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About Crossing Borders

About Crossing Borders. Lessons learned and reaffirmed in the Robert M. sex-offender case. Bas Vogelvang Avans University. 1. Internationally active 2. Very young children. 1. Less vulnerable for detection and trial Very young children 2. Victim’s age and abuser relationship :

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About Crossing Borders

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  1. AboutCrossing Borders Lessons learned and reaffirmed in the Robert M. sex-offender case. Bas Vogelvang Avans University

  2. 1. Internationallyactive2. Veryyoungchildren • 1. Lessvulnerablefordetection and trial • Veryyoungchildren • 2. Victim’sage and abuserrelationship: Family Other Victim’s age member acquaintance Stranger 0-5 (10%) 49% 48% 3% 6-11 (58%) 42% 53% 5% 12-17 (32%) 24% 66% 10% • Snyder, 2000 • Barriers: 1) arrangeavailability 2) useforce 3) avoiddetection 4) minimizeguilt

  3. 3. Offenderage4. Offender type • 3. Relativelyyoung: • 4. ‘Lover’ and predator: Age % <21 3% 21-30 10% 31-40 24% 41-50 37% 51-60 19% >60 6% WODC 2004 Strong pedosexual Weak pedosexual preoccupation preoccupation Frequent child contact ‘lover’, often homosexual incest Incidental / infrequent child contact pedosexual predator opportunistic predator Knight & Prentky, 1990

  4. 5. Internet sharing6. Out of sight • 5. Notverycommon, increasedhisvulnerabilility • Linkedwithorganized crime • 6. Robert M. profitedfrom a lack of transnationallegislation and co-operation • cross-national pedosexual childabuse is onlyonedimension of cross-nationalchildsexualexploitation: • ChildSexTourism • ChildTrafficking • ChildPornography • Child Cybercrime • Associated ‘demand and marketrelated’ crime

  5. ChildsextourismdestinationcountriesVogelvang, Wolthuis & van den Braak 2004

  6. Childsextourism: offender typesECPAT 2010 • Situational child sex offender • Takes the opportunities presented to him to use a minor as sex object • Preferential child sex tourist • Actively travels and seeks out minors for sexual contact • Pedosexuals as subgroup, sometimes working together • Both types of offenders create a local demand in receiving countries

  7. Creation of a sextouristmarket • sexual desires and self-created opportunities of sex-offenders • poverty and underdevelopment, lack of education, urge for survival • political and social disruption and the existence of organized crime • lack of or insufficient national and extraterritorial laws, combined with corruption and lack of enforcement • legal tourist activity (hotels, bars, transport) also profits from the sex tourist market • cultural factors, most importantly opinions about girls and females and sexuality of minors, often religiously motivated • family circumstances • family pressure • sexual offending within the family • broken families and runaway children / orphans / adoption •  child trafficking •  child labour

  8. Example: Baltic states, 2000 • Downfall of communism: no immediate alternative social structure • Prostitution amongst street children • Russia and Scandinavia as sending countries • Linked with organized crime and trafficking to both Western Europe and Baltic states

  9. Childtrafficking in oneyear • 1.2 million children trafficked worldwide (UN). • Europe: 200,000 individuals trafficked annually from eastern Europe • Significant proportion being children being forced into child labour, prostitution and crime. • Terre des Hommes: 6,000 children between the ages of 12 and 16, with more than 650 being forced to work as sex slaves in Italy. • Increase of abuse of adoption procedures • Internet allows for finding and abusing children outside holiday resorts  change in trafficking destinations

  10. Childpornography and Cybercrime • Childpornography: • Productionincreasinglylinked to childsextourism • Consequentlylinked to trafficking of children to producenewpornographicmaterial • Cybercrime: • Linked with blackmail, child pornography, child trafficking and child sex tourism • Increase of online solicitation of children for self-generated webcam child abuse material • ECPAT: • Link equivalent legislation in all jurisdictions with integrated partnerships with the private sector, NGOs, education specialists and other stakeholders • Example: ROBERT: Risk taking Online Behaviour Empowerment through Research and Training • Internet and Online Service Providers need to install reporting mechanisms

  11. Response is slow butsteady • Pioneering work of NGOs and intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations • Followed by governments by increasing number of international conventions and treaties. • World Congresses Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation (Stockholm 1996, Yokohama in 2001). • Europe: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Adopted 2000. • Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse • Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime • Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on protecting the dignity, security and privacy of children on the Internet  • > 30 countries with extraterritorial laws that allow the prosecution of their nationals for crimes committed abroad, regardless of whether the offense is punishable in the country where it occurred.

  12. Heroes • Children at Risk in Baltic Sea Region • CRIN - Child Rights Information Network • ENOC - The European Network of Ombudsmen • ISPCAN - International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect • SEECRAN - South East European Child Rights Action Network • ECPAT - End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes • Save The Children • The Separated Children in Europe Programme • ICMEC - The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children • EURONET - The European Children's Network • EveryChild

  13. Operation Predator

  14. OperationRescue / Europol

  15. Recommendations: improve … • Prevention and treatment of (repeat) victims in receiving countries • Offender treatment availability and efforts for social inclusion combined with control and supervision, e.g. Circles of Support and Accountability • National and extraterritorial laws for sex offenders • Self-regulation and participation in legislation of (inter-)national organizations: • international / global trade companies, • tourist industries and national tourism departments, • national police and justice departments • internet providers • Role of NGOs combating child sexual abuse: Help them to ... • combine their efforts for collecting information and sharing it with (inter-) national organizations • launchmore worldwide awareness campaigns and local support programs • Hiring protocols and integrity screening of professionals & volunteers working with children • Assessment and intervention competence of police officers and child protection workers

  16. contact : bo.vogelvang@avans.nl

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