Unholy Nexus_Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism ...

Unhnholy y NexuxusMale e Child d Sexuxual l Exploitation in Pilgrim TourismSite s in n India: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and OrissaJune 2008EQUATIONSIn collaboration with ECPAT International

Unholy Nexus: Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaAndhra Pradesh, Kerala and Orissa2008 EQUATIONS/ECPAT INTERNATIONALThis publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational, advocacy or not-for profit purpose.We would appreciate your, letting us know of the use it has been put to and acknowledging us as the source.Research TeamResearch Coordination - S.Vidya, Programme Coordinator, Child and Tourism Programme, EQUATIONSPrimary Research in Tirupati - S.Vidya and G. Ram Kumar, Andhra Pradesh State NetworkingCoordinator, EQUATIONSPrimary Research in Guruvayoor - S.Vidya and Seema Bhaskaran, Independent Researcher (now StateProject Director, Kerala Mahila Samakhya)Primary Research in Puri - S.Vidya and Joyatri Ray, Independent ConsultantLegal Research Support - S.Vidya and Ananya Dasgupta, Programme Coordinator, Governance, Law andTourism Programme, EQUATIONSCollaborating OrganisationsPeoples Action for Social Service (PASS): Working on development of the poor, the destitute, the aged,the handicapped, disadvantaged women and children in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.Peoples Cultural Centre (PCC): Working on people’s empowerment and sustainable development inBhubaneswar, Orissa.Rural and Urban Socio-Cultural Help (RUSH): Working on HIV/AIDS control and prevention andproviding helplines for children in need of long-term support and care in Puri, Orissa.Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS): Working on training of medical and paramedical staff onHIV/AIDS/STI prevention and control, in Thiruvananthapuram, KeralaResearch AdvisorsJunita Upadhyay, Programme Officer for Child and Youth Participation and Regional Officer for SouthAsia, ECPAT InternationalRosemary Viswanath, Chief Functionary, EQUATIONSLayout design : Shashwati BIllustrations : Mrignayani, aged 5 yrs. & G. Anoushka, aged 3 yrs.Printing : Focus Communications

ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of Acronyms and DefinitionsDefinitions of TermsExecutive SummarySection 1: Situating Child Sexual Abuse in Tourism in India 1Section 2: The Research Objective, Time Frame, Methodology 6Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), 9Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)Case study 1: Tirupati 10– The Context– The Children Speak– Where Sexual Abuse Takes Place– Modus Operandi– Socio-Economic Cultural Background– Profile of the Exploiters– Response from various StakeholdersCase study 2: Puri 17– The Context– The Children Speak– Where Sexual Abuse Takes Place– Modus Operandi– Socio-Economic Cultural Background– Profile of the Exploiters– Response from various StakeholdersCase study 3: Guruvayoor 24– The Context– Response from various StakeholdersSection 4: Legal Framework 28– Laws Addressing Male Child Protection– Leading Cases in India on Male Child Sexual Exploitation– The Mechanism for Protection of ChildrenSection 5: Recommendations 41Bibliography 47Annexure– Annexure I: Interview questions and methodology 51– Annexure II: Media Clippings 59vviiixxiii

AcknowledgmentsWe dedicate this research report to the children we met as well as those we could not meet,whose lives and experiences form the basis of this report. Their openness to share theirtraumatic experiences was moving. We are grateful to the community members, teachers,officials, sex workers, tourism sector operators, and the range of NGOs working on childrights issues that we met during the course of our research. Their willingness to provide usinformation and contacts and to share perspectives provides the material of this study.Our very grateful thanks are due to the NGOs that actively collaborated with us in the threestates. People’s Action for Social Service (PASS) in Tirupati, People’s Cultural Centre(PCC) Bhubaneswar, Rural and Urban Socio-Cultural Help (RUSH) Puri, and Kerala StateAIDS Control Society (KSACS) Thiruvananthapuram. Their commitment, courage andsensitivity while working on the issue was a source of inspiration for us.We gratefully acknowledge the support of Ms. Junita Upadhyay of End ChildProstitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes(ECPAT) International in Bangkok, Thailand, for her advice and inputs at various stagesof the research.We hope this study will be one more step towards preventing the abuse and exploitationof children. We hope it will enable the Government, the tourism industry and otherstakeholders to play a more proactive and decisive role in the protection of children in thecontext of tourism. We also hope it will serve to stimulate further debate on childprotection initiatives among various sections of civil society and encourage them toexercise their stake and influence on the need for greater protection of children.EQUATIONSJune 2008v

AcronymsADGPAIDSAPTDCCSACSECSECCSOCSTCWCDICDWCDECPATFGDHIVICDSICPSILOIPCIRWPAITAITPAKTDCKMSSJJAMOLMOTMWCDNCLPNCWNCPCRNGO: Additional Director General of Police/Prosecution: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation: Child Sexual Abuse: Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Civil Society Organizations: Child-Sex Tourism: Child Welfare Committee: Drop-In-Centres: Department of Women and Child Development: End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children forSexual Purposes: Focus Group Discussion: Human Immunodeficiency Virus: Integrated Child Development Scheme: Integrated Child Protection Scheme: International Labour Organization: Indian Penal Code: Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act: Information Technology Act: Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act: Kerala Tourism Development Corporation: Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society: The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act: Ministry of Labour: Ministry of Tourism: Ministry of Women and Child Development: National Child Labour Projects: National Commission for Women: National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights: Non-Governmental Organizationvii

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaNICPNIPCCDNHRCNPASTIsUNCRCUNODCUNWTO: National Initiative for Child Protection: National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development: National Human Rights Commission: National Plan of Action: Sexually Transmitted Infections: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime: United Nations World Tourism Organisation

Definitions of TermsChilda. “the child” means every human being below the age of18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier(United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989), whichIndia ratified in 1992)b. A person who has not completed the age of sixteen (The Immoral Traffic(Prevention) Act, 1956). The Ministry of Women and Child Development in2008 has proposed amendments to the Act in which the legal age limit fordefinition of “child” is extended to be eighteen years.c. A boy who has not attained sixteen years and a girl who has not attainedeighteen years of age (The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)Act, 2000)Note: We have worked with the UNCRC definition in this research study.Child AbuseIn India there is no specific legislation defining the term “child abuse”. In cases ofchild abuse, rape laws under the Indian Penal Code, which apply to the sexual abuseof women, are extended to apply to children. It is only the Goa Children’s Act 2003which provides a specific definition on child abuse:Refers to the maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of the child, which includes anyof the following:i. Psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotionalmaltreatment;ii. Any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsicworth and dignity of a child as a human being; andiii. Unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for survival, such as food andshelter, or failure to immediately give medical treatment to an injured childresulting in serious impairment of his growth and development or in hispermanent incapacity or death.(The Goa Children’s Act, 2003)ix

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaChild Pornography“. . . any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulatedexplicit sexual activities or representation of the sexual parts of a child, the dominantcharacteristic of which is depiction for a sexual purpose.” (Optional Protocol on thesale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Optional Protocol), 2002.In May 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol inorder to extend the measures contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.The Protocol entered into force in January 2002).“Publishing of information which is obscene in electronic form - Whoever publishes ortransmits or causes to be published in the electronic form, any material which islascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend todeprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevantcircumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall bepunished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term whichmay extend to five years and with a fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, and inthe event of a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either descriptionfor a term which may extend to 10 years and also with a fine which may extend to twolakh rupees.” (The Information Technology Act 2000, Government of India)Child Prostitution“The use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other form ofconsideration.” (Optional Protocol, 2002)Child Sex Tourist“The sexual exploitation of children by a person or persons who travel from theirhome district, home geographical region, or home country in order to have sexualcontact with children. Child sex tourists can be domestic travellers or they can beinternational tourists. It often involves the use of accommodation, transportationand other tourism-related services that facilitate contact with children and enablethe perpetrator to remain fairly inconspicuous in the surrounding population andenvironment” (Combating Child Sex Tourism: Questions & Answers. ECPATInternational, 2008)Most experts identify three different types of child sex tourist:1. Situational Child Sex Tourist: they abuse children by way of experimentation orthrough the anonymity and impunity afforded by being a tourist. He or she doesnot have an exclusive sexual inclination for children. Often, the situationaloffender is an indiscriminate sex tourist who is presented with the opportunity tointeract sexually with a person under 18 and takes it.2. Preferential Child Sex Tourist: they display an active sexual preference for children,usually pubescent or adolescent children. He or she may still have the capacity toexperience sexual attraction for adults but will seek out minors for sexual contact.x

Definitions of Terms3. Paedophile: they manifest an exclusive sexual inclination for pre-pubescentchildren. Usually considered as someone suffering from a clinical disorder, thepaedophile may not show any preference for the gender of children or view sexualcontact with children as being harmful.Commercial Sexual Exploitation“is a fundamental violation of children’s rights. It comprises sexual abuse by theadult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons. Thechild is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. The commercialsexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence againstchildren, and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery.” (TheDeclaration and Agenda for Action of the World Congress against CommercialSexual Exploitation of Children. 1996)Prostitution“The sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purposes, and theexpression ‘prostitute’ shall be construed.” (The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,1956)Sale of Children“Any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or group ofpersons to another for remuneration or any other consideration.” (OptionalProtocol, 2002)Sex Tourism“. . . trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector butusing its structures and networks, with the primary purpose of effecting acommercial sexual relationship by the tourist with residents at the destination istravelling for commercial sexual relationship or to engage in other sexual activity.(United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO))Street ChildrenA girl or boy “for whom the street has become his or her abode and or source oflivelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised or directed by responsibleadults.” (International Labour Organization 2002)Tourist“Any person who travels to a country other than that which he/she has his/her usualenvironment for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visitis other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the countryvisited.” (UNWTO, 1993)xi

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaTrafficking“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer,harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or otherforms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of aposition of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits toachieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purposeof exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of theprostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour orservices, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.(Ministry of Women and Child Development, Integrated Scheme for Protection ofWomen and Children from Trafficking, Government of India, 2007)xii

Executive SummaryThis summary highlights the key objectives and findings of the research study. Thestudy aims through primary and secondary data collection (done between December2007 and March 2008) to understand the context and factors for male child sexualexploitation in well known pilgrim tourist areas - Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Puriin Orissa and Guruvayoor in Kerala.Situating g Child d Sexuxual l Exploitation n in n Tourism in n IndiaTourism is the world’s fastest growing industry and in recent years, has come to playan increasingly dominant role in the economies of developing countries. In India,like in many other parts of the world, tourism is viewed and promoted as adevelopment tool to stimulate economic growth in local economies.Tourism has the potential to provide employment, cultivate tolerance and encourageknowledge of different cultures, while aiding in the preservation of heritage and theenvironment. However along with the growth in tourism, concerns about the adverseimpacts of tourism are also growing. Current models and forms of tourism leaveserious questions about the extent to which local communities actually benefit fromit. Tourism destinations are facing increasing pressures on their natural, social andcultural environments. In India, tourism development without responsibility,accountability and protective measures has led to sexual exploitation of children inthe form of child abuse, child trafficking, child prostitution, pornography and childsex tourism, and increase in child labour. All these in turn increase vulnerability ofchildren to drugs, crimes, HIV/AIDS, and alienation from communities and families.In India, pilgrim tourism forms an important sector of tourism. With many religiouspractices in the country, it has numerous pilgrim sites of different religions spreadacross the nation. These sites continue to draw visitors mainly from within thecountry but also from the wide diasporas of non-resident Indians apart from foreigntourists. Pilgrimage centres have and continue to be seen as revered places, butincreasingly the link between prostitution and pilgrim sites is growing.Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have been lobbying for the prevention of childsexual abuse and child sex tourism for decades. In 1991 the issue of child sextourism caught media and government attention when six men were accused ofsexually abusing downtrodden children at an orphanage run by Freddy Albert Peatsin Goa. They hailed from countries like Australia, New Zealand and Germany.Unfortunately, only Peats could be sentenced as the other managed to flee thecountry. Breaking the myth that child sexual abuse was a phenomenon limited toxiii

