IV.  Conclusions

119.            Demand is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon.  In any situation of child sexual exploitation, there may be several different kinds of demand generated by different actors at different times.  Progress will hardly be achieved in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children if more attention is not paid to diminishing the demand among the (mostly) male customers who abuse them.

120.     Men’s demand for prostitution, the impunity of sexual exploiters, the pernicious effects of a globalized free market and economy, discriminatory attitudes, especially discrimination on the basis of race, colour and ethnicity, beliefs held by men about sexual dominance, armed conflict and political instability, and traffickers’ greed are among the main factors that create demand for sexually exploitative services.

121.     The demand factor goes hand in hand with the supply factor and the reasons that push children into sexual exploitation are also multiple.  They vary from poverty to family disintegration and violence, from armed conflict to clandestine labour migration, from the threat of sexually transmitted diseases to the advent of new technologies, from social inequity at the

local level to economic disparities at the global level, from uneven development to crimes such as trafficking, from gender/sexuality to power/abuses, from non-commercial abuse/exploitation to the realm of commercialization and the warped free market.  Interventions against the demand and supply factors call for integrated measures and actions on many fronts.

122.            Demand for sexual exploitation comes overwhelmingly from men.  Girls remain in the vast caseload of the sexually exploited.  Therefore, any intervention should address fundamental and systemic values and beliefs that accommodate and sustain so much sexual violence and sexual exploitation of children:  patriarchy, beliefs surrounding sexual dominance and machismo, male power and control, the viewing of children (especially girl children) as objects of possession, and perverted cultural beliefs.  It is only through the empowerment of women that the demand for child sexual exploitation can be reduced.

123.     Many actors have a vital role to play in fighting and preventing commercial sexual exploitation of children:  Governments, law enforcement agencies, the private sector, in particular NGOs, the media, teachers and educators, children and their families.

124.     Current prevention strategies typically address women and children as victims or potential victims and focus on how women and girls can avoid sexual abuse.  So far, men have not been sufficiently offered the opportunity to join prevention efforts.  While the work done so far is valuable, it is now highly necessary to develop strategies involving men.

125.     The media have a crucial role to play and need to be further mobilized to counter stereotypes and to build awareness and behaviour sensitive to the rights of the child.  The media can also play an essential role in increasing society’s awareness of, and response to, child abuse and neglect.  However, advertising, media and peer pressure also encourage an early sexualization of children which, in addition to being harmful to a child’s emotional development, makes them more vulnerable to sexual assault and abuse.

V.  Recommendations

126.     While noting that all States which responded to the questionnaire have adopted legislative measures to combat child sexual exploitation, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States adopting or amending their legislation in this regard bear in mind the considerations set out below.

127.            Persons in prostitution should never be penalized - either directly for prostitution or indirectly for engaging in a commercial activity without a visa or permit.  Non‑criminalization ensures that women and children who are forced into prostitution have access to the authorities without fear of sanctions.

128.     In line with the standards set by the Palermo Protocol and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, child sexual exploitation must be criminalized, whether committed at home (internal trafficking) or abroad, and whether involving an individual or an organized group.  Consent of the child to trafficking is always to be considered irrelevant.

129.     States should, in particular:

            (a)            Consider signing Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters treaties to facilitate information-gathering on suspected child exploiters;

            (b)            Not only punish the offenders themselves but the whole chain of those actually or potentially involved, such as pimps, procurers, intermediaries, various members of the service sector, organizers of child sex tours, parents, etc.;

            (c)            Adopt laws that provide for the confiscation of assets from traffickers to compensate victims;

            (d)            Ensure that criminal proceedings against child abusers can always be initiated ex officio;

            (e)            Ensure that all children under the age of 18 are protected from commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) by the law, and close loopholes that sanction the demand for children for sex;

            (f)            Ensure that child sex exploiters are punished through effective law enforcement;

            (g)            The punishment of child sex abusers should be assured through the enforcement of judicial and police cooperation, specialization of law enforcers through appropriate training and education, prioritization of the issue of human and child trafficking through allocation of human and financial resources and well-built safeguards against corruption.  This can be achieved through strong political will.

130.     The Special Rapporteur stresses that educational programmes as well as awareness‑raising activities are essential to reduce demand for services deriving from sexual exploitation.  He calls upon States:

            (a)            To develop awareness-raising campaigns, highlighting that a child should always be considered a victim of trafficking;

            (b)            To raise awareness regarding concepts and social constructions which obstruct the respect of children’s right to protection from sexual exploitation;

            (c)            To ensure that the school curriculum includes child rights education which addresses themes of sexuality, power and gender relations and which teaches children the difference between “good” and “bad” touching, ways for them to act in difficult situations as well as methods of protection against sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS.  Education on sexuality suitable for children’s development stages is an essential tool to prevent child sexual abuse and should be made available at all school levels;

            (d)            To include and further develop sexual education curriculum, material on gender relations, reproductive health and child sexual abuse as part of social assistance and community-based programmes;

            (e)            To provide parents, teachers, and all other adults with training and sensitizing measures about the rights of boys and girls to healthy development, to be treated with respect and to a non-violent and safe environment;

            (f)            To support awareness-raising programmes such as those within the tourism industry and programmes focusing on careful selection of childcare workers are good examples of best practices in minimizing risk to children and deterring offenders;

            (g)            To develop sex-offender treatment programmes;

            (h)            To further study measures that directly target and educate potential clients of commercial sexual exploitation of children, including measures using the Internet and other modern information technologies to reach them.

131.     As for child sexual exploitation by military personnel, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:

            (a)            Establish clear codes of conduct that protect the physical security and ensure freedom of movement specifically of women and children;

            (b)            Train military and United Nations peacekeeping commanders in the appropriate forms of discipline and that they be held accountable for failing to discipline their troops for violations of these codes;

            (c)            Pass and enforce laws holding soldiers criminally responsible for trafficking and/or engaging in sexual activities with children.  In situations of armed conflict or political instability, a zero-tolerance policy towards the buying of sex in general must be applied and enforced by a reinforced chain of command;

            (d)            Hold military and peacekeeping troops and personnel accountable for their actions by setting up investigations into the buying of sex and the exploitation of women and children by the troops and personnel, implementing penalties for those guilty of trafficking and exploitation, as well as working with the home country of the offender to ensure investigation and prosecution once the offender is repatriated;

            (e)            Create a mandatory educational and training programme on human trafficking, gender equality, the effects of buying women and children for sex and on how to spot and assist a trafficking victim, for military and United Nations personnel.