OneChild - Protecting children in travel and tourism

title protecting children in travel and tourism

Canada has ratified the UNCRC and committed itself to protecting children from sexual exploitation at the 2002 UN Special Session on Children and the three World Congresses Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. In Canada, extraterritorial legislation exists that allows child sex offenders to be prosecuted in Canada for crimes committed in other countries. But despite the convictions of Donald Bakker, Kenneth Klassen, Armand Huard and Denis Rochefort etc. and more than a hundred investigations of Canadians committing sexual crimes against children abroad, the majority of the Canadian public isn't familiar with our child sex tourism law and its consequences.

onechild youth step up

In 2005, youth members mobilized themselves to plant the seed for the first public awareness initiative with the Canadian travel and tourism industry. The goal: sensitize Air Canada--a key player in the arena--to the problem of CSEC and its connection to tourism; and invite them to collaborate with young people in promoting child-wise tourism. Armed with creativity, passion, and determination, our youth members succeeded in partnering with Air Canada in launching a petition and producing an inflight-video for Air Canada to sensitize over 400,000 passengers per month on the social, legal, and humanitarian consequences of engaging in child sex tourism, and call them to action. The youth-run campaign has since been hailed as a 'best practice' by the World Tourism Organization's Task Force for the Protection of Children.

Canada has ratified the UNCRC and committed itself to protecting children from sexual exploitation at the 2002 UN Special Session on Children and the three World Congresses Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. In Canada, extraterritorial legislation exists that allows child sex offenders to be prosecuted in Canada for crimes committed in other countries. But despite the convictions of Donald Bakker, Kenneth Klassen, Armand Huard and Denis Rochefort etc. and more than a hundred investigations of Canadians committing sexual crimes against children abroad, the majority of the Canadian public isn't familiar with our child sex tourism law and its consequences. In 2005, youth members mobilized themselves to plant the seed for the first public awareness initiative with the Canadian travel and tourism industry. The goal: sensitize Air Canada--a key player in the arena--to the problem of CSEC and its connection to tourism; and invite them to collaborate with young people in promoting child-wise tourism. Armed with creativity, passion, and determination, our youth members succeeded in partnering with Air Canada in launching a petition and producing an inflight-video for Air Canada to sensitize over 400,000 passengers per month on the social, legal, and humanitarian consequences of engaging in child sex tourism, and call them to action. The youth-run campaign has since been hailed as a 'best practice' by the World Tourism Organization's Task Force for the Protection of Children.
Youth-initiated Petition to Air Canada





Today, the youth of OneChild are thrilled to work in solidarity with the International Bureau for Children's Rights and Plan Canada in the first nation-wide awareness campaign with stakeholders from the private sector (Air Canada, Aéroports de Montréal), government agencies (Canada Border Services Agency, Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal and Sûreté du Québec) and with support from UNICEF. As the first phase of the campaign, three forums were held for members of the travel and tourism industry in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver to discuss the manifestations of child sex tourism and share good practices and tools to combat this crime. International Children's Day 2010 then, saw the launch of the campaign to disseminate friendly, yet cautionary messages on Canada's child sex tourism law through posters, brochures, email communications, inflight videos and inserts in inflight magazines. Distribution has begun via tour operators, travel agencies, airports, consulates and airlines. Stay tuned for what comes next! For further information, please contact us at info@onechild.ca	Youth member Abbey Cressman educates the audience at the Toronto forum
1. Learn about the commercial sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism here. 2. Download the poster and spread the word about the campaign! 3. Member of the travel and tourism industry? Join the campaign and request free copies of the campaign poster! Connect with us at info@onechild.ca. 4. Report cases of child sex tourism at Cybertip.ca