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaGoa and isolated to foreign tourists alone, aseries of studies over the years published byimportant official agencies and organisationslike National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), National Commission for Women(NCW), Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment (MWCD), ECPAT Internationalworking on protection of children havehighlighted the links between tourism and therampant existences of child sexual abuse inother parts of the country.Even though public opinion is on the riseabout child sexual exploitation by tourists inIndia, little has been done to study the use ofmale children for prostitution in most places.In most reported cases the persons involved insexual exploitation have been men. Therefore,it is assumed that their victims will be eitherwomen or girl children. However this is nottrue, the victims are often male children. Malechildren are also sexually abused andexploited at workplaces, in market place,hotels, bus stations, schools and othercommunity places. This is a complex problembecause of the double standards that societyhas about homosexuality and the fact that it isstill criminalised in India. Further more, inmany cases children exploited in thisfashion and circumstances go on to beinvolved in prostitution.The main objectives of the research were toinvestigate and raise awareness on the extentand nature of child sexual exploitation bycollecting qualitative information on thenature, scope and manifestation of male childprostitution, particularly in the tourism sector.This was done through case studies on threeimportant pilgrim sites in India – Tirupati(Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) andGuruvayoor (Kerala). The study also identifiedkey actors who are involved in and/orfacilitate prostitution of male children. Thestudy employed research methods such asinterviews, focus group discussions with thechildren themselves, government officials,community members, teachers and NGOs. Itattempts to document the causes,circumstances, locations and profile of thesechildren and the context in which such sexualexploitation continues unchecked. The impacton children’s physical, psychological,emotional and economic condition is alsodocumented through these case studies.Finally, the study recommends actions thatcan be taken particularly at local andregional levels to combat prostitution in malechildren and to increase awareness amongvarious stakeholders to take forwardadvocacy efforts against this issue in thestate and at national levels.The case studies of 3 pilgrim sitesCASE: TIRUPATI (ANDHRA PRADESH)Tirupati is in Chitoor district of the state ofAndhra Pradesh in South India. The townowes its existence to the temple of Lord SriVenkateswara situated on the Tirumala Hilladjoining it. For the worshippers, the deitysymbolizes goodness, and is believed to be thefulfiller of every wish made to him bydevotees. In 2007 the Ministry of Tourismstated that temple brings nearly 20 millionvisitors every year and is one of the mostvisited religious places in the world. Tirupatigets mostly domestic and Non-ResidentIndians (NRI). Not many foreign touristscome to Tirupati. The popularity of the templecan be judged by its annual income which wasestimated to be at Rs 5.3 billion in 2004.Tirupati also serves as a regional centre fortrade and commerce. However, apart frompiety there are other human impulses too thatfind vent on the sacred hills as Tirupati hasemerged as a “hot spot” for commercial sexhighlighted in a survey which was conductedby AP State AIDS Control Society (APSACS).xiv

Executive SummaryIndividual discussions with nine male childrenaged between six and eighteen years revealedthat male child sexual abuse is rampant inTirupati. These children were from broken andmigrant families who migrated from TamilNadu and Maharashtra.Children spoke of domestic tourists who visitthem regularly for the purpose of having sex.A few of these tourists prefer to have thesame child during their next visit to Tirupatias well. This is done by contacting the samechild through phone, or by e-mail used incyber café’s to fixing a place and date tomeet. There are no middle men for mediatingwith the clients.Children were abused when they were as youngas six to ten years old and by fifteen yearsthey are engaged in prostitution mainlycatering to domestic tourists as well as localpeople. Once they are in the clutches of thisweb it is very difficult for them to get out. Thisis because once seen as “prostitutes” they findto difficult to get other jobs which does nothave this component in it. The kind of moneythat they earn (which they need) also putspressure on them to stay on and not seeksomething else which probably would be muchlower paid. Sexual abuse takes place mainly inhotels, lodges, street corners, rooms where thetourist live, deserted construction sites,playgrounds, parks, cinema theatres, east andwest railway stations, railway tracks- overbridges, stadiums, cemetery etc. Domestictourists often use small lodges and rooms inthe bars for this purpose.Children mentioned that family pressure onthe male child to earn a living for the family isvery high and at times; this pressure forcesthem to take up prostitution as an option toearn money. They also felt that though it isoften humiliating, they do not have any optionto disassociate themselves now from the sextrade. The male children interviewed werefrom the lower income group, but abovepoverty level. They mentioned that growingmaterial needs also influenced their decisionto get into prostitution. Two of the childrenmentioned that they are doing this to get theirsister married to a good person so that shecould lead a better life. These children alsoshared that the family members consider thatthere is less risk with male children selling sexthan girls due to social stigma and fear ofpregnancy for the girls.NGO’s working with street children andchildren in prostitution also conformed this.They were of the opinion that sexualexploitation is used as power to dominateunderprivileged groups. The same logicapplied in the case of tourism as well.Tourists are powerful -they have money powerand that is what they use to exploit thechildren and women. The children beingrelatively powerless are not vocal and it iseasy to exploit them. They also said that thechildren would do whatever the tourists wouldask them for making it easier to fulfil allsexual fantasies and perversions with a childjust because children are less empowered tosay “no” to adults.CASE: PURI (ORISSA)Puri is a famous and important Hindupilgrimage destination, the site of the 12thcenturytemple of Lord Jagannatha. Its beachis another attraction. Along withBhubaneshwar and Konark it forms part ofOrissa’s golden triangle for tourism. Numberof domestic tourist arrivals to Puri in 2007 is59,44,890 and foreign tourism arrivals is41,880 as per the Department ofTourism, Orissa.Puri, Konarak, Pentakota village and areasaround the Jagannath Temple were visited forxv

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiathe purpose of this study. During the visit wemet thirteen affected children, eight fromPentakota and five from Puri beach area. Thechildren interviewed were between the ages ofsix and eighteen years. All the childrenexplained poverty as one of the factorresponsible for their situation. Childrenmentioned that building relationship withforeign tourists is more “profitable” thandomestic tourists as foreign tourists providedthem with toys, chocolates, cycles, nice dressesand sometimes money to renovate their housesor to build houses as well. This we heard fromalmost all the children.Most of the children mentioned that they hadsex with a wide range of tourists. Childrenmentioned there are tourists who pay just Rs.50/- up to tourists who pay Rs. 200/- per dayand the rates keep differing each day. Sexualabuse takes place mainly in places likerailway stations, hotels, dhabas, lodges,street corners, beach, rooms where thetourist live, local prostitution houses.Children also shared that the beach is oftenused as a place to have sex at night as thehawkers leave by 7.30 pm. Most of theforeign tourists use hotels while domestictourists use small lodges and rooms in thebars for this purpose. Another location thatwas mentioned by the children and shopkeepersis the newly set up massage parloursthat cater solely to tourist demand. It hasbeen observed that the number of massageparlours and health clubs have mushroomedin Puri that primarily cater to foreign anddomestic tourists where prostitution takesplace involving both adults and childrenagain both male and female children .Children shared that they are contacted on thebeach when selling trinkets. In a few casesthey are contacted directly by the tourist. InPuri foreign tourists also come into contactwith children in the guise of ‘English teacher’or ‘Social worker’. Domestic tourists oftenmake contact with children through pimps orhotels. There are local agents for cateringdomestic tourist needs, but for foreign touristthere is no need for middle men/agent. Theyapproach children and their families directlyand provide money for their daily needs. Thisallows the tourist to take their children out forfew hours and sometimes for a longer periodof time as well. Foreign tourists who comewith the intention of exploiting children mostlystay in the hotels which are near slums or poorareas. They start talking to children and theirfamilies by walking into the slums and streetsand attempt to gain their confidence. Theyenter the small houses and the people who arepoor are excited at a foreigner coming to theirpoor hut. Later with the permission of thefamily, they take the children to places that thechildren have not seen before. They startabusing them there, some times using force. Ina few cases children do not say anythingbecause they are scared and as they told us “ifthey refuse, they have to miss the opportunity ofenjoying their life”. The children said that inexchange for sex they get everything what theywanted such as good clothes, food, goingaround to new places, movies, money, andsometimes even satisfying family needs.Therefore they don’t object.The impact on children’s physical, psychological,emotional condition is also documented throughthese case studies. The children initially abusedwere mentally disturbed and were not able toface other people with confidence. Once they areinto the clutches of this web it is very difficult forthem to get out. This is because once seen as“prostitutes” they find to difficult to get otherjobs which does not have this component in it.The kind of money that they earn (which theyneed) also puts pressure on them to stay on andnot seek something else which probablywould be much lower.xvi

Executive SummaryCASE: GURUVAYOOR (KERALA)Guruvayoor in Thrissur district is a majorpilgrim centre in the State of Kerala, where thefamous Sree Krishna temple is situated and is apopular domestic tourist destination. Numberof domestic tourist arrivals to Guruvayoor in2006 was 11, 16,998 and foreign touristarrivals was 1537 as per the Department ofTourism, Kerala. The foreign tourist arrivalsare less in Guruvayoor as compared to othersites because foreigners and non-Hindus are notallowed inside the temple.In Guruvayoor the issue of child sexual abuse isless visible. Unlike Tirupati and Puri, childrenwere not seen living on the streets. One of themain reasons was due to the ban on childlabour being enforced by officials in Kerala.The Department of Labour, Kerala and theState Commissioner are directly workingtowards their goals of “eradication of childlabour in the state”. There are nearly 100 ofthe department’s jeeps plying up and down thedistrict watching and distributing pamphletsand notices stating that “child labour is anoffence and any child seen on street will betaken to Juvenile homes”. As a result, childabuse cases have become even more hidden andcovert. In order to be seen implementing theban, children are picked up from the streets,from small hotels, roadside eateries and putthem into rehabilitation and juvenile homes.However during focused group discussionswith community members from Chavakkadand Ponnani areas revealed that several malechildren are abused and it is commonly knownthat they are involved in prostitution. We wereinformed that this is culturally accepted in theregion. The stories around the prevalence ofhomosexuality/bisexuality abound, and thereseems to be a cultural acceptance of this. Inearly times, trading through the sea wascommon from Chavakkad and Ponnani areas.When men went to sea for several days on endthey took smaller boys with them for sexualservicing. In the current scenario many of themen are in the Gulf countries, when theyreturn, they engage in the abuse of malechildren. Discussions with women revealedthat they often felt relieved that men were notgetting into extra marital relationships orseeking women prostitutes. In Guruvayoorthough they have heard about male childsexual exploitation they have not heard of anyregistered case or any complaint from any oneresiding in the area. We could not find anyevidence of foreigners being involved in childabuse in Guruvayoor. It seemed from thediscussions and opinions of communitymembers that tourists who were involved insuch abuse were primarily from within Kerala.Priority y Actions, Steps s and d RecommendationsThe research aims to delineate minimum andcritical steps to be taken for protection andprevention of such exploitation. While theresearch focuses on the male child, many ofthe findings and recommendations are equallyapplicable to girl children in similar contexts.While the recommendations flow from thedata and the facts emerging from the researchstudy, it must be noted that similarrecommendations have been made over theyears by civil society organisations andresearchers working on the issue ofexploitation of children. It is critical thatvarious stakeholders demonstrate seriousintent to address the issue of sexualexploitation of children in the tourism sector,decisively and consistently.It is absolutely necessary for the governmentand the tourism industry to accept that theissue and problem of child exploitation is areal and serious one, and play a more activerole in protecting, respecting andappreciating of the rights of the child. In thexvii

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indialegal arena, the problems in addressing malechild abuse are related to the absence of law,but more due to the lack of a system ofawareness, the lack of information - whichmakes this problem that much challengingthough there is much that the legal systemmust do to improve its response to this crime.It is important to recognize that childrendoes not mean only the female child, malechildren are also equally vulnerable and alsosubjected to these forms of exploitation. Thismust be recognized and appropriate rescue,rehabilitation, reintegration services shouldbe established to respond to the victims.Given below is a summary of the keyrecommendations. For detailrecommendations refer full report.General l Recommendations It is important that the National andState Tourism Policies acknowledge therole of tourism in exploiting children,clearly denounce sexual exploitation ofchildren and commit that tourism andtourist destinations will be childexploitation free zones. The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) to evolveand develop a “National Plan of Action toCounter Child Abuse in Tourism” byinvolving all the stakeholders such asindustry, tour operators, travel agents,hotels local authorities, the judiciary, thepolice, child rights and other civil societyorganisations and communities for theprotection and combating child abuse. Departments of Tourism at the centre andstate levels to state in their Annual Reportevery year the incidents uncovered of childsex tourism, the efforts they have taken tocombat this and their commitment to makeIndia free from Child Sex tourism. The tourism industry, tour operators, travelagencies, hotels to come up with a Code ofConduct or join the existing Code ofConduct (www.thecode.org) for theProtection of Children from SexualExploitation in Travel and Tourismdeveloped by ECPAT International. All establishments which provide lodging,accommodation, temporary housing,rooms, place to stay, quarters, lodge orany similar facility should ensure thatchildren are safe and not at risk of childabuse within their premises including alladjoining beaches, parks etc. Fines and penalties should be extremelysevere for companies and/ or individualswho are engaged in prohibited behaviour. Ifa hotel fails to report incidences of minorsbeing brought into the hotel by person otherthan family members, then the hotel shouldlose its license. Strict monitoring must alsobe applied to tour companies if their guidesfacilitate tourists securing children. Theowner and the manager of the hotel orestablishment should be held solelyresponsible for any contraventions.Recommendations s for r Prevention The Ministry of Women Child Development(MWCD) should come up with acomprehensive Act so that sexual abuseand exploitation of children is considered avery serious crime and to impose veryserve and deterrent punishment to theoffenders, both Indians and foreigners whocommit sexual exploitation againstchildren in the context of tourism. MWCD to pressurize Ministry of HomeAffairs to come up with extradition laws toensure that foreign perpetrators of crimesare brought to justice and to ensure that noxviii

