c. 2004 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ A Christian relief organization, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have launched a global advertising campaign to fight child sex tourism by Americans traveling abroad.

An estimated 2 million children are trapped in the multi-billion dollar global commercial sex trade, according to World Vision, a nonprofit organization that initiated the Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project. Some of the children are as young as 5 years old.

“I am not a tourist attraction,” says a child’s voice on one of the commercials World Vision broadcasts via CNN airport network in 39 major U.S airports. “It’s a crime to make me one.”

A roadside billboard advertisement in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh warns, “Abuse a child in this country, go to jail in yours.”

Cambodia, Thailand and Costa Rica are among the countries where the child sex trade is the most prevalent, according to World Vision, which unveiled the campaign on Tuesday (Oct. 12). However, the problem is a global one, with children prostituted in other parts of the world.

“This program is intended to deter U.S. citizens from exploiting children overseas by sending a clear message that offenders risk significant prison time for their actions,” said Joseph Mettimano, director of the project, in a statement.

He pointed out that convicted offenders face up to 30 years in prison.

Although specific statistics are not available due to the underground nature of the child sex trade, World Vision estimates that 25 percent of child sex tourists globally and 80 percent of those in Latin America are from the United States.

The joint initiative by World Vision and the government aims to prevent future offenses by Americans in child sex tourism through deterrence of not only chronic, repeat offenders but “situational offenders” _ those who might travel abroad for legitimate reasons but decide to engage in child prostitution.

For those who will not be deterred, World Vision will use its presence in the destination countries, coupled with its connections with local aid organizations and law enforcement officials, to help the U.S. State Department and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) extradite and prosecute offenders.

Saying that World Vision will provide “eyes and ears” to the U.S. government in sex tourism destination countries, Mettimano pledged to help the State Department and ICE expose and prosecute American offenders.

The project will include an aggressive media campaign with Internet web sites, billboards and tourist magazines in destination countries, and in-flight and airport video broadcasts warning tourists of the legal consequences of sexually abusing children in other countries.

Many of the men who make up the demand in child prostitution come from wealthy, democratic countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, according to Ambassador John Miller, director of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

“We’re sending a message to these individuals that if you prey on children _ whether in the U.S. or abroad _ you will be brought to justice,” said Michael J. Garcia, assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement for the Department of Homeland Security, in a statement.

Global child sex tourism is “the second most profitable business for international crime organizations, after narcotics,” according to Rosalia Gil, Costa Rican Minister of Children’s and Adolescent Affairs.

Costa Rica is one of the partner countries where World Vision introduced the Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project this year, along with Cambodia and Thailand. The organization plans to expand the program to include other child sex tourism destination countries, including Brazil and Mexico.

The World Vision project will also provide training to local law enforcement agencies in the destination countries to help identify and apprehend offenders.

The project has a current budget of $800,000, including a $500,000 U.S. State Department grant.

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