 6: Sources of information on child sex trafficking Conversation 15% Other 7% The Body Shop 20% Not for profit 10% Media 48% Of those people who had heard of the issue through the media, television was the most common source of information (41%), followed by newspapers. Approximately the same percentage of people gathered their information on child sex trafficking from magazines as from the Internet (see Figure 7). This information could be useful when designing media-based awareness-raising and education campaigns in Australia on child sex trafficking in the future. Figure 7: Breakdown of media information sources Magazine 12% Radio 9% Internet 11% Film 10% Newspaper 17% TV 41% COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 10

18 Concern about Child Sex Trafficking Child sex trafficking is an important issue for Australians, with 91% expressing personal concern about child sex trafficking, and the majority of concerned people (61%) feeling strongly about the issue. Overall, only 5% were unconcerned, with 4% of those feeling strongly that the issue is not important. While it is possible that exposure to campaign materials provoked an emotive response among the interviewees prior to completing the survey, this high level of personal concern has positive implications for community dialogue, discussion and action. The personal concern of respondents supports the importance of social attitudes in promoting behaviour change and awareness raising, and could promote increased reporting by those who are suspicious that a child is being sexually exploited. The highest percentage of unconcerned people were over 65 years old, and those under 18 years old had the the highest percentage of people who are ambivalent about the issue. The chart below shows levels of concern by all ages (Figure 8). As can be seen from the graph, there are no significant differences in levels of concern across age groups. Figure 8: Levels of personal concern about child sex trafficking by age 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% < Strongly Concerned Concerned Undecided Unconcerned Strongly unconcerned COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 11

19 There was no significant variation in levels of personal concern between men and women about child sex trafficking, although women had marginally stronger feelings of personal concern than men (figure 9). Similarly, there was little difference in feelings between those who have travelled in the past five years and those who have not (figures 10). Figure 9: Level of concern by sex Figure 10: Level of concern by travel status 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Female Male 0% Not travelled Travelled in the past 5 years The majority of respondents were personally concerned about the impact of trafficking on victims. They also felt strongly about the demand for child sex trafficking created by Australians (as users of child prostitutes overseas and of child pornography), and about prosecution of traffickers, as shown in Table 2. Table 2: Concern about aspects of child sex trafficking Impact on victims Not Concerned % Undecided % Concerned % Australians using child prostitutes overseas Australians using child pornography Lack of prosecution of traffickers COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 12

20 Government responses to Child Sex Trafficking The results of this survey show support for strengthening the Australian Government response to child sex trafficking, with three quarters (73%) of respondents feeling the government should act to combat child sex trafficking. It should also be noted that since the completion of the survey, the Australian Federal Government enacted the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Child Sex Tourism Offences and Related Measures) Bill of 2007, which is a step forward in the fight to catch child sex offenders before they travel to another country for the purpose of exploiting children for sexual purposes. Of those who believe the Australian Government has a responsibility to act, the majority felt strongly about resource allocation for prevention through community education, services for victims, and for detection and prosecution of both Australians who use child prostitutes and child pornography, and of traffickers. Figure 11: Attitudes towards Australian Government resourcing to combat child sex trafficking Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree Do nothing Rescue & Rehab of victims Prevention Detection & prosecution of traffickers Detection & prosecution of users COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 13

21 Knowing How to Respond to Suspicions or Concerns In spite of the fact that 73% of people stated that they were aware of the issue of child sex trafficking, and 91% expressed personal concern about it, two thirds of respondents (68.8%) did not know what action to take if they became aware of a possible case of child sexual exploitation overseas. Figure 12 below shows that there was no real difference in knowledge about how to report between those who had travelled overseas in the past five years (32%) compared with those who had not travelled (30%). Figure 12: Awareness of action to take in case of child sex trafficking Know What To Do 33% 30% Don t Know What To Do 68% 71% Travelled Overseas Not Travelled Overseas A higher percentage of men (37%) than women (30%) reported knowing how to respond to a suspicion of child sexual exploitation that occurs overseas. Knowing what to do increased with age, with the over 65 age group most knowledgeable about reporting mechanisms (see Figure 13). Figure 13 Awareness of action to take in case of child sex trafficking by age 100% 80% 60% 40% Know what to do Don t know what to do 20% 0% < Therefore, lack of knowledge about to whom and how to report suspected cases of child sexual exploitation overseas is a priority area for improved public awareness and education. Consideration could be given to age and gender in developing community education strategies. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 14

22 Recommendations There is a strong call for greater government action to combat child sex trafficking. While the Australian Government has made efforts over recent years to address child sex exploitation and child sex tourism, 73% of respondents felt that the Government should do more. Child Wise and The Body Shop believe that the results of the national survey clearly reveal that the Australian public feel strongly about the issue of child trafficking and that the government should do more to address the issue. In line with the results of this national survey, Child Wise and The Body Shop are calling on the Australian Government to: Fund an ongoing education campaign and support service which helps Australians to identify and report suspicions or concerns about child sex offenders who travel overseas; and Fund community-based, international development programs which focus on the prevention and protection against forms of child sexual exploitation such as child sex trafficking and child sex tourism. 1. National Education Campaign and Support Service A community awareness campaign and support service are urgently required to actively and accurately target potential offenders and encourage community dialogue, discussion and action to identify and report suspicions of the commercial sexual exploitation of children such as child sex trafficking and child sex tourism. Despite the fact that 73% of survey participants stated that they were aware of the issue of child sex trafficking, and 91% expressed personal concern about it, two thirds of respondents (68.8%) do not know what action to take if they become aware of a possible case of child sexual exploitation overseas. To combat the lack of sufficient knowledge the Australian Government should fund an ongoing national education campaign and support service which provides more information to the community regarding Australia s responsibilities and obligations and how to identify and report suspicious behaviour related to child sex trafficking and child sex tourism. A National Education Campaign could also act to deter potential child sex tourists by advertising the repercussions of their actions; encouraging the community-watch approach to reporting; and by raising awareness about the efforts already being undertaken to prevent child sex trafficking and child sex tourism. Given that men constitute the vast majority of offenders in cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children, are the largest group accessing child pornography, and appear to have less knowledge on the issue, further research needs to be undertaken with Australian men to better understand their knowledge base and attitudes towards the issue. Child Wise and The Body Shop recommend a two-pronged media campaign and communitybased awareness campaign to address these issues. Of the three-quarters of respondents who had prior knowledge of child sex trafficking, 48% obtained their information about the issue from the media, with television being the most common source of information. By utilising a variety of media and grassroots community education, a larger demographic of the Australian population will be empowered and have sufficient knowledge to identify and report suspicions or concerns of child sex offenders who travel internationally. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 15

23 2. More Community Development Projects Overseas Greater Government action and funding should be directed toward community-based prevention and protection projects to stop child sex trafficking internationally. Of those respondents who believe that the Australian Government has a responsibility to act further, the majority felt strongly about increasing prevention efforts through community education, resource allocation of services for victims, and for detection and prosecution of both Australians who use child prostitutes and child pornography, and traffickers. While the Australian Government has many ongoing regional anti-trafficking projects, there is a gap in holistic community-based prevention and protection projects to stop child sex trafficking overseas. Community-based projects would target localised vulnerabilities to the commercial sexual exploitation of children with communities to help them protect themselves against child sex trafficking and child sex tourism. Such community-based projects are cost effective and more thoroughly incorporate the local demand as well as international demand for child sex trafficking and child sex tourism in vulnerable communities overseas. While the Australian Government is to be commended for recent amendments to the Crimes Act that allow more proactive procedures to address child sex tourism, these sorts of proactive strategies need to be broadly implemented, promoted and advertised (both domestically and internationally) to increase detection and prosecution of child sex offenders and to act as a deterrent to child sex offenders. This could be incorporated into the National Education Campaign but also needs to include broader community-based programs both within Australia and in destination countries to deter traffickers and child sex tourists and to increase reporting, detection and prosecution of these offenders. COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 16

24 References Brungs, M. (2002) Abolishing Child Sex Tourism: Australia s Contribution, Australian Journal of Human Rights, 8 (2): David, F. (2008) Trafficking of women for sexual purposes, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. David F. (2008) Prosecuting trafficking in persons: known issues, emerging responses, Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice, 358, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. ECPAT International (2009) Their Protection is in our Hands: The State of Global Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes, ECPAT International, Bangkok. Dottridge, M. (2008) Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes, ECPAT International, Bangkok. O Brian, M., Grillo, M., & Barbosa, H. (2008) Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Tourism, ECPAT International, Bangkok. ECPAT (2006) Global Monitoring Report on the Status of Action Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Australia, ECPAT International, Bangkok. Fergus, L. (2005) Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation, Australia Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, AIFS, Melbourne. Hodge, D. R. (2008) Sexual Trafficking in the United States: A Domestic Problem with Transnational Dimensions, Social Work, 53 (2): International Labour Office (April 2002) Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labour, ILO, Geneva. UN.GIFT (2008) Human Trafficking: The Facts, ILO, Geneva. UN Office of Drugs and Crime (2009) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, UN, Geneva, retrieved December 2009 from unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html COMMUNITY ATTITUDES ON SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SURVEY REPORT 17

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