Executive Summaryforeigner escapes punishment by leavingthe country. To agree on a uniform age to define a childin legal terms as various acts in Indiaconcerning children have different agelimit, allowing many loopholes. Werecommend that “a child” should bedefined as a person up to 18 years of age,as required by the United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC), which is ratified by India. State Commission for protection of childrenmust be immediately formed in all states toensure protection of rights of children. Efforts must be made to actively involvethe panchayats (elected bodies responsiblefor administration at district level, usuallyin charge of local development issues), inmonitoring the situation in their areas,including checking children who come intoand leave village. A system for recordkeeping must be created. In addition tothat, community-based organizations mustwork more closely with the police toprovide legal assistance to victims and alsoto ensure that the police systematicallylodges each FIR with the relevant detailsand actively pursues cases. State action plans should include provisionsto tackle and protect boys from prostitutionin all settings and manifestations especiallyin high risk areas such in the case ofAndhra Pradesh, Orissa etc. Care facilities and human resources shouldbe made available to adequately supportsexually exploited boys. These servicesmust be based on minimum standard ofcare which is yet to be developed.Moreover greater access to viablealternative livelihood options must bemade available to sexually exploited boys. The global distribution of childpornography via Internet and othertechnologies without uniform laws toprotect children makes it difficult fornational law enforcement authorities toprosecute offenders locally. It is thereforeof primary importance that India bring itslegislation in compliance with theinternational child protection standards setforth in the Convention on the Rights of theChild and its Optional Protocol on the saleof children, child prostitution and childpornography, both of which India hassigned and ratified. The Information Technology Act 2000 beamended to criminalize all acts ofproducing child pornography for thepurpose of distribution through a computersystem, offering, making available,distributing, transmitting child pornographythrough a computer system, using computersystems and other information technologiesto groom children; as well as possessingchild pornography in a computer system. Asone of the leading nations in thedevelopment of new technology, India canno longer ignore the abuse of children thatinformation and communication technologyis facilitating.Recommendations s for r Protection Strengthen hotline services byguaranteeing that they have the networksand services callers need. This includesvictim protection services as well as policefollow-up of required. Guaranteeavailability of multiple languages so as toaccommodate most if not all callers. Child rights laws and methods of handlingchild abuse cases also to be specificallyincluded in the Police Training Schoolcurriculum.xix

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India Airport authorities, border police, railwaypolice, traffic police shall report anysuspected cases of abuse of children or anadult travelling with a child undersuspicious circumstances, such adults mustbe detained for questioning at the nearestpolice station. All steps should be taken at theprotective homes to restrict or even denythe visiting rights of any one who may beconsidered to be a perpetrator, includingthe parent of the child.Recommendations s for r Prosecution Any offence in case of tourism relatedchild sexual abuse should be considered asnon-bailable offence as defined underSection 2 (a) of the Code of CriminalProcedure, 1973. Immediate steps should be taken to adoptextra-territorial laws and initiateappropriate action to ensure that nooffending tourist (foreign and domestic)escapes punishment by leaving thiscountry/state. Any form of soliciting or publicizing ormaking children available to any adult oreven to other children for sexual activitymust be prohibited. This includes hostingwebsites, taking suggestive or obscenephotographs, providing materials,soliciting customers, guiding tourists andother clients, appointing touts, usingagents or any other form which may leadto abuse of a child must be punished withlife imprisonment. Indian Law on prostitution must be amendedto specifically address children, clearly definewhich activities and types of remunerationare prohibited, and criminalise all acts ofobtaining, procuring or providing a child forprostitution, as required under the OptionalProtocol. In addition, legal protectionagainst sexual exploitation must be grantedto male children.Recommendations s for r Prevention n andAwareness-rs-raising g Camampaigns Sensitisation and training of authoritieslike railway and traffic police, airportauthorities, is particularly important sothat they are aware of various child rightslaws and methods of preventing andhandling child abuses related cases. Running extensive media campaigns toinform tourists that exploitation ofchildren and Child Sex Tourism is notacceptable in our country, in partnershipwith Tourism Industry. To give awareness and capacity buildingprogrammes to all the Law enforcingauthorities to effectively address cases ofchild sexual abuse including the process ofpenalizing the offenders. Capacity building of the police, governmentdepartment and local NGOs to address childpornography would be highly recommended,as there is a lack of such expertise in Indiaand the problem is escalating.Recommendations s for r Future e Research More in-depth studies on the commercialsexual exploitation of boys and girls in thecontext of tourism is needed to supporteffective campaigns and interventionsagainst this phenomenon. A national levelnetwork/forum on prostitution of boysshould also be established as the foundationfor adequate responses, exchange ofinformation and programme intervention.xx

Section 1Situating Child Sexual Exploitation in Tourism in IndiaTourism’s growtwthTourism is the world’s fastest growing industryand in recent years, has come to play anincreasingly dominant role in the economies ofdeveloping countries. In India, as in manyother parts of the world, tourism is viewed andpromoted as a development tool to stimulateeconomic growth in local economies. Tourismhas the potential to provide employment,cultivate tolerance and encourage knowledgeof different cultures, while aiding in thepreservation of heritage and the environment.According to the Ministry of Tourism, 1improvement of tourist infrastructure,enhanced connectivity and marketing andpromotion campaigns have led to a continuinggrowth in tourist numbers. The foreign touristarrival in India, which was 2.29 million in1996, reached 4.45 million in 2006. Thenumber of domestic tourists recorded as140.12 million in 1996 increased to 461.16million in 2006. The industry contributed 5.9per cent to the country’s gross domesticproduct (GDP). The Ministry of Tourismcommissioned a National Tourism SatelliteAccounting Report for India which showed thattourism supports 46.87 million jobs (directlyand indirectly), thereby making up 8.78 percent of the total jobs within the country.However, along with the growth in tourismare the increasing concerns about the adverseimpacts of tourism. Current models andforms of tourism leave serious questionsabout the extent to which local communitiesactually benefit from it. Tourism destinationsare facing increasing pressure on theirnatural, social and cultural environments.In India, tourism development withoutresponsibility, accountability and protectivemeasures has led to sexual exploitation ofchildren in the form of child abuse, childtrafficking, child prostitution, pornographyand child-sex tourism, and an increase inchild labour. All these in turn increase thevulnerability of children to drugs, crimes,HIV/AIDS, and alienation from theircommunities and families.Situating g the childIndia is home to more than 375 millionchildren, comprising nearly 40 per cent of thecountry’s population, the largest number ofminors in any country in the world. Despite itsclaims to non-violence, tolerance, spiritualityand a new trillion-dollar economy, India has thelargest number of sexually abused children inthe world. Every day, more and more childrenaround the world are subjected to sexualexploitation and sexual abuse, and the age atwhich children are abused is decreasing. 2 Theprocurement of children for exploitation arewell organised rackets, be it traffickers,procurers, pimps or brothel operators.The National Study on Child Abuse in April2007, 3 covering 13 states in India and asample size of 12,446 children, commissionedby the Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment (MWCD), revealed that over halfthe surveyed children (53%) had been sexuallyabused. The report states that more boys1

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India(72.6%) than girls (65%) were harmed and21 per cent of the children reported severeabuse. The most affected were children atwork (61% reported sexual abuse). Streetchildren (54%) were highly vulnerable tosexual abuse.Child d abubuse e and d tourism – evididence e from studiesand d investigationsCivil society organizations (CSOs) have beenlobbying for the prevention of child sexualabuse and child-sex tourism for decades. In1991, the issue of child-sex tourism caughtmedia and government attention when six menwere accused of sexually abusing downtroddenchildren at an orphanage run by Freddy AlbertPeats in Goa. They hailed from countries suchas Australia, New Zealand and Germany.However, only Peats was sentenced, as theothers managed to flee the country.Breaking the myth that child sexual abuse wasa phenomenon limited to Goa and isolated toforeign tourists alone, a series of studies overthe years published by official agencies andorganisations working on the protection ofchildren have highlighted the links betweentourism and the rampant existence of childsexual abuse in other parts of the country.The 2002 EQUATIONS study Coastal SexTourism and Gender, commissioned by theNational Commission for Women (NCW), 4highlighted the prevalence of child sexualabuse and prostitution in Puri. The researchshowed enough evidence of male child sexualabuse as well.Another EQUATIONS study from 2003,Situational Analysis of Child Sex Tourism inIndia (Goa and Kerala), commissioned byECPAT International, reported a rise inprostitution and trafficking in women andchildren for the purposes of sex tourism andlabour. The study also revealed that child-sextourism was facilitated with the help ofintermediaries who assisted tourists inaccessing the children, such as with localhotels and lodges, tour operators, formervictims of paedophiles serving as procurers,beach boys, ‘pilots’ or motorcycle taxi drivers,and shack owners. Some advertisements aboutgaining access to children in prostitution areopenly available on the web.In 2004, an article by Sairam Bhat on theissue of children in Goa reported that “theState is now witnessing an alarming rise insexual abuse against children in the 7-16age group, the arrests and investigations bysocial groups reveal that more than 10,000paedophiles visit the coastal State everyyear and molest children, especially broughtin for the trade from Karnataka. The sexualexploitation of children is also carried outby local citizens, and is not limited tocrimes committed by foreign tourists asgenerally assumed”.The issue of male child abuse in the town ofGuruvayoor was first reported by Dr.Vijayalekshmi, Director of the WomenEmpowerment and Human ResourceDevelopment Centre of India (WHI) during aconsultation on how to combat trafficking andcommercial sexual exploitation of women andchildren, which was organised by the SocialWelfare Department in 2004. Dr. Vijayalekshmibased it on the study Children in Prostitution inthe cities of Trivandrum, Ernakulam andCalicut: In Kerala State - a Report 1999.Male child sexual abuse was also highlightedin a Doctoral Thesis (unpublished) entitled“Child Sexual Abuse: An explanatory study ofthe Kerala scenario”, by Seema Bhaskaran 5 in2005. Based on this information EQUATIONSheld discussions and meetings with variousstakeholders in a preliminary investigation in2006. This investigation confirmed that male2

Section 1: Situating Child Sexual Exploitation in Tourism in Indiachild sexual abuse is common in the lodgesnear the temple.In 2006, a study on Trafficking of Women andChildren in India, commissioned by theNational Human Rights Commission (NHRC), 6provided further evidence of the growingphenomena of child-sex tourism inpilgrim, coastal tourism and most majortourist destinations such as Kerala, Delhi,Agra-Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur Rajasthan, Orissa,Andhra Pradesh, and Pondicherry.The study also noted that the beachesof Goa and Kovalam were increasinglybecoming destinations for those seekingchild prostitutes.In 2006, the weekly magazine Outlook 7featured an article on Puri in Orissa, whichreported that “children below 13 offer sex for afew hundred rupees. Prominent among the‘temples of pleasure’ are the 20-odd massageparlours, which offer allurements ranging from‘complete rejuvenation by nubile fingers’ to‘100 per cent satisfaction’ and ‘milk and honeybaths’. The services come cheap: Rs 100 anhour for a simple massage, Rs 300 for oral sexand Rs 600 for ‘complete sex’. There is moreon offer: pimps can arrange for group sex withtwo or three children (boys or girls or both) foranywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000.Many foreigners also prefer to film the action.”In 2006, another media article 8 Anvita Sekhar,reported that “it is the modestly priced hotelsand the privacy offered by the beaches andcasuarina forests in Puri that attract a certaintype of tourist from the West. The men, usuallyin the 40-60 year age group, travel alone andstay for weeks at the hotels. The beach providesa good hunting ground as the children of thefishing community, Nolia, play there from noonuntil evening. There are no adults around as themen go to sea early to catch fish while thewomen and older siblings are engaged in dryingfish, doing household chores or working asmaids in the surrounding hotels. The foreignersoften join the children in their games and lurethem into their rooms with offers of chocolates,games and empty mineral water bottles (askingthe children to fill the bottle with water anddeliver it to their room as the pretext for luringthe child to their room).”In 2006, ECPAT commissioned a study on theprostitution of boys in South Asia. 9 The studyindicated that prostitution of boys is anemerging problem in tourism destinations suchas India, 10 Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan andBangladesh. It states that “male childexploitation occurs in locales such as streets,markets, bus terminals, hotels, restaurantsand religious establishments. A large numberof boys living on the streets are victims ofsexual exploitation, and the average age ofboys being forced into exploitation isapproximately 12.5 years or younger. Themajority of sexually exploited boys haveexperienced sexual abuse prior to theirentrapment into prostitution.”In 2007, a study 11 commissioned by theInstitute of Social Sciences reiterated thatKerala is slowly turning into a hub of child-sextourists 12 . According to the study, along withthe growth of tourism in Kerala, there isincreasing victimisation of children and anincrease in sex tourism. According to thestudy the hoteliers in areas such as Alappuzhaand Ernakulam promote sex tourism becausesuch services bring in extra income. Thevictims are often projected by agents ascollege girls in search of fun and excitementor wanting to earn an extra buck. In placeslike Alappuzha, foreign tourists stay inhouseboats, making houseboat sex tourism anew and thriving concept. This is a safemethod, as there are hardly raids onhouseboats. There are fewer laws against childabuse in India and the beaches of Goa and3

