News Article

The Gambia is reported to be becoming an increasingly popular destination for European sex tourists and paedophiles. Sex tourists have been turning to the Gambia as the authorities in destinations such as Thailand and the Philippines run vigorous campaigns to keep them off their soil.

The Gambia is reported to be becoming an increasingly popular destination for European sex tourists and paedophiles. Sex tourists have been turning to the Gambia as the authorities in destinations such as Thailand and the Philippines run vigorous campaigns to keep them off their soil.

A report released in May by the Government of the Gambia and UNICEF revealed that sexual abuse and exploitation of children is on the rise in the small West African nation that is a favourite destination for tourists from a number of European countries.

The report concludes that the sexual abuse and exploitation of children is being perpetrated in two distinct but inter-related ways: sex tourism and the so-called "sugar daddy" syndrome. Through focus-group discussions, in-depth interviews and questionnaires, the report finds that children are being targeted for sexual relations by adult foreigners and nationals. Major contributing factors include high poverty rates (GNI per capita was US$330 in 2001, two thirds of population lives in poverty), low levels of education (37% adult literacy in 2000), and cultural acceptance of early sexual relations. Poverty, marginalization and lack of development are well known as being among the underlying causes for child sex tourism (Leung, 2003).

As many as 100,000 tourists visited The Gambia in 2003, mainly from Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands and Germany. The report finds that "The Gambia is a vulnerable target for … unscrupulous visitors such as suspected or convicted paedophiles who enter the country in search of a low profile location to commit their crimes against children silently and with impunity."

It reveals the strong existence of a false "glamorization" of prostitution, particularly in sex tourism. "Many children engaged in prostitution spoke of their envy of girls involved in prostitution – their clothes, style and hanging out at nightclubs." For many, according to the report, being a sex worker "means having access to a lot of cash to buy jeans, shoes, to go to beauty salons for hair and nail care to show off at beach parties and nightclubs."

"The report documents both sex tourism and sexual exploitation by Gambian adults," said Ms. Cheryl Gregory Faye, UNICEF Representative. "In the face of these clear violations of children’s rights, we are fortunate that strong political will exists, on the part of both the government and the tourism sector. Legislative steps were taken last year to curb sex tourism, and today’s launching featured five Government ministers who condemned these practices in no uncertain terms."

A report in the UK's Observer newspaper on 4 July highlights the Gambian sex tourist trade. Baboucar Jagne, manager at the African Village hotel, told the paper that he had recently intervened against a suspected paedophile. But he said for many hotels, sex tourists are good business. They spend plenty of money at the bar. "Last week a European man wanted to bring in a child. We asked to see the girl's birth certificate and a letter from the parents. Calling the police isn't much good. They will tell you they have no fuel to drive out. "

"Controlling this thing becomes our responsibility, and it is often very awkward. Once we stopped a tourist from bringing prostitutes in and he left a week early."

Geri Mitchell, a British woman who co-owns the 18-room Safari Garden hotel, said she had brought the problem under control 'as much as possible' through staff training and by turning her back on package tour operators. She is now refocusing her business on more upmarket eco-tourism. "As the owner, you have to step in. It's easier for me than for the staff. Gambians have great difficulty confronting white people."

Only a few prosecutions have been successful. In 2001 a German was given a two-year sentence for raping an eight-year-old. By contrast, a British resident was cleared in January this year for shooting a sex video with four white men and 11 teenage girls who were allegedly paid 100 dalasis (£2) each. The video was shown in court and five girls under the age of 18 testified. The magistrate cleared the Briton because no acts of actual sex were seen.

In June, members of the country's tourism industry signed up to a code of conduct which they hope - along with a new Tourist Offenses act - will help to stem sex tourism.

Their workshop was led by a Dutch campaigner, Frans de Man. He said European governments had so far paid only lip service to the problem. "It is people from our countries who are doing it. Our authorities should be checking who is getting on the planes." This April, the Norwegian press reported that a Norwegian teacher had been charged in Norway with sexual abuse of a boy in The Gambia, as Norwegian legislation now allows national citizens to be charged with sexual exploitation of children committed abroad. Extraterritorial legislation is being adopted by increasing numbers of country's as part of the fight against child sex tourism (Roberge, 2003; Seabrook, 2000).

But another story reported in Sunday's Observer shows the difficulties face by the Gambian authorities in clamping down on the trade. The British High Commissioner in Gambia is embroiled in a diplomatic incident after issuing a new passport to a Briton charged with raping a 10-year-old girl, thus allowing the man (whose passport had been confiscated by the police) to fly home before he was due in court. The Foreign Office said that it believed the family of the girl had dropped the allegation, but Gambian officials are adamant that this was never the case. The trial, due to resume on 21 July, was to have been the first brought under the country's new Tourism Offences Act drawn up by experts partly funded by British aid money.

For more information, contact:

Cheryl Gregory Faye or Salifu Jarsey, UNICEF Banjul,

+220-449-4760 to 4769

Roberto Benes, UNICEF Dakar, +221-889-0300, or

Margherita Amodeo or Jean-Claude Legrand,

UNICEF Regional Office in Dakar, + +221-869-5858

Or see the UNICEF report here.

Links

UNICEF

The Guardian

Leung, P. Child sex tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 2003, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 83-87

Seabrook, J. No hiding place: child sex tourism and the role of extraterritorial legislation, 2000, pp. xiv + 141

Roberge, J. International and Canadian solutions to the issue of sex tourism involving children. Téoros, Revue de Recherche en Tourisme, 2003, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 15-21