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ECPAT USA - http://www.ecpatusa.org/code
Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct
Does Your Hotel Know? Video - http://www.ecpatusa.org/code - SCROLL DOWN WEBSITE TO CLICK ON VIDEO
With the growth of technology, traffickers and pimps are moving their business
off the streets and onto the Internet, behind closed doors and out of sight.
Trafficked victims are bought and sold in hotel rooms and exploited in
prostitution. A trafficker may check into a hotel and run their business out of
the rooms, unbeknownst to the employees, or use the hotel to meet with sex
buyers.
When asked, service providers and law enforcement
agencies report that almost every single pimped victim that came in
contact with has been exploited at one point in hotels.
"The Code"
The Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct is the only
voluntary set of business principles travel and tour companies can implement to
prevent child sex tourism and trafficking of children. The Code is a joint
venture between the tourism private sector and ECPAT. Companies that endorse
The Code are supported by ECPAT-USA to:
·
To establish a
policy and procedures against sexual exploitation of children.
·
To train employees
in children's rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation and how to report
suspected cases.
·
To include a clause
in contracts throughout the value chain stating a common repudiation and zero
tolerance policy of sexual exploitation of children.
·
To provide
information to travelers on children's rights, the prevention of sexual
exploitation of children and how to report suspected cases.
·
To support,
collaborate and engage stakeholders in the prevention of sexual exploitation of
children.
·
To report annually
on their implementation of Code related activities.
The Guidelines
What do they mean?
Establish a policy and procedures against sexual
exploitation of children. Official policies
send a message to staff that putting an end to the commercial sexual
exploitation and human trafficking is important to the company. Policies also
alert staff that engagement in exploitative behaviors is not tolerated and
empowers them to become knowledgeable on indicators of trafficking so they can
report their suspicions. Employees will also build a sense of pride for their
responsible employers.
In addition, a company must provide their employees with a protocol (procedure)
for responding to any suspicions of exploitation. Employees must know what to
look for and what to do should they suspect trafficking is occurring.
Train employees in children’s rights, the prevention of
sexual exploitation and how to report suspected cases. Employee training is the mechanism for sensitizing employees about the
issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking.
Employees who are well-trained on the issue will comfortably execute their
company’s protocol for responding to the issue. This prevents employees from
frantically reacting to situations, which could lead to violence from an
exploiter or an unnecessary scene. This issue should become part of on-the-job
training.
Include a clause in contracts throughout the value chain
stating a common repudiation and zero tolerance policy of sexual exploitation
of children. Official clauses in contracts with
suppliers send a zero-tolerance message to partners letting them know that they
should not look away when they suspect trafficking. They will alert business
partners about your important corporate commitment to child protection.
Importantly clauses can encourage partners to examine their supply chain and
role in mitigating trafficking. Keep track of the number of contracts where
this clause is introduced.
Provide information to travelers on children’s rights,
the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and how to report suspected
cases. Members of The Code are in a unique
position to raise awareness to the general public about the issue and how
travelers should report suspicious activity while traveling with the company.
Support, collaborate and engage stakeholders in the
prevention of sexual exploitation of children. “Key persons” are individuals the company cooperates with to raise
awareness about the issue and that The Code is a tool fight child trafficking.
This includes reaching out to governments, law enforcement, non-governmental
organizations, associations, etc.
Report annually on their implementation of Code related
activities. The Code has an online portal where
companies can update implementation over the year. At the end of each year, the
information will be transferred into an online report. Companies can add
additional items, programs, events, or instances they have expanded their work
and then submit the report to the Code Board. Members have the option to make
this report public on The Code’s website but it is not mandatory.
Membership Information
Implementation: As a now official member of the Code, you
gain access to ECPAT-USA staff as a resource for you implementation. We will
work with you to implement the plans outlined in your Action Plan, including
providing you with sample policy, clauses, and staff training. ECPAT-USA can
also provide you with regional law enforcement and service provider contacts.
Fees: As a member of the Code, signatories are required to pay a small
membership fee to the Code of Conduct International Secretariat, based on the
size of their company. The fee covers the use of the Code logo in your
promotion materials and allows the Code International to expand the awareness
activities and outreach in the travel sector. In 2013, the Code will release a
Contact Relation Management System (CRM) that will provide signatories with new
tools and services for member companies.
Reporting: At the end of each year, signatories must report annually on their
developments for Code implementation. The first year reporting form is longer and
includes information on the signing event, additional years are shorter.
ECPAT-USA assists signatories in their reporting and works to plan activities
for the following year.