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaKovalam in Kerala are increasingly becomingthe main destinations for those seeking childprostitutes. Many children mentioned that theyhad sex with a varied range of tourists for Rs50 to Rs 200. It noted the difficulty ofconducting quantitative research on such aclandestine and illegal industry.In 2007, a situational assessment report 13prepared by Global Humanitaria, BaruipurSitakundu Sneh Kunja and Action Pour LesEnfants further raised awareness on thesituation of the sexual exploitation of childrenin the town of Puri and reported that “Puri is aplace frequently visited by sex offenders whoalso visit other places in Orissa (Gopalpur onSea, Chilika Lake, Konarak) and other Indianstates. It is possible to live very cheaply inIndia, which makes it easier for foreign visitorsto prolong their stay in the country. As somedubious visitors are used to staying in Puri andmixing with locals, taking pictures of nakedchildren, sending money to families, supportingschools and orphanages and doing the same inother parts of India, this report emphasisedthat it is essential that Puri be watched over”.At a UNODC meeting in October 2007,ECPAT’s Executive Director stated that themost significant societal factor that pushedchildren into prostitution was poverty.Children in these families become easy targetsfor procurement agents in search of youngchildren, she said. They are lured away frombroken homes by ‘recruiters’ who promisethem jobs in a city and then force the childreninto prostitution. Some poor familiesthemselves send their children for prostitutionor sell them into the sex trade to obtaindesperately needed money 14 .In November 2007, the Women and ChildDevelopment Minister, Renuka Chowdhury,revealed in the Lower House of Parliament(Lok Sabha) that studies conducted by theNational Human Rights Commission (NHRC)and the National Commission for Women(NCW) show that sexual exploitation ofchildren is quite widespread in pilgrim,heritage and coastal tourism areas. 15The complexity y of f the situationAlthough public awareness about child sexualexploitation by tourists in India is on the rise,little has been done to study the use of malechildren for prostitution. In most reportedcases the persons involved in sexualexploitation have been men; therefore it isassumed that their victims will be eitherwomen or girl children. However, the victimsare often male children. Male children arealso sexually abused and exploited inworkplaces, in markets, hotels, bus stations,schools and other community areas. This is acomplex problem because of the doublestandards that society has abouthomosexuality and the fact that it is stillcriminalised in India. In many cases childrenexploited in this manner and under thesecircumstances become involved in prostitution.Boys involved in prostitution run the risk ofrape, violence, drug abuse, sexually transmittedinfections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, andeven death. They frequently face harassmentand are stigmatised by their communities,particularly if it becomes known that they arehaving sex with men. Homosexuality is a crimein India under Section 377 of the Indian PenalCode 1860 (IPC) and is considered a taboosubject in society. The cases involving sexualexploitation of boys most often go unreportedand are shrouded behind a veil of silence. Mostinterventions in India with regard to this targetgroup have been on HIV/AIDS awareness. Notenough has been done either by Governmentor civil society to develop and coordinaterescue, rehabilitation and welfare programmesfor these male children who are victims ofsexual exploitation.4

Section 1: Situating Child Sexual Exploitation in Tourism in IndiaEndnotes1Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, “Tourism Statistics“, can be accessed at http://tourism.gov.in/2Article by Neeta Lal, “Hidden Darkness: Child Sexual Abuse in India“, 2 nd May 2007can beaccessed at http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=476&Itemid=343“Study on Child Abuse India: 2007“, study commissioned by Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment, Government of India, can be accessed at http://www.wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf4“Study on Coastal Sex Tourism and Gender, by EQUATIONS commissioned by NationalCommission of Women, 2002.5Seema Bhaskaran, “Child Sexual Abuse: An Explanatory Study of the Kerala Scenario“(Doctoral Thesis unpublished), School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies, M.G.University, Kottayam, Kerala, 2005.6“Trafficking of Women and Children in India“, study commissioned by National Human RightsCommission, 2003 can be accessed at http://nhrc.nic.in/Documents/ReportonTrafficking.pdf.7Jaideep Mazumdar,”HIV @ Rs 100: Off Puri’s holy precinct, unholy sex tourism has madePentakota, a small fishing hamlet, paradise for paedophiles“. Outlook magazine dated 13thNovember 2006.“Unholy Undercurrents: Is the Puri beach becoming a fishing ground for thepaedophilic?” AIDSBUZZ, Asia-pacific special edition, New Delhi, March 2006.9ECPAT International, “Situational analysis studies on prostitution of boys“ in Bangladesh, Indiaand Pakistan in collaboration with its partner organizations, 2006.10ECPAT International, “Situational Analysis report on Prostitution of Boys in India(Hyderabad)“, June 2006, can be accessed at http://www.humantrafficking.org/uploads/publications/India_Hyderabad.pdf.11Institute of Social Sciences,”Calls for greater international battle against child-sex tourism“,2007.12Indian Express, “Kerala turning into child-sex tourism hub: Study“, 16th January 2006.13Global Humanitaria (Gh), Spain,- Baruipur Sitakundu Sneh Kunja (Bssk), India And ActionPour Les Enfants (Aple), France. “Assessment of the Situation of Sexual Exploitation ofChildren in the Town of Puri“, State of Orissa, India. March 200714This was highlighted by Carmen Madriñán,, executive director of the NGO End ChildProstitution, Child Pornography, and the Trafficking of Children (ECPAT), during the UNconference on human trafficking, held at Delhi, which was organised by UNODC and Ministry ofWomen and Child Development, Government of India in October 2007.15Times of India “Child sex tourism prevalent in India“, Renuka Chowdhury, , New Delhi., 23 rdNovember 2007, can be accessed at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2565154.cms5

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaSection 2The Research Objectives, Time Frame, MethodologyThis research project aims (through primaryand secondary data collection) to study malechild sexual exploitation, prevalent in wellknown pilgrim tourist areas - Guruvayoor inKerala, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Puriin Orissa. The report also aims to delineateminimum and critical steps to be taken forthe protection and prevention of suchexploitation. While the research focuses onthe male child, many of the findings andrecommendations are equally applicable togirl children in similar contexts.In India, pilgrim tourism forms an importantsector of tourism. With many religiouspractices in the country, numerouspilgrimages are spread across the nation.These religious sites continue to drawvisitors, mainly from within the country, butalso from the wide diaspora of non-residentIndians as well as foreign tourists.Pilgrimage centres have and continue to beseen as revered places, but increasingly thelink between prostitution and pilgrim sites isbecoming more prevalent, as evidencedthrough the studies mentioned above.This study employed research methods such asinterviews, focus group discussions with thechildren, government officials, communitymembers, teachers and NGOs. It attempts todocument the causes, circumstances, locationsand profiles of these children and the context inwhich such sexual exploitation continuesunchecked. The impact on children’s physical,psychological, emotional and economic conditionis also documented through these case studies.The main n objectives s of f this s research h were e to Investigate and raise awareness on theextent and nature of child sexualexploitation by collecting qualitativeinformation on the nature, scope andmanifestation of male child prostitution,particularly in the tourism sector. This wasto be done through case studies on threeimportant pilgrim sites in India – Tirupati(Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) andGuruvayoor (Kerala); Identify key actors who are involved inand/or facilitate prostitution in malechildren; Recommend actions that can be taken,particularly at local and regional levels, tocombat prostitution in male children; and Increase awareness among variousstakeholders and take forward advocacyefforts against this issue in the state and atnational level.Time e FramameThe field work and data collection for theresearch was conducted between December2007 and March 2008.Research h MethododologyThe issue under research is complex, sensitiveand hidden, and consequently a range ofresearch methods were employed. It was alsotaken into account that as these were reveredholy sites, authorities were often unwillingtherefore to acknowledge the issue. Each site6

Section 2: The Research Objectives, Time Frame, Methodologyalso had its own patterns and profile of tourists,different cultural identities and different ways ofunderstanding the issue. Though the overallframework was the same, the strategy andmethodology for receiving information variedfrom one tourist area to another.In order to get an overview of the issues in eachof the sites a number of NGOs working on childrights issues were contacted. This was done inseveral rounds and based on the discussions andtheir engagement and the further interest towork on this issue, one organisation each fromPuri and Tirupati, respectively, was invited forcollaboration in the case study. This was notpossible in Guruvayoor, as no organisationthere worked specifically on the issue. Anumber of steps followed:1. Identifying the children with help of theNGOs working in the specified locations. Inthe case of Tirupati-AP, the local NGOPASS assisted.2. In Guruvayoor, the police was contacteddirectly, as well as anganwadi teachers andworkers, Child Development ProjectOfficer, ICDS supervisor, sex workers, andcommunity members.3. In Puri, identifying the children wasconducted in collaboration with the localNGO People Cultural Centre inBhubaneswar.4. The key methodologies used were interviews(children, officials, community members, keyinformants – these included the exploitedchildren, hotel and lodge employees, shackowners on the beach in Puri, adult sexworkers, taxi drivers, photographers, etc.),focus group discussions – particularly inGuruvayoor, and secondary informationcollection from various departments as wellas a literature review. Field observationswere also relied on.While the research focused on male children,it should be kept in mind that female childrenare also abused in regard to tourism-linkedexploitation. In Tirupati, there are drop-incentres for female street children that areseparate from the drop-in centres for malechildren, and the locations of these drop-incentres are also different. However, theresearch did not go into detail on the abuseof female children.In Guruvayoor, the general information pointsto more female children than male childrenbecoming involved in prostitution of a moreorganised nature, although there wereincreasing reports of boys also being abusedand forced into prostitution, an aspect on whichthis study is focused. In Puri, reports fromearlier visits and from this research points tomore male children being subjected to abusethan female children in the tourism context.As part of the research, dialogues were heldwith the General Secretary and other teammembers working in PASS. With their help,access to children was facilitated for interviewpurposes at bus stops, railways stations, streetcorners, etc., sites where the children normallyhang out and are prone to abuse. Severalvisits were taken to the drop-in centres 1 run byPASS and Snehalaya working for therehabilitation of street children in Tirupati.For the case study on Tirupati, a total of ninechildren were interviewed. They were childrenwho came to the drop-in centres on their ownand had worked in the streets and in smalllodges and hotels. Their ages ranged fromeight to 18 and all were male children. Theywere asked a range of questions and theirresponses are organised in various sections onthe following pages. Many of the children’sresponses were corroborated by cross checkingwith other children, NGO staff, otherindividuals and officials.7

