Thursday 25 March 2010
Sectors join up from across Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to limit criminal opportunities for child sex offenders
Representatives from across major industry, children’s charities, government departments and law enforcement are saying ‘enough is enough’ to child sex offenders who think that South East Asia is soft on those that seek to abuse and exploit children.
In an unprecedented move and a first for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre – the UK’s national centre for protecting children and an organisation that has been actively working in partnership with law enforcement colleagues in the area for some time - they will be joining forces with the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand, to encourage businesses to work together to help protect young vulnerable children.
With over 5,000 British businesses represented by the chamber, it is hoped large commercial companies can support ongoing projects backed by a child protection charter, where they will reinforce the need to raise awareness and help in the dissemination of key educational resources.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed by CEOP Chief Executive Jim Gamble and Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand Greg Watkins, during a two day workshop hosted by CEOP.
The workshop will see specialist representatives from not only Thailand, but also Cambodia and Vietnam come forward and share best practice.
Specific areas of interest during the two days will be specialist joined up capability for tracking and bringing offenders to account, sharing best practice and investigative techniques and the promotion of local reporting.
And for the first time, CEOP are sharing resources that they have used successfully in the UK to educate young people – which range from leaflets to films – aiming to engage and empower young people to take control of situations they may find themselves in.
Offenders looking to travel to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to abuse children will also be targeted as the battle to protect children gathers pace.
All will build on CEOP’s partnership work to date in the region, which has seen the creation of Advisory Panels in all three countries with key specialists working together to better safeguard children. An International Child Protection Network website - www.ceop.police.uk/overseas/world.asp - and specialist training that has so far reached over 1,500 professionals, are all designed to share understanding in minimising risks posed to children by adults with a sexual interest in them.
Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the UK’s CEOP Centre said: “Our approach in this region has always been one of partnership and inclusion, sharing best practice and knowledge and working with front line practitioners to build cultural understanding, in order to make South East Asia increasingly hostile to child sex offenders.
"What we see today is the next vital step. The signing of the first ever MOU with a British Chamber of Commerce is truly ground breaking and I am confident, by working together, we will further equip child protection specialists with tools to help safeguard children and limit offender opportunity".
British Ambassador Quinton Quayle said:"The British Embassy in Thailand works closely with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre to help tackle the exploitation of children. CEOP's work spans the globe and they have successfully worked in the Asia Pacific region on some very important child exploitation cases. There is much potential for future collaboration, which would build on the highly effective joint work already in place".
Notes to Editors
1. The workshops will be taking place on 30th and 31st March 2010. The opening ceremony will be open to the media between 09.00 and 10.15. Interview requests can be facilitated with Jim Gamble QPM, Chief Executive of the CEOP Centre, Zoe Hilton, Head of Safeguarding at the CEOP Centre, Helen Penn, Head of Education at the CEOP Centre and HMA Andrew Mace from the British Embassy Cambodia.
2. The opening ceremony will be held at the Holiday Inn Silom, 981 Silom Road, Bangkok, 10500, Thailand.
3. TRAVELLING CHILD SEX OFFENDER, NOT ‘SEX TOURIST’
Travelling child sex offenders seek to offend against the world’s most vulnerable children in the hope that they will evade detection and prosecution. The phrase ‘sex tourism’ sanitises the reality of what is taking place. The ‘sex’ is forced, therefore it is rape. The word ‘tourism’ implies sun, sea and sand when frequently children are sought in the most deprived areas of the world.
4. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre works in both online and offline environments to protect children from sexual exploitation. Full information on all areas of work, as well as online safety messages and access to online reporting, can be found at www.ceop.police.uk.
5. The CEOP Centre is the UK’s dedicated police led organisation for protecting children from exploitation with outreach channels to all areas of both domestic and international policing. It is a member of the Virtual Global Taskforce which also includes the Australian Federal Police, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Italian National Postal and Communication Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Interpol. Further information is available at www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com
For more information, contact the CEOP Communications Team on +44870 000 3434
