Sex tourism

Sex Tourism

Sexual exploitation in travel and tourism is increasing in an interconnected and globalized, and it is becoming harder to manage and solve. Sex tourism is when “sex tourists” travel to other countries to buy sex from vulnerable women, girls from vulnerable poor and marginalized communities. It does not only involve tourists but also business travelers, migrant/transient workers and others.

Equality Now is doing the following to end sexual exploitation in travel and tourism:

Work with local organizations and survivors of sexual exploitation, including in travel and tourism, to build a nuanced understanding of sexual exploitation in their contexts, and jointly identify the range of interventions that are necessary to address it.
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work with local partners to engage with state and non-state actors at the national, regional and international levels throughout the ecosystem and ensure that a movement of actors takes action to address sexual exploitation, including in travel and tourism.
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Promote state accountability to protect people from sexual exploitation by advocating for laws and policies that take into account the ecosystem of related and relevant laws and policies within each context and international laws and standards.
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Advocate that national laws uphold international laws and standards which have clear provisions on addressing sexual exploitation, structural and sex inequality and impunity of exploiters while protecting the exploited.
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Support local organizations to challenge impunity using the law and support them to deepen their analysis and be able to challenge attitudes towards shifting responsibility from those exploited to the exploiters.
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Support strategic litigation that highlights the predatory and gendered nature of sexual exploitation in travel and tourism and challenges the criminalization and social stigma faced by the exploited.
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Advocate for laws and policies that recognize the role of enablers and exploiters, and the impunity they enjoy while often making huge profits, and therefore penalize their actions taking into account the extent of their culpability in the cycle of sexual exploitation chain.
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Equality Now: Impact on tackling sexual exploitation in travel and tourism

1996: TAKING ON BIG APPLE ORIENTAL TOURS

We campaigned to shut down Big Apple Oriental Tours, a New York City-based company exploiting women and girls in the Philippines and Thailand. In 2007, our efforts led New York to amend its anti-trafficking law, which gave police the tools to prosecute sex tour operators. After many investigations, we helped convict the company’s co-owner Douglas Allen of promoting prostitution in 2013.
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2003: PASSING FIRST US STATE LAW AGAINST SEX TOURISM

We began our campaign to shut down Hawaii-based sex tour operator Video Travel, a company exploiting women and girls in Thailand. Our campaign and legal support inspired Hawaii to introduce and pass the first state law to criminalize sex tourism. Video Travel’s proprietor had his travel agency license revoked and is no longer allowed to operate in Hawaii.
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2005: CALLING ON THE US GOVERNMENT TO END SEX TOURISM

We called on the US government to stop sex tourism and to investigate GF Tours, a company exploiting women in Southeast Asia. We lobbied for stronger enforcement of federal anti-trafficking laws, which make sex tourism a crime, to shut them down. Due to our efforts, GF Tours removed graphic content from its materials.
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