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaIn Puri, materials (field notes) from the 2002study on Coastal Sex Tourism and Genderwere used. In 2008, a research teamcorroborated the trends observed then. Visitswere made to the People’s Cultural Centre,Rural & Urban Socio-Cultural Help (RUSH)and the People’s Empowerment and Need-Based Community Development (PENCODE)in Puri. Other visits included Puri, Konarak,Pentakota Village and areas around theJagannath Temple.Thirteen children were interviewed in Puri,eight from Pentakota and five from the Puribeach area. They were between the ages of sixand eighteen and had been affected by sexualexploitation. Discussions were also held withthe Department of Women and Children andthe Department of Tourism, Orissa. InKonarak, there were discussions with localtaxi drivers and photographers. (In 2002,focus group discussions were held with NGOsand community members. In 2008 it wasfound that the situation remained unchanged).The children were hesitant to speak outinitially but they gained confidence with thepresence of local people and promisedconfidentiality of their identities.In Guruvayoor, the issue is less visible.Children who were victims of sexual abusewere not on the streets. This was due to theban on child labour being enforced by officialsin Kerala. The Department of Labour, Keralaand the State Commissioner are directlyworking towards the goals of “eradication ofchild labour in the State”. In an effort toimplement the ban, children are picked upfrom the streets, from small hotels and roadside eateries and put into rehabilitationcentres and juvenile homes. As a result, childabuse cases have become even more covert.Yet another problem was that there were noorganizations working on male child sexualexploitation in the area or in other parts ofKerala. There are very few demarcated orknown red-light areas, and sexual exploitationhappens in homes and in lodges.In Guruvayoor, focus group discussions wereheld with community members in each village,angawadi teachers and workers (who wereuneasy and insecure about giving outinformation), and the tourism department.Consultations were held with the Departmentof Social Welfare, Government of Kerala.The data summarised in this report came froma limited number of geographic locations andit would be hard to generalise if the attitudinalbehaviours and trends that are reported reflecta uniform national picture. Despite theselimitations, this effort represents one of thefirst attempts to explore the issue of malechild sexual exploitation in pilgrimage tourismsites in India and could serve as a basis forprotection and prevention of the sexualexploitation of male children in the country.The names of the children interviewed havebeen changed to ensure confidentiality and toprotect them. Their ages, gender and locationdetails have not been changed.Endnotes1Drop-in centres means ‘Mythri’, which means friends run by PASS organizations – These centres,are for children, men, women involved in prostitution. The children can stay in the drop-incentres during the day when they are free instead of roaming outside. They can spend some timein the drop in centre along with other members, but in they are not allowed to indulge in anysuch activity. These centres are regularly visited by doctors and counsellors.8

Section 3Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh),Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)9

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaCASE STUDY 1TIRUPATIThe ContextTirupati is located in Chitoor district in thestate of Andhra Pradesh in South India. Thetown is well known for the temple of LordSri Venkateswara, which is situated on theTirumala Hill adjoining it. For worshippers, thedeity symbolises goodness, and is believed tofulfil every wish made by devotees. In 2007,the Ministry of Tourism 1 stated that the templedraws nearly 20 million visitors each year andis one of the most visited religious sites in theworld. Tirupati mainly receives domestic andnon-resident Indians (NRI). Very few foreigntourists come to Tirupati. The popularity of thetemple can be judged by its annual income,which was estimated to be at Rs 5.3 billion in2004. Tirupati also serves as a regional centrefor trade and commerce. However, apart frompiety, there are other human impulses that findvent on the sacred hills as Tirupati has emergedas a “hot spot” for commercial sex 2 ashighlighted in a survey conducted by AP StateAIDS Control Society (APSACS).As part of the EQUATIONS research,dialogue was held with the General Secretaryand other team members working in PASS,who assisted in meeting the children andvisiting locations such as the drop-in centresrun by PASS. For this case study onTirupati, nine children were interviewed.Their ages ranged from eight to 18 and allwere male children. Many of the children’sresponses were attempted to be corroboratedby cross checking with other children and theNGOs, other individuals and officials. Wewere not able to meet many other childrenwho were now engaged in prostitution fulltime due to the fact that they were out withtheir clients (we were informed about this bythe children who we interviewed and by themembers working in PASS as well).Four peer educators working on a part-timebasis for PASS and who had been involved inprostitution were also interviewed. Thesepeer educators were initially involved inprostitution full-time, but with the help ofPASS they are trying to emerge from thesituation. As a part of their efforts to quitprostitution, they are involved in creatingawareness and capacity building on HIV/AIDS and the use of condoms. It takes awhile before the peer educators arecompletely weaned from prostitutionthemselves and the rapport that they wereable to build with the children was animportant communication tool.Focus group discussions were also held withthe nine children and four PASS membersworking in the drop-in centres. Thediscussions took place at the PASS drop-incentre in Tirupati, as it was a place they werefamiliar with and there felt secure. Thechildren were initially hesitant to speak, butthe presence of the PASS Coordinator helpedand it was explained that the informationbeing gathered was for research that wouldhelp them and other children in similarsituations. Once the children were moreconfident about the purpose of the visit theywere open for discussion and were willing toexplain their situations and how they becameinvolved in prostitution. Conducting theinterviews required careful “setting up” ofthe context, introduction to the issue, types ofquestions asked, etc. Annex 1 provides thequestions asked as well the descriptions ofthe questions set forth in each site. Inaddition, discussions were held with themanager of the Andhra Pradesh TourismDevelopment Corporation (APTDC) forfurther information and verification.10

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)The Children n SpeakIndividual discussions with the childrenrevealed (these children were also part of thefocus group discussion) that male child sexualabuse is rampant in Tirupati. Children knowdomestic tourists who visit them regularly andtake them out for having sex. A few of thesetourists prefer to have the same child duringtheir next visit to Tirupati. In most cases, theexploiter contacts the child by phone or by e-mail and arranges a place and date to meet.When the tourist’s “preferred child” is notavailable at the location as agreed, he sends amessage to the child through other malechildren who are also involved in prostitution.The information sharing is only between thechildren themselves. They do not use amiddleman for mediating with the clients.Four children shared their family situations andstated that poverty in the family forced theminto prostitution. Five of the nine childrenshared that they had been abused before theage of 10 by neighbours and family members,resulting in feelings of low self-esteem, lack ofconfidence and confusion. PASS alsocorroborated that the children were abusedfrom as young as the age of six to 10 years oldand by 15 years old they were involved inprostitution full-time, mainly catering todomestic tourists visiting the sites as well aslocal citizens. Our discussions with the childrenrevealed that once they are into the clutches ofthis web it is very difficult for them to get out.Once seen as prostitutes they find to difficult toget other jobs which does not have thiscomponent in it. The kind of money that theyearn (which they need) also puts pressure onthem to stay on and not seek something elsewhich probably would be much lower paid.Four peer educators who were abused and arenow in full-time prostitution shared that theyeducate other children to use condoms and totake precautionary measures to protectthemselves from HIV/AIDS. They also sharedthe same difficulty of being unable to get outof this line of work.One of the children, who is a rag picker andalso involved in prostitution, revealed thatevery day at least five to 10 new malechildren are seen on street corners, in marketplaces, near movie theatres, etc., areas thatare typically used for such exploitation. Heand his friends do not know where thesechildren come from or where they go after afew days. They are apparently brought in bydomestic tourists.Two of the children said they became involvedin prostitution due to their family situations.They saw being in prostitution as anopportunity to both protect the family and toreduce economic pressures on the family.Four of the peer group children shared thatthey were abused when they under the age of10. As this abuse continued, by men whomthey knew, they could not object as they werethreatened that if they did not oblige the menwould use their sister or mother. Thesechildren thus continued suffering the abusewithout questioning, reporting or seeking help.They said they now had the attitude of “nottrusting any one in life”. One of them said,“everyone comes to us for cheap sex so thatthey need not spend money. With assistancefrom PASS we are able to spend our free timeat the drop-in centres along with otherchildren and older men who are also involvedin prostitution. Otherwise we would have tostand near the bus stop where people give allsorts of looks, which make us feel very bad, asif we are not human beings.”Lack of education, lack of alternative jobopportunities and lack of economic/emotionalsupport from their families, lack of care andaffection from the family also compel manychildren to enter into sex work for survival. The11

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiachildren also seem to recognise their parent’sdilemma of poverty giving them no option andtherefore not intervening in either preventing orprotecting the child from such abuse.In the focus group discussions, masculinity asa factor was raised. Male children mentionedthat family pressure on the male child to earna living for the family is very high and attimes this pressure forces them to take upprostitution as an option to earn money. Theyalso felt that although it is often humiliating,they do not have any other options todisassociate themselves from the sex trade.The male children interviewed were from thelower income group, but above the povertylevel. They mentioned that growing materialneeds also influenced their decision to enterinto prostitution. Two of the childrenmentioned that they are doing this to get theirsister married to a good person so that shecan lead a better life.The children also shared that the familymembers consider that there is less risk withmale children selling sex than girl children dueto social stigma and fear of pregnancy for thegirls. This was agreed by other children aswell during the focus group discussions.PASS representatives stated that sexualexploitation is used as power to dominateunderprivileged groups. The same logicapplied in the case of tourism, they said.Tourists are powerful - they have moneypower which they use to exploit the childrenand women. The children, being relativelypowerless, are not vocal and it is easy toexploit them. They added that the childrenwould do whatever the tourists would askthem, thus making it easier to fulfilsexual fantasies and perversions with achild just because they are less empoweredto say no to adults.Suresh (male child, age 14 years)Due to his family situation, Suresh stoppedstudying and started selling photographs inTirumala. During that time he would meetAravanis 3 and they would tell him that hecould earn lot of money and see many newplaces. They invited him to see what they doand forced him to stay with them for five tosix months. At the age of 10 he becameinvolved in prostitution. When he initiallyentered into prostitution he was scared andconfused. The experience was so traumaticthat he lost trust in people and was afraidto interact with even those in the home andcommunity. He was taken to Mumbai bythe Aravanis where he stayed for a fewmonths and was abused by many. He hasnow taken up prostitution as his mainsource of income. He shared that, “Ibenefit from it and have become a fullfledgedKothi. 4 Working in prostitution forpast five years, I earned lot of money, gotmy sister married and saved Rs. 25000 toget operated and become a Nirvan. 5 Thisthey do to keep the Panthis 6 happy.”Kothi, nirvan and panthis are terms usedlocally in the context of eunuchs andtransexuals.When these children are abused continuously,they later prefer to become full-timeprostitutes. Once they become full-timeprostitutes, they solicit in the areas close towhere they live, and are also taken to Mumbaiand Tamil Nadu.Naga Raju (male child,age 14 years)is working in one of the well known hotelsin Tirupati. He is studying in the 9 thstandard in Tirupati and works in the hotelafter school to earn money for his family.Through the hotel he came into contactwith a few older men, Hijras 7 , who also12

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)work with him in the hotels, they forcedhim to watch their sexual activity and thenforced him to participate.Out of nine children interviewed only twomentioned that their parents were aware thatthey are involved in prostitution, but as thereis no other source of income they did notquestion them. In the other cases, when thechildren brought money home they simplytold their families that they “work in agarage or in a hotel”.Two children mentioned that peer pressureand consumerism were the reasons they gotinvolved in prostitution though they were notforced nor abused sexually. When they seetheir friends with money, new gadgets suchas mobile phones, fancy clothes, and goingon long holidays, some are tempted to enterinto prostitution.Gajendra (male child, age 15 years)shared that due to high interest he studiedcomputers in school and is now teachingabout computers on a part-time basis inTirupati. He was sexually abused by hisuncle who also forced him to have sex withhis friend who came to visit the temple.Although he still teaches computers, he hastaken up prostitution as his other work.The children said they prefer tourists to localmen as they pay more and the duration of timethey have to spend with the client is less. Theyalso get to eat good food, wear nice clothesand go to see movies. In the case of local men,they were not paid in many instances.Sometimes they were given Rs 10 and told togo away. They were not in a position toquestion or challenge such acts.Where e Sexuxual l Abubuse e Takes s PlaceThe sexual abuse in Tirupati mainly takesplace in hotels, lodges, street corners, roomsrented by the tourists, deserted constructionsites, playgrounds, parks, cinema theatres,railway stations, stadiums, cemeteries, etc.Domestic tourists often use small lodges androoms in bars for this purpose.The children said that both local people anddomestic tourists were involved. They werenot able to give a precise figure orpercentage for tourists but they estimatedthat about 80% of their clients were domestictourists. All nine children are involved inprostitution on a full-time basis.Modudus s OperandiIn Tirupati, the male children are contactedeither through peer groups or by hotels.Children working in the hotels are evenexploited by their colleagues in the hotels andforced to serve customers. These children arepart of a network of male children who sellsex. According to PASS, the mediators(middlemen) are within this group, forming aclosed network. It starts from railwaystations, bus stops, some hotels, andcybercafés. They ensure that the news passesonly within their network.Socio-Eo-Economic c Cultural l BackgroundThree of the nine children interviewed belongedto broken families and five of them are frommigrant families who came from Tamil Naduand Maharashtra. With the exception of onechild from Tirupati (his parents were educatedand employed) the others were from families ofdaily wage workers who were mostly illiterate.The household income on average was below Rs1500 per month. Seven of the children were noteducated, one reached 7 th standard in school,but due to financial difficulties and peerpressure, entered sex work at the age of 11.All the children know at least one morelanguage apart from their mother tongue -13

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaHindi, English, Tamil or Telugu. When thesechildren enter prostitution they are also takento Mumbai (where they have to learn Hindi)and to Chennai and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.Many of them speak Hindi and Tamil as theyare taken by other Hijras who have alreadytravelled to Mumbai or Tamil Nadu. Sometimesthe children themselves go to these places, afterhearing from others, for training to becomeHijras. Some of the children said that for thosein prostitution, it is a must to visit Mumbai asthere are many places for sex work, such asMulund, Kamatipura, Ghatkopar, Vikhrolli,Dadar, and Borivli. There is also the beliefamong the children that in Mumbai they canearn a lot of money as well as engage in sexualactivities without any fear of restrictions frompolice as they can move freely.Five of the children interviewed workingpart-time in some of the hotels in Tirupatishared that having sex with their seniors ispart of their daily routine. They said thatworking in the hotel sector is like a doubleedgedsword – they are exploited by theseniors working with them in the lodges andhotels and they do not get any monetarybenefit. However, it brings them into contactwith customers who come both to eat and tohave sex with the hotel boys. This is wherethey can get money, good food and anopportunity to travel to other places.Profile e of f the ExploitersThe exploiters are often local men anddomestic tourists who look for cheap sex andprefer male children as they believe there is alesser risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. It wasalso mentioned that men prefer male childrenbecause they could pay them less money forsex, as compared to female children.Furthermore, male children would not becomepregnant and there would be no controversiesor claims or obligations in the future.Tourists come mostly from Tamil Nadu andKarnataka and a recent trend was touristsfrom North India coming to Tirupati. Insome cases tourists sought out the same childwith whom they had had sex during theirprevious visits and they also let them know ifthey are bringing other friends for the samepurpose. This is arranged well in advance viatelephone or e-mail.Response e from various StakeheholdersCivil society organizationsWhile there are many CSOs working onchildren’s issues in Tirupati, only PASS workson the issue of male child sexual abuse andprostitution, a growing and very serious issue.According to PASS, these children earnRs.500 to 2000 per day. Their estimate is thatover half the hotels and lodges in Tirupati,including some well known ones, and smallhotels near the bus and railway stations, thriveon sex tourism, which involves both localpeople as well as domestic tourists. Thesetourists are frequent visitors to Tirupati andoften make prior arrangements with thechildren through e-mail. Few of the childrenare educated and know how to use the Internetand email facilities directly. Others seek thehelp of the cybercafé employees or friends whoare also into prostitution. The researchers didnot ask the children more about the cybercaféand other links to internet, pornography andsexual exploitation of children as it was notsure if the children were willing to respond tosuch detailed questioning.According to PASS, most of the childreninvolved in prostitution are not educated andthey do not know what area (panchayat) theybelong to. There are many street children, ragpickers, hotel and lodge workers, who areextremely vulnerable to this form of abuse. Asthey have no other source of income they getinvolved in prostitution.14

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)State tourism departmentThe manager of the Andhra Pradesh TourismDevelopment Corporation (APTDC) said thatnow people are travelling more than everbefore due to better rail, road and airconnectivity. Over 46 trains stop at Tirupatistation every day and over 100 buses come inon a daily basis.On average, 40,000 to 50,000 visitors cometo Tirupati daily. During peak season,December and January, more than a lakhpilgrim (mainly domestic) visits each day.There is also an increasing trend of visitorsfrom North India. However, the nationalitiesof the foreign tourists were unknown.Attempts to probe further and seek moreinformation about child sexual abuse werefutile, however a meeting was suggested withthose designated to give information as per theRight to Information Act. 8In September 2008, EQUATIONS, incollaboration with PASS organised aconsultation to share the findings from thisresearch in Tirupati. The consultationincluded around 40 participants from variousPASS branch offices from Andhra Pradesh,representatives from the Social WelfareDepartment, students from the Social WelfareDepartment of Padmavati Mahila Universityand S.V. University; Andhra Pradesh TourismDevelopment Corporation, TransportDepartment, Health Department and NGOsworking on the issue of child abuse in Tirupati.Most participants acknowledged the problem ofmale child sexual abuse in Tirupati but theywere not able to link this exploitation totourism as they were not aware that tourism isalso one of the causes of sexual exploitation ofchildren. A representative from AndhraPradesh Tourism Development Corporation’sinitial position was of not realising there wasany link, however, his stance changed to notbeing responsible for it. He stated that theTourism Department was planning to come upwith forms and photo identification of tourists,but he was not able to explain how these werelinked to ending child abuse.Endnotes1The Indian Express, Cochin edition “Not Goa, Jaipur or Kerala. It’s destination Andhra“ 6thOctober 20072D. Srinath, The New Indian Express, Bangalore edition, “Seeking release: sex sells on the sevenhills“ 20th June 20083Aravanis means eunuchs- a transgender community in Tamil Nadu.4Kothis are the receptive partner in sexual activity, who have not yet undergone castration, butmay or may not want to undergo castration in the future. Many live as women under a Guru,while training in singing, dancing and other rites of the community, as they wait to attainNirvana. Traditionally, the definition of a Kothi is “males who show obvious femininemannerisms and who involve mainly, if not only, in receptive anal/receptive oral intercourse withmen”. However, most of these feminine homosexual/bisexua l males who identify themselves asKothis are penetrated and also penetrate.5Nirvana means Nirvan (Nirvan Kothi): Those who have undergone Nirvana (Salvation - ascastration is known) i.e., removal of both testes and penis (voluntarily/willingly) and who dresslike women. These persons are usually known as Nirvan Kothi(s) or simply as Nirvan(s) in theHijra community.6Panthi is the male active partner who penetrates during sexual activity.15

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India7Hijras- also known as the third sex, hijras are biological males but are usually castrated. Theyconsider themselves neither male nor female, but commonly have feminine names, dress likewomen, wear jewellery and cosmetics, grow their hair long, and prefer to be referred to as she.Traditionally they are dancers, but some are also involved in prostitution.8“The Right to Information Act 2005“- This law came into effect after intense lobbying by civilsociety organizations throughout the country. The Right to Information Act was enacted byParliament of India in 2005 giving the practical regime of right to information for citizens tosecure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promotetransparency and accountability in the workings of every public authority, the constitution of aCentral Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connectedtherewith or incidental. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen may request informationfrom a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which isrequired to reply expeditiously or within thirty days.16

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)PURICASE STUDY 2The ContextPuri is a well-known and significant Hindupilgrimage destination, the site of the 12thcenturytemple of Lord Jagannatha. Itsbeach is another attraction. Along withBhubaneshwar and Konark, it forms part ofthe State’s golden triangle for tourism. Thenumber of domestic tourist arrivals in Puriin 2007 was 5,944,890 and foreign tourismarrivals was 41,880 as per the Departmentof Tourism in Orissa. 1 The foreign touristsare mainly from Italy, France, Germany,Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, UnitedKingdom and United States. The domestictourists come from Karnataka, AndhraPradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, andMaharashtra.This case study used material from the 2002field notes compiled by the EQUATIONSresearch team and checked to corroborate thetrends observed then.In Puri, the main occupation of the locals isfishing, but they also work as tour guides,waiters, food vendors in the beach areas, andartists and some work in rice mills.Pentakota is a fishing village near Puri wheremore than 4,000 fishing families, migrantsfrom Andhra Pradesh, live near the beach.Their only source of income is fishing andthere are many children under the age of 6year who are not in school. The villagersmostly speak Telugu and are also conversantin Oriya and English.During the study in 2008, visits were made tothe People’s Cultural Centre, Rural & UrbanSocio-Cultural Help (RUSH) and People’sEmpowerment and Need-Based CommunityDevelopment (PENCODE) in Puri as well asPuri, Konarak, Pentakota Village and areasaround the Jagannath Temple. Thirteenaffected children, eight from Pentakota andfive from Puri beach area, between the ages ofsix and eighteen, were interviewed.Discussions were held with the Department ofWomen and Child and the Department ofTourism, Orissa. In Konarak, there werediscussions with local taxi drivers andphotographers. (In 2002, focus groupdiscussions were held with NGOs andcommunity members. In 2008 it was foundthat the situation remained unchanged).The Children n SpeakAll the children interviewed identified povertyas one of the factors responsible for theirsituation. Most children find themselveshelpless against the forces that determinetheir destinies.Raj (male child, age 15 years)“I have been staying with Joseph (a Frenchtourist) for the last five years. He says thathe will take me with him. I have sex withhim regularly. Initially it was painful, Iused to cry. Now it is a daily routine. Hegives money to my family. He has sex withother children also. Sometimes, he wants usto have sex with each other (peer children).I am just waiting for the day when he willtake me with him and so I agree withwhatever he does to me and my family.”The children interviewed mentioned thatbuilding relationships with “foreign tourists”is more profitable than with “domestictourists”, as foreign tourists provide childrenwith toys, chocolates, bicycles, nice clothesand sometimes money to renovate their housesor to build houses. Most of the children saidthat they had sex with a wide range oftourists, some who pay just Rs. 50 whileothers pay Rs. 200 per day, and the ratesdiffer from day to day.17

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaThe NGOs shared that the children are abuseddue to poverty and lack of love and affectionfrom family members. In Puri, the cyclone andflood in 1999 left several families vulnerable.NGOs as well as local communities informedthat migration, coupled with illiteracy andmeagre employment opportunities led to aneasy “supply” of children in Puri. Thesefamilies are living under difficult and stressfulcircumstances: homeless, unemployed, mobile,unstable, the combination of which mayseverely limit their ability to care for andprotect their children. Boys are primarily indemand as the families believe that there isless risk with male children selling sex thangirls due to social stigma.An adult sex worker revealed that he enteredthe profession as a child. Now he is 19 yearsold. He started at the age of 13 to get moneyto buy good clothes. He stated that “I had sexwith an American tourist in a hotel room andhe paid me Rs. 200 for three hours. Over thelast six years I have had sex with more than400 clients from across the world.”During the discussions with the children andNGOs it became clear that, in general, while agirl child is marginalised in comparison toboys, in the case of child-sex tourism, it isboys who are mainly exploited. The exploitersare largely male and a few are female. Boysget friendly with tourists much more easilyand there is no risk of pregnancy. Thissituation applies to both foreign as well asdomestic tourists.Where e Sexuxual l Abubuse e Takes s PlaceIn Puri, the abuse happens near Chilika Lake,Konarak, Puri beach areas, Pentakota (thisarea is more frequented by foreign tourists)and around the areas of Jagannath Temple inPuri. Sexual exploitation of children involvingdomestic tourists often takes place on thebeaches and in the remote areas of the citythat are close to the Jagannath Temple.Most of the children said that they have hadsex in the railway stations, hotels, dhabas,lodges, street corners, on the beach, in therooms rented by tourists, and local brothels.The beach is often used to have sex at night asthe hawkers close in the early evening. Most ofthe foreign tourists use hotels, while domestictourists use small lodges and rooms in thebars for this purpose.The newly set up massage parlours that catersolely to tourists are also a very popularvenue. It has been observed that a number ofmassage parlours and health clubs thatprimarily cater to foreign and domestictourists and where prostitution takes placeinvolving both adults and children, both maleand female have mushroomed in Puri.Modudus s OperandiThe children from Puri and Pentakota sharedthat they are often contacted on the beachwhen selling trinkets. In some cases they arecontacted directly by the tourist. Foreigntourists sometimes contact the children underthe guise of an ‘English teacher’ or ‘socialworker’. They make direct contact, offer themmore money and engage them in conversation.In some cases, the foreigners join the childrenwhile they are playing and become friendlierwith them. They also provide money to thechild’s family for their daily needs. This allowsthe tourist to take the child out for a fewhours and sometimes for longer periods.Hotels have contacts with adult sex workers,pimps and other middlemen – rickshawpullers, van pullers and petty traders – whomake contact with street children and bringthem to tourist lodges and hotels as per thedemand placed by customers. Domestictourists often make contact with children18

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)through pimps or hotel staff. There are localagents that cater to the needs of domestictourists, but for foreign tourists there is noneed for middlemen/agents. Near Pentakotathere are a few hotels that provideaccommodation only to foreign tourists.The children stated that 50 per cent of theclients are domestic tourists and a few arelocal men. Sometimes tourists from theneighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh(Vishakapatnam) bring children to Puri andstay for a week in hotels pretending to be theparent of the child.Socio-Eo-Economic c Cultural l BackgroundAll the children interviewed were from thelower income group. During peak periods,most households in Puri earn between Rs1500 - 2500 a month but their earnings fallto less than Rs 300 from March to August. Atthis time the family needs are unable to befulfilled and as a result the fathers plyrickshaws, sell liquor or guide tourists whoconverge to this town and the mothers (mostof them illiterate), appear to be increasinglydrawn to sex work. The children, in order toprotect their mothers and to bring somemoney home, are forced to enter intoprostitution as there is no other source ofincome for them.In Pentakota, the family background revealsthat more than 90 per cent of the familiesresiding there have migrated from fishingcommunities in the state of Andhra Pradesh.A common feature is heavy debt bondage,domestic violence and lack of facilities such aseducation, healthcare, etc.Most of the children mentioned that theirhousehold income is so low that they have todo something to survive. Most of the familiesearn less than Rs. 1500 per month. During thewinter season, the family income is betweenRs 300–1000 per month. The children earnRs 1500 to 2000 per month throughprostitution.In Puri, children interviewed knew a little of aforeign language – we heard French andGerman – indicating clients are not only localpeople but foreigners as well.The children interviewed in Puri worked insmall hotels, fish-processing units, or wereself-employed (beach boys, trinket sellers ortour guides). The children who worked inlodges and hotels mentioned (as in the case ofTirupati) that providing sexual pleasure to theolder men working with them is one of theirdaily routine jobs. They felt that most of thetime they were exploited by these men.Profile e of f the ExploitersIn the discussions with hotel staff and beachvendors in Puri and Pentakota village, theyshared that there are some foreigners who stayin Puri for up to a year. They are ofteninvolved in running restaurants or travelagencies that primarily cater to foreigntourists. This type of child-sex exploitergenerally stays in a rented accommodation orowns a house or apartment. Some of thesetourists are also involved in initiating childreninto prostitution and organising sex tours,conducted through their travel agencies.The interviewed children noted that domestictourists are found to be repeat visitors andoften stay for a week in Puri. NGOs shared thatthis type of tourist generally stays in a hotel ora low budget guesthouse on the beach, as it iseasy to find and target children working on thebeach and nearby areas. These tourists callchildren to their room during the day.It was clear during the field visit and throughinformation provided by the NGO that foreigntourists who come with the intention of19

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Section Exploitation 3: Case in Studies: Pilgrim Tourism Tirupati Sites (Andhra in IndiaPradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)still in touch with some young adults fromPuri who visit him in Andhra Pradesh. Anumber of shopkeepers, beach vendors andrestaurants owners in the area 2 shared thatquite a few people know of such incidences ofsexual abuse of children or young adults, butdo not know who to blame.In 2002, RUSH noted that 20-30 per cent offoreign visitors stay in Puri for long periods oftime. They informed the researchers that someof them, such as Ian, a British national,engage in sexual activity with young Indianmale adults. There is an informal group oflong-term foreigners who meet each year inPuri and on the east coast. Some of theseforeigners are fluent in Oriya. They oftentravel together in the company of youngIndian males to whom they offer holidays.They take many pictures of the young nakedIndian boys swimming, like Thomas, aGerman national, who has connections withIan and another German man based inMahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, who runs asocial project. It was said that some foreignersregularly send money via Western Union tosome locals for their education or to supportan entire family.That this is not a new phenomena is evidentfrom research done in 2002 by NCW “Theowner of the Gandhara Hotel, who deals withWestern Union money transfers, informed thatone foreigner, sends money to three Indianbrothers (adults) who provide children toforeigners. According to the owner, thisforeigner had abused one of the brothers as ayoung child, and he now acts as a pimp. Someof these foreigners travel to the Indian eastcoast on a regular basis, to Chennai,Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Calcutta,Vishakapattnam as well as to other places inIndia, where they have developed closerelationships with the locals of various ages.Some of them are attached to schools ororphanages in various states.” 3In 2008, we met few auto-drivers at theJagannath Temple area and two photographersat Konark Temple area in an attempt toconfirm the information on domestic touristsvisiting Jagannath temple and to study theirbehaviour. Auto-drivers were not hesitant tostate that they have linkages with the hotelsand small lodges that provide young girls andboys to tourists. They stated that domestictourists also know where they can find boys ondemand. The auto drivers and thephotographers stated that domestic tourists areoften very abusive and do not pay adequatelyfor sexually exploiting the boys children.Sometimes they pay as little as Rs. 10 forsexual services. There are also cases wheredomestic tourists have threatened the children,saying that they will report them to the police ifthey demand payment for sexual favours.In 2002, a lawyer practicing in the DistrictCourt, Bhubaneswar mentioned that theexisting legal framework was not adequate tocombat child-sex tourism and child abuse. Asenforcement is never dealt with properly, legalprofessionals are helpless when the case comesup for a hearing: In the case of a child sextourist, there is no law to book cases on thisissue and if at all it is reported, the sectionunder which the case is registered does notform the basis for a strong case as it should bebooked under Indian Penal Code (IPC). Thus,it was explained, that due to a lack ofcomprehensive legal framework to protectchildren against sexual exploitation, they areoften in a situation where very little can beachieved to deliver justice to the child.22

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)Endnotes1Department of Tourism, Government of Orissa: http://www.orissatourism.gov.in2CT road is the place were mostly foreign visitors stay during their holidays in Puri. There arequite a few budget lodges/ hotels/ guesthouses and few more expensive hotels (where mostlyIndian tourists stay). There are few restaurants and shops.3 “Coastal Sex tourism in India“, National Commission for Women, 200423

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiatourist spot. The workers said that they wouldarrange classes for boys in areas where theyknow that this problem exists. Many of thechildren wanted to share their experiences butwere frightened as several reputed people inthe community were also involved in the abuseof male children. Over the course of themeeting some of them gestured with signs(hands across the throat) that they would be indanger if they gave more information. Theygave no clue as to who these fearsome peoplewere. Rumours and some media articles pointto the possible complicity of well known moviestars and politicians, but there is no availabledata to verify this.Government officialsa. District Educational Office (DEO)The DEO office acknowledged thatGuruvayoor is known for sexual abuse ofboys. They suggested a visit to a number ofhigh schools for discussion with teachersthat may reveal some incidents. However,they warned that there may be reluctanceto admit/reveal the abuse of children inorder to maintain the school’s reputation.b. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation(KTDC)A discussion with the KTDC managerrevealed that there were no systems inplace to keep track of the number oftourists who visited the temple. Themajority of the tourists are from theneighbouring states of Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Very fewforeigners come here as they are notallowed to enter the temple. The peakseason is the Sabarimala season, i.e. fromNovember to mid-January. They have nosystem to track through hotels and lodgesthe number of tourists who arrive and howmany days they spend. KTDC said theyhad not heard of cases of male childsexual exploitation, stating thatGuruvayoor is a holy place.c. Principal and teachers from High School,GuruvayoorDiscussions with the principal and theteachers of a high school revealed thatGuruvayoor was well known for both maleand female prostitution. Any woman or girlstanding alone could be approached. Theschool premises which has a big galleryand playground is often used forprostitution. Though they have not hadreports from their students, such activity isbeing rampantly practiced in Guruvayoor.Teachers would catch children from 7 thstandard upwards with pornographicliterature and ‘blue’ films. The teachersshared that children were also vulnerableto abuse due to disrupted familybackgrounds and neglect.d. Panchayat membersDiscussion with the Panchayat board ofKadapuram Panchayat near Guruvayoorrevealed that the practice of homosexualitywas common in this area as well as thesexual abuse of male children. The lodgesclose to the Guruvayoor temple are oftenused for this purpose. However, thePanchayat have not registered anycomplaints as they have not received any.The Panchayat members are recognisingand engaging with the issue individuallyand are unwilling to share their findingspublicly or to lend their name.Department of Social WelfareA consultation organised by Kerala MahilaSamakhya 5 (KMS) Society on “State LevelConsultation on Child Abuse” was held in May2008. Around 50 participants from variousKMS branch offices from Kerala,representatives from the Social WelfareDepartment and NGOs working on child abuse26

Section 3: Case Studies: Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Puri (Orissa) Guruvayoor (Kerala)issue from Trivandrum were in attendance.Although KMS sent invitations to the tourismdepartment, there was no representation.During the consultation this research and itsfindings were discussed. Most participants,including the Director of Department of SocialWelfare acknowledged the existence of malechild sexual abuse in Kerala and its prevalentin Thrissur district, but were unaware that itwas occurring near the temple premises. TheDirector of Department of Social Welfarequoted the data emerging from a NationalStudy conducted by the Ministry of Womenand Child in 2007, 6 which revealed that 50per cent of children surveyed in Kerala areabused in different forms. One of theparticipants shared that there are stories ofwell known movie stars and politicians whoare involved in this type of abuse and asked ifthe research corroborated this. The researchhas no available data to verify this.Endnotes1Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, Tourist statistic from 2001-20062“Anganwadi” means a government sponsored child-care and mother-care centre in India. Itcaters to children in the 0-6 age group. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 aspart of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger andmalnutrition.3“Krishnanattam” means a mosaic of folk and classic arts, a dance drama, has evolved from thisKrishnageethi over 300 years ago. This work deals with the Krishna avatar - from Krishna’sbirth to his final emancipation from worldly life and ascension to heaven.4 “Kerala State AIDS Control Society“, Thiruvananthapuram they give training of Medical andParamedical Staff on HIV/AIDS/STI Prevention & Control Training.5 “The Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society“, a project sponsored by the Union Government’sDepartment of Elementary Education and Literacy, Mahila Samakhya, launched in Kerala in1998 with the objective of redefining the role of women in society and development.6Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, “Study on Child Abuse:India 2007“27

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaSection 4Legal FrameworkLaws s addressing g male e child d protectionChild sexual abuse is the physical or mentalviolation of a child with sexual intent. It isusually committed by an older person who isin some position of trust and/or power withrespect to the child.Being a signatory to the United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),India is under obligation to protect andpromote the physical and psychological healthof a child. Since India ratified the CRC in1992, it is under obligation to takeaffirmative action in protecting children fromall forms of sexual abuse, neglect,exploitation, torture, or any form of cruelty.The laws dealing with sexual offences in Indiado not specifically address child sexual abuse.In fact, the India Penal Code 1860 (IPC) doesnot define ‘child abuse’. According to the IPC,only rape and sodomy can lead to criminalconviction. Anything less than rape, as per theIPC, amounts to ‘outraging the modesty’ ofthe victim. It does not address the issues ofsexual exploitation of children per se. WhileSection 376 1 IPC seeks to provide womenredress against rape, it is rarely interpreted tocover the range of sexual abuses of childrenthat actually take place.The word ‘rape’ is defined under Section 375in narrow terms, and very specifically statesthat “A man is said to commit “rape” who hasintercourse with a woman undercircumstances falling under certaindescriptions, like against her will, without herconsent, etc.”. It does not include the rape ofboys. Moreover, ‘intercourse’ is ofteninterpreted to mean with an ‘adult’. In mostoffences such as rape and outrage of modesty,whoever assaults or uses criminal forceagainst any woman will be booked underSection 354 2 of IPC, which talks aboutviolation of a woman’s modesty, but does notdirectly include the abuse of female or malechildren. There are also several loopholes.Offences under Section 354 of the IPC arecognisable offences but also bailable, whichallows the perpetrator of the crime to simplyleave the place where the offence wascommitted (especially with reference toforeigners, they are able to leave the countryeven before the prosecution begins). WhileAndhra Pradesh, by a state amendment, hasmade the offence cognisable, non-bailable andto be tried by a court of session [where theminimum punishment is imprisonment forseven years, and a fine], other states have notfollowed suit. 3Despite years of campaigning by civil societyorganisations and being accepted as a coreobjective and goal in the National Plan ofAction for Children 2005, the Governmenthas not recognised the gravity of the issueand passed a central law on the subject. TheJuvenile Justice (Care and Protection ofChildren) Act 1986 (JJA) was amended andrewritten in 2000. Section 23 4 of the JJ Actdeals with assault, abandonment, exposure,or wilful neglect which cause the childunnecessary mental and physical suffering,for which imprisonment for a term of just sixmonths, or a fine, or both is prescribed.28

Section 4: Legal FrameworkSection 5 5 of the Immoral Traffic PreventionAct 1956 does not directly address childabuse but only prescribes punishment of notless than seven years for inducing a child intoprostitution.In India, sexual acts ‘against the order ofnature’ remain illegal under Section 377 ofthe IPC, which criminalises ‘carnalintercourse against the order of nature’. Thus,this section has been used against a widerange of sexual behaviour, such as oral sex(heterosexual and homosexual), sodomy,bestiality, etc. The punishment ranges from 10years to life imprisonment. Convictions areextremely rare under this section, and in thelast 20 years, there have been no convictionsfor homosexual relations in India. Section 377does not differentiate between an adult and achild, and is currently facing constitutionalchallenge in the Delhi High Court in a petitionfiled by Naz Foundation 6 from New Delhi,arguing that the law has been used to harassHIV/AIDS prevention efforts, as well as sexworkers, men who have sex with men, andother groups at risk of the disease.To complicate the matter further, a child isdefined differently in various legislations inIndia. Under the Constitution of India and theChild Labour (Protection and Regulation) Act,1986, a child means a person who has notcompleted 14 years of age. Under the JJA, itis 18 years for both boys and girls. Under theImmoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, achild means a person who has not completedthe age of 16 years. The Ministry of Womenand Child in 2008 proposed amendments ofthe age of the child to 18.The Juvenile Justice Act 1986 is the primarylegal framework for juvenile justice in India.The Act provides for a special approachtowards the prevention and treatment ofjuvenile delinquency and provides a frameworkfor children in need of care and protection.The idea of a Children’s Court was firstmooted in the Government of India Children’sAct 1960. The Juvenile Justice (Care andProtection of Children) Act, 1986 replaced theChildren’s Act, 1960.With sexual abuse of children becomingincreasingly associated with tourism, Goapromulgated a law and proposed theestablishment of a Children’s Court. The GoaChildren’s Act 2003 is legislation againstchild sexual abuse, especially those related totourism. In India it is only the Goa Children’sAct 2006 that aims to protect, promote andpreserve the best interests of children in Goaand to create a society that is proud to bechild-friendly. This Act is also drafted in lineto the CRC and covers issues such as therights of children, education, children’shomes, child labour, and child abuse,children’s sexual trafficking, exploitation ofchildren in tourism, violations and penaltiesand the children courts, which aims to makethe process of law and justice more childfriendly.The Goa Children’s Act does notmerely recommend punitive measures againstoffenders, but suggests ways and means ofdealing with the larger issues of protecting,promoting and preserving the best interestsof children in Goa.The Goa Children’s Act is the first legislationthat recognised exploitation of children intourism and incorporated a section thatrecognises and deals with the protection ofchildren in the context of tourism. The Actattempts to place responsibility on differentsectors of society and its institutions so that theycan play a role in protecting all children andpreventing the abuse of any child. Hotel owners,photo studios, cybercafé operators, police, thetourism department and all others involved inthe travel and tourism trade industry areexpected to keep abreast of new developments on29

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiathis issue, fulfil their duties, perform particularroles and remain sensitive to the situation of anychild they may come across in the performanceof their duties. However, this law is currentlyapplicable only in Goa.Specifific c laws s that t address s child d abubuse e in n IndiaProstitution of ChildrenIndia has two laws related to prostitution ofchildren: The Immoral Traffic (Prevention)Act, 1956 (ITPA) and provisions of the IPC.Both laws fall short of international standardsto protect children from being prostituted, asset forth in the Optional Protocol on the saleof children, child prostitution and pornography2002. Moreover, contrary to internationallaws such as the CRC, ITPA defines a child asa person less than 16 years of age and fails tocriminalise all acts of obtaining, procuring orproviding a child for prostitution. In addition,ITPA criminalises soliciting for prostitution,which, if applied to a prostituted child, treatsa child victim of prostitution as an offender.The Penal Code is similarly flawed. Althoughit prohibits procuring, inducing or forcing achild into prostitution or illicit sexualintercourse, it fails to define prostitution orillicit sexual intercourse. It is unclear whetherthe scope of the law prohibits any sexual actwith a child for remuneration, as laid down byinternational law. Moreover, the Penal Codeoffers almost no protection againstprostitution for boys, who should be equallyprotected, particularly in view of thealarmingly high incidence of boys’ prostitutionin the country.Trafficking in Children for Sexual PurposesIndia has signed but not yet ratified the UNProtocol to Prevent, Suppress and PunishTrafficking in Persons, Especially Women andChildren (Trafficking Protocol). 7 With respectto existing domestic legislations, the PenalCode’s prohibition on selling or buying aminor for purposes of prostitution fails toinclude many other activities related totrafficking prohibited by the TraffickingProtocol, such as recruiting, harbouring,transporting, transferring or receivingtrafficked children. Additionally, while theIndian Penal Code prohibits importing aforeign girl for purposes of illicit sex, thisprovision offers no protection for girls fromIndia or boys from any country. It should alsobe noted that trafficking in children forpurposes other than those stated above is notcriminalised, while the Trafficking Protocoldefines trafficking in children and its relatedacts for the purpose of exploitation, such as,but not limited to prostitution, forced labouror slavery. India does not have a national lawthat clearly defines what constitutestrafficking. The Penal Code contains severalprovisions related to trafficking in children forsexual purposes, but none of these definestrafficking. The Penal Code makes it illegal tosell or buy a minor for prostitution.Child PornographyIn India, there is no clear law that defines andprohibits child pornography. The IndecentRepresentation of Women (Prohibition) Act1986 (IRWPA) is limited to visualrepresentations, leaving out audio materialsand simulated images, which are coveredunder international law; and, IRWPA does notinclude boys. Although the InformationTechnology Act 2000 (ITA) covers digital andelectronic media, it suffers from the samedefects as the Penal Code provisions given banof lascivious material. Thus, Indian lawsrequire greater clarity in order to conform tointernational standards for protection againstchild pornography.Unfortunately, the fight against childpornography and efforts to make it an offenceunder the IT Act 2000 received a serioussetback as a provision on the same, suggested30

Section 4: Legal Frameworkby an Expert Committee, was omitted fromthe final draft of the Information Technology(Amendment) Bill 2007. The final draft of theBill does not incorporate the recommendationsof the Expert Committee to include aprovision on child pornography. 8 Instead, thelatest draft of the Bill replaced the term“child pornography” with “sexually explicitact”. This move is regressive, as it erodes thelevel of protection offered, as the provisiondoes not clearly define and prohibit childpornography.There are a host of related social legislationand criminal laws in India that have somebeneficial provisions for the care, protectionand rehabilitation of children. The lawsrelating to commerce, industry and trade alsohave provisions for children, but they neitherprovide protection nor cater to thedevelopmental needs of the child. The keybodies concerned with child related laws arethe Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment, the Ministry of Labour (MoL),the National Commission for the Protectionof Children and the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC). There continue to bemajor gaps in provisions relating to childabuse, particularly in cases of trafficking,sexual and forced labour, child pornography,child-sex tourism and sexual assault ofmale children.Though child abuse cases are handled undervarious sections of the Indian Penal Code,these are laws meant for adults. A positivedevelopment in this regard has been thepreparation of a draft by the Ministry ofWomen and Child Development: The Offencesagainst Children Prevention Bill, 2006. This isthe first time that a law specifically aimed atprotecting children’s rights has been underdebate and it is hoped to address current gaps,such as including the definition of ‘child inneed’, ensuring that the age of a child is notreduced to below 18, defining commercialsexual exploitation (child-sex tourism e.g.),child sexual abuse and pornography as wellconsidering child abuse and exploitation ofchildren in a context that is commercial, asthis is a loophole used by offenders.The National Plan of Action for Children 9states that it will undertake all the necessaryaction to protect children from all forms ofsexual abuse and exploitation. It also statesthat it will identify and address the rootcauses leading to sexual abuse andexploitation of children, both girls and boys,and will implement preventive andrehabilitative strategies against sexual abuseand exploitation of children so that they canensure the safety, protection and security ofvictims of sexual exploitation and provideassistance and services to facilitate theirrecovery as well as their social reintegration.However, it is only a plan and not a legislationwhich can be legally enforced in a court oflaw. The accountability and basic monitoringmeasures for the implementation of these loftyideas are not evident. This does not make theplan very effective in protecting childrenagainst sexual exploitation.Leading g cases s in n India a that t created d publicawareness s that t male e children n were e equallyvulnlnerable e to o sexuxual l exploitation n in n the contextof f tourismFreddy Peats, 76-year-old man of unknownorigin convicted on 15 March 1996The links between tourism and childexploitation came shockingly to light throughthe case of Freddy Peats, a 76-year-old manwho was arrested on 3 April 1991 for sexcrimes against young boys (some as young as3 years old). Until then, there was little or noawareness of the organised sexual exploitationof children in India, particularly trafficking,31

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiainvolving young boys, even though theinvolvement of female minors in prostitutionwas well known. In March 1996, Freddy Peatswas convicted of sex crimes against youngboys in Goa. This was the first conviction forrunning an organised paedophilia racket inIndia. However, the incident was dismissed asan aberration.Brinkman Helmut, 57-year-old Germanpaedophile acquitted on 29 September 2000Soon after, the case of Brinkman Helmut, a57-year-old German paedophile was reportedto the Calanguate Police Station, Goa in1999. He was found guilty by the assistantsessions judge Panaji under Section 373 10 and377 11 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, hiringof a minor for illicit or immoral purposes andfor committing unnatural sexual offences. Hewas awarded six years rigorous imprisonment.However, on 29 September 2000, he wasacquitted of the charges by the additionalsessions judge Mapusa. Despite strongevidence against him, the case was dismissedbecause Helmut’s whereabouts were unknown.A few months after the case of a “wanted”paedophile fleeing the country coming to light,yet another paedophile fled the country,jumping bail in Goa. 12 Dominique Sabire, aFrench national arrested by the Delhi CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI) in the childabuse racket run in Goa by Freddy Peats inthe early 90s, also seemed to havedisappeared from India possibly due to theloose extradition laws.Werner Wulf Ingo, 54-year-old Australianpaedophile extradited from Australia to Indiain 2005In the case against Werner Wulf Ingo, a 54-year-old Australian paedophile, found guiltyby the assistant sessions judge Panaji underSection 373 and 377 of the IPC, he fled fromIndia to Australia. In 2005, he was extraditedfrom Australia to India by the AustralianFederal Government to face charges in his rolein Freddy Peats’ paedophile network. He wasplaced in police custody in Delhi on 4 August2006. He had made three trips to Goa in1987, 1988 and 1989. BernadetteMcMenamin, 13 CEO of Child Wise, Australiacommented, “the extradition of an Australianto face child sex charges in a developingcountry was unprecedented. I cannot think ofany other case when an Australian has beenextradited to face charges in a Third WorldCountry”. Ms. McMenamin further observed,“there has always been a propensity for thesepeople to believe they won’t be charged inthese countries, and if they are, then won’t besent back to face prosecution”. The caseagainst Werner Wulf Ingo is still ongoing inthe Court of Goa before the additionalSessions Judge.Arjun Sah, 40-year-old man held for abusing100 boys, media news 2 February 2008A 40-year-old man who abducted nearly 100teenage boys 14 and sexually abused them incaptivity has been arrested by the Biharpolice. Arjun Sah was caught on his way fromMotihari to Dhaka. He was with two boys, aprivate school student from Riga in Sitamarhiwhom he had kidnapped in January 2008, andanother teenager from Bettiah. ‘‘Sah is apaedophile. He was nabbed earlier and hadbeen charged with sodomy. He was released in2006,’’ said ADGP (headquarters) Anil Sinha.A resident of Sakara Bazar on the Indo-Nepalborder of Bihar’s East Champaran district,Sah has also received ransom from the parentsof abducted boys, police sources said. Sahwas arrested after the father of the boy he hadkidnapped from Riga filed a missing person’sreport. During interrogation, Sah confessedthat he kidnapped boys to sodomise them. Thekidnapped boys also said they were sodomisedby Sah repeatedly during captivity. Sah stayedin hotels with the boys he kidnapped and is32

Section 4: Legal Frameworkaccused of kidnapping 27 children in Vaishali,Gopalganj, East and West Champaran, UttarPradesh and Nepal.Jozef Achtergael, 57-year-old Belgian coachcharged with paedophilia – five years in aBelgian prison for sexually abusing children inhis country, media news 2 April 2008Soccer enthusiasts in North Kerala woke up toa rude shock on reports 15 that a Belgian coachwho was engaged to train kids had allegedlybeen charged with paedophilia and evenundergone a jail term in his native country. Afootball academy with about two dozencentres in Kozhikode, Malappuram andWayanad districts of North Kerala hadengaged Jozef Achtergael as TechnicalDirector. However, the academy did not knowthe 57-year-old coach had reportedly spentfive years in a Belgian prison for sexuallyabusing children. ‘‘We didn’t know hisantecedents and are finding it hard to believeit. If it is true, it’s impossible to continue withhim. But before we take a call, we want tohear him out,’’ a senior academy official said.‘‘He (Jozef) has been coming to India for thelast seven years and has been associated withus for the last five years. We don’t pay himany remuneration and he even spends from hispocket,’’ the official said, adding no complainthad so far been lodged against him by any ofthe children. ‘‘We’ve no reason to doubt hiscredentials, but there