Type of intervention     

A series of toolkits and guides which can be used to facilitate training on the prevention of child sexual abuse and child sex tourism within the travel and tourism industry.   

Target group/s, level/s of prevention and sub-group/s:   

Primary prevention targeted at making the tourism industry safer for children. Tertiary prevention focused on supporting disclosures and recognising abuse.   

Target population     

Organisations and individuals involved with the tourism industry, tourists, parents and caregivers, and children and young people who may be at risk of CSE.   

Delivery organisation     

World Vision is an international Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation. Their primary aim is to support vulnerable children out of poverty with a focus on their religious ethos. As an organisation, they seek to engage in community-based development, provide emergency relief, advocate for justice in societies, work with churches to integrate their practice and raise awareness of the issues they work with.

These programs were developed as an aspect of Project Childhood: Prevention Pillar. This initiative was funded by the Australian Government and sought to prevent child sexual exploitation and child sex tourism and enhance law enforcement of this within the Mekong. The primary countries of focus were Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Mode and context of delivery  

Guides, slides and facilitator notes to deliver interactive workshops. 

Level/Nature of staff expertise required    

None; however, it is advised that facilitators have good knowledge of child sexual abuse/exploitation and are able to handle sensitive topics.   

Intensity/extent of engagement with target group(s)    

A few hours to a full day depending on the training guide being used. Small groups – 40 participants depending on the training guide.  

Description of intervention

The Child Safe Tourism approach involves World Vision working with governments, local communities and the travel and tourism sector to prevent the occurrence of child sexual exploitation. This includes educational workshops and training, advocacy and raising awareness of the risks to children in the travel and tourism sector.

They have developed a series of resources providing information about child sexual exploitation and workshop guides to deliver training to the industry, parents and care givers and community representatives. Sessions are designed to be engaging and interactive, promoting group discussion and understanding of child sexual abuse. These are produced in English, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese and can be found here: https://www.wvi.org/asiapacific/childsafetourism.

Tourism Sector Training: https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/ENGLISH_Tourism%20Toolkit.pdf

This guide contains information and facilitation tools to deliver workshops to those working in the tourism sector ranging from customer facing staff to government ministries. Sessions are designed for 30-40 participants and to last one day. The primary aims are to understand the vulnerabilities of children in the tourism sector and how this industry can contribute to these risks; recognise the signs of child sexual abuse; find ways to take action to prevent child sexual abuse; and feel responsible for and enabled to make change.

Parent and Carer Discussion Forum Training: https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/ENGLISH_Parents_carers%20Toolkit.pdf

This provides guidance on running discussion forums for parents and care givers of under 18’s. These sessions are designed to last roughly two hours for 20-25 participants. The expected learning outcomes are to understand what child sexual abuse it, recognise how children may be at risk of it, and how to protect children from abuse; understand children are never to blame; see the key issues relating to child sexual abuse and the tourism sector; have the skills to proactively protect children from harm, raise concerns about child sexual abuse and access support and referral services.

Community Representative Discussion Forum Training: https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/ENGLISH_Community%20reps%20Toolkit_0.pdf

This session is targeted towards community leaders such as faith leaders, teachers, social and youth workers, and community elders. The estimated duration is around two hours for 20-25 participants. The main objectives are to understand child sexual abuse, its impacts, and specific issues relating to tourism; know that children are never to blame; understand their responsibility to uphold children’s rights; recognise indicators or risk and abuse; recognise actions they can take to prevent abuse, or if they receive disclosures of abuse; gain skills in developing referral mechanism for abuse disclosures.

Evaluation     

Unknown

References     

Project Childhood Prevention Pillar. (2012). Child safe tourism: The tourist perspective. Retrieved from https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Tourist%20Perspective_ENGLISH.pdf

Project Childhood Prevention Pillar. (2013). The child safe traveller. Retrieved from https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Child%20Safe%20Traveller_ENGLISH.pdf

Project Childhood Prevention Pillar. (2014). Sex, abuse and childhood. Retrieved from: https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Sex-Abuse-Childhood-Report.pdf

A full directory of World Vision publications, reports and studies can be found here: https://www.wvi.org/publications

Contact details     

Website:  https://www.wvi.org/asiapacific/childsafetourism

Email: info@worldvision.org.uk

Telephone: 0044 8000 858188

Contact details for a range of national offices can be found on the website.

RATING: Pioneering

INFORMATION CORRECT AT JUNE 2021