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Protect Children in Tourism—Mexico
ECPAT-USA’s Protect Children in Tourism Project Supports Communities
in Breaking the Silence
Mexico’s Quintana Roo State coast, which stretches from Cancun to
Tulum and includes the island of Cozumel, is a prime tourist destination – about half of the Americans visiting Mexico today are headed for
Cancun airport. Since 2004, the Protect Children in Tourism (PCT) Project
has been working on the ground, in partnership with local communities,
to prevent this beautiful, sun-filled vacation spot from becoming a sex
tourism destination. The project builds on ECPAT’s work around the world
in eliminating child sex tourism.
ECPAT-USA is a children’s rights organization and a member of a global
network of organizations and individuals. It aims to protect all children
from prostitution, pornography, and trafficking for sexual purposes.
No one denies that any kind of exploitation of children is wrong and
should be stopped. However, the risk of sexual exploitation is always high
in popular destinations such as Cancun, whose commercial livelihood
depends largely on tourism. The challenge in any country is to support a
flourishing tourism industry while promoting policies that ensure that the
human rights and dignity of its children are respected.
One of the first steps is
to learn about the problem and make efforts to
prevent it. Through its
extensive training and
awareness-raising activities, the PCT project
works with all sectors
of society to establish a
protective environment
for children.
ECPAT-USA training police officers in Cancun, Mexico in 2006.
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The Code of Conduct Is Supported by Responsible
Travel and Tourism Companies
The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism,
created in 1998 by ECPAT-Sweden, in conjunction
with the travel industry and the UN World Tourism
Organization, is an instrument of self-regulation
and corporate social responsibility, that provides
increased protection to children from sexual
exploitation in travel and tourism. It sets out clear
processes and protocols for tourism professionals
who want to “do the right thing” – prevent sexual
exploitation in tourism. ECPAT-USA’s Protect
Children in Tourism Project is dedicated to promoting the Code – among tourism professionals in
Mexico and Belize as well as in the United States.
Among other things, the Code helps companies
adopt an ethical policy against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Under the PCT project, ECPAT-USA trains the private sector to implement the Code so all the employees in the tourism industry – from hotel
employees and trade association members to taxicab drivers to people who
run tours to visit the theme parks – are aware of what sexual exploitation of
children is and the harm it can cause and know what to do if they witness
any suspicious behavior on the part of their guests. Through implementation of the Code, the companies also promote prevention by making the
tourists aware that the sexual exploitation of children is criminal. Because
of the Code, companies can protect themselves from sex tourism and,
most important of all, thanks to the commitment of the private and public
sector, children can grow up and thrive in a safe environment.
As of today, the Code has over 900 members in 32 countries. It is recognized among tourism industry associations, children rights and protection
organizations, governments, and international organizations as one of the
most reliable and efficient tools to prevent sexual exploitation of children
in tourism.
With ECPAT-USA’s assistance, Delphinus, a Mexican company that runs five
dolphin parks (aquariums where tourists can swim with dolphins) in Cancun
and the Riviera Maya, recruited the local soccer team, Atlante, to increase
awareness about the issue. Posters sporting the slogan “We Must Never
Allow that Smile To Be Wiped Away” were displayed in and around the
Cancun soccer stadium, gas stations, and shops, reminding everyone that
it is up to each and every one of them to participate in the fight against the
commercial and sexual exploitation of children.
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So far, five soccer stars from the Atlante team have associated their
names and reputations to the campaign. So has Paulina Gaitan, a young
Mexican movie star, who says: “We cannot allow those people who take
advantage of kids’ vulnerability and end their childhood.” Paulina, who
starred in the movie “Trade,” says that fighting against the sexual exploitation of children will do nothing short of “making a better Mexico.”
Paulina is also featured in a short public service announcement, made in
conjunction with Delphinus, which is shown is closed-circuit hotel channels in a number of Cancun hotels.
Hotels are training their staff members so they are aware of the hotel’s
policy against sexual exploitation of children in tourism and are producing
awareness-raising and prevention materials for tourists as well. Oasis
Hotels has been giving prevention messages to tourists for many years
now. Barceló Hotels – an international chain, whose headquarters in Spain
has signed the Code – has produced brochures for their guests. Palladium
has inserted messages on their internal room-TV channels and Palace
Hotels have organized more than seven training-of-trainers sessions. Small
hotels such as Vista del Mar Akumal, Nueva Vida de Ramiro, and Enchanting
Group are also doing their part by training their staff members, as is Omni
Puerto Aventuras. Others, such Radisson and Sol Meliá, whose corporate
headquarters signed in the US and Spain respectively, also have included
the policy of implementing the Code in every hotel they have throughout
the world, including Cancun and the whole Riviera Maya.
Initially aimed at tour operators, the Code of Conduct for the Protection of
Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism was quickly adopted
by hotels, travel agencies, and other kinds of businesses dealing in travel
and tourism. It is a comprehensive prevention instrument, which works
simultaneously at different levels within and outside the company. When
a company adopts the Code it commits itself to implement these six
criteria:
1.To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation
of children
2.To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.
