Child sexual tourism

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Occurs when grown-up tourist, either domestic or foreign, sexually exploit children and give them money or some kind of favor. It is a horrible and shameful form of assault to the child’s dignity and rights and it is considered a form of violence and child abuse.

In Peru, article 181 A of the Criminal Code, punishes sexual exploitation of any minor in tourism by clearly stating that “Anyone who promotes, advertises, publicizes or facilitates child sex tourism through any means, including prints, brochures, visual material, audio, electronic, magnetic or online material, for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation of teenagers aged between fourteen and seventeen. The penalty for promoting sexual tourism that exploits teenagers aged between fourteen and seventeen years will received a punishment of between two and six years of imprisonment. This sentence will be increased to six to eight years if the victim is under the age of fourteen. The penalty will also be regulated by the clauses 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the article 36. In cases of involvement by a public official or a child's parent or guardian, teacher or anyone who was entrusted with the care of the child, the penalty is eight to ten years’ imprisonment”.

What is a sexual tourist?

A sexual tourist is a person, domestic or foreign, visiting a city, province or town, with the intention of hiring sexual services of underage boys or girls.

We should take into account that the criminal definition of “User – Client” exists in Peru. According to the article 179 A of the Criminal Code that states that: "Anyone who, through a financial benefit or advantage of any kind, has vaginal, anal or oral sexual intercourse with a minor, or performs similar acts with a minor by introducing objects or body parts into any of the first two passages with person aged fourteen or younger than eighteen years old, shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than four nor more than six years".

Is there any code of ethics for tourism which disapproves such crime?

Yes. According to Article 2 of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, adopted in 1999 by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, which states that: "The exploitation of human beings in any form, particularly sexual, and especially when affects children, conflicts with the fundamental aims of tourism and constitutes the negation of tourism. As such, in accordance with international law, it should be energetically combatted, with the cooperation of all the states concerned, and penalized without concession by the national legislation of both the countries visited and the countries of the perpetrators of these acts, even when they are carried out abroad”.

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