3.To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating the common
repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children
4.To provide information to travellers about the implications of sexual
tourism
5.To provide information to local “key persons’’ at the destinations
6.To report annually on how they have implemented the Code
In the beginning, ECPAT-USA reached out to industry professionals in
Quintana Roo to understand and adhere to the Code. Today, after observing the good results so far, the travel industry, and local authorities are
approaching ECPAT-USA on their own to sign the Code.
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Mexico Leading the Way in Protecting Children
from Sexual Exploitation
Since the beginning of the project, the wide range
of sectors of the tourism industry in Quintana Roo
have embraced PCT’s message. Training has already
reached thousands of employees, and hotels are
continually adapting the training courses to their
own needs. A system of training-of-trainers creates a
multiplier effect that ensures continuity in the years
to come, long after the project itself has ended.
Just reporting instances of sexual exploitation, however, does not mean
that the report will receive the appropriate attention or follow-up. Law
enforcement agencies, too, need to be trained to know how to identify,
investigate and refer cases of child sexual exploitation. In 2007 and
again in 2008, training in the new criminal law protecting children,
investigation techniques, and sex tourism in general was provided to
police officers in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, in conjunction with the
Special Prosecutor for crimes
against women. This government agency –Fiscalía Especial
de Delito–Relacionados con la
Violencia Contra las Mujeres y
Trata de Personas or FEVIMTRA
– is now promoting the Code in
other areas of Mexico.
The National Agency for Family Development (El Sistema
Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia or DIF), the
Mexican government agency
that works for the protection
of families and children, has
launched a number of campaigns to prevent child sexual
exploitation in Quintana Roo.
This included developing their
own training program about
identifying and assisting victims as well as promoting the
Code of Conduct.
The community of Riviera Maya has developed this poster to
combat child sex tourism and will distribute 15,000 copies.
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A giant billboard put up by DIF on the main route between Cancun and
Playa del Carmen, proudly proclaimed “We Protect Our Kids” to anyone
driving from the airport into town. The Agency has already distributed
20,000 brochures and is printing another 20,000 this year. They have
also distributed 10,000 coloring books for children – in Mayan and Spanish – to inform them of the risks of sexual exploitation inherent in labor
and other situations in a way they can understand. But DIF’s work is also
very hands-on: carrying out field work that locates and identifies victims
and rescues them from situations where they are being sexually exploited.
So far, in Quintana Roo, more than 17 associations
and 39 hotels and five dolphin parks have signed the
Code and committed themselves to the effort. The
three taxi unions from Playa del Carmen, Tulum,
and Cozumel – as well as the main tourism workers
union, CROC (Confederacion Revolucionaria de Obreros y Campesinos), with more than 35,000 affiliates
in the State – have also signed. In addition, as a
result of the PCT project :
s -EMBERS OF THE TAXI DRIVERS UNION IN 0LAYA DEL #ARMEN VOLUNTARILY
removed seat covers in their cars which had advertisements for local
strip clubs.
s 4HE LARGEST UNION OF HOTEL WORKERS IN THE COUNTRY #2/# HAS
produced two brochures – one for the tourism workers and one for
their children, describing what sexual exploitation is and what to do
to prevent it.
s ! PUBLICPRIVATE SECTOR COMMITTEE ORGANIZED BY THE 2IVIERA -AYA
tourism associations, CROC, DIF, and the Municipality has produced
30,000 brochures covering all primary schools in the area, as well
as a big media campaign, using radio, billboards, and posters.
s ! UNIVERSITYLEVEL MANUAL ON THE PREVENTION OF SEXUAL AND COMmercial exploitation of children, which will be used in tourism and
law curricula, has been produced. It will be widely distributed and
used in higher education institutions that offer tourism training
throughout the country.
s BROCHURES OF &REQUENTLY !SKED 1UESTIONS ABOUT #OMMERcial Sexual Exploitation of Children (in Spanish) have been distributed at training sessions.
s 4HE MUNICIPALITY IS TRANSLATING THE BOOK h2OSARIO IS $EADv n
which was successful in raising awareness in the Philippines – and
plans to distribute about 2,000 copies for free.
s 4HE #ODE WILL BE EXPANDED TO OTHER 3TATES IN -EXICO THROUGH JOINT
cooperation with other agencies such UNICEF and State DIFs.
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Our work will continue into the future because it is
integrated into the community
A successful project plants the seeds that allow
local companies and individuals to carry on the
lessons it has taught them long after the project
has ended. In September 2009 the Rivieria
Maya Hotel Association took over the project,
promoting the code and supporting it’s implementation.
Local companies have included the PCT training in their ongoing training programs. CROC,
the largest union of hotel workers in the country, is also integrating child sex tourism into
their regular training – which will be given to all
the company’s employees.
By committing themselves wholeheartedly to the protection of their
children, the people of Quintana Roo – from tourism professionals and
students to law enforcement to ordinary families – have told the world
that they won’t stand by and let their beautiful region become a destination of sex tourism.
Billboard on the road between Cancun and the Riviera Maya section of Mexico in 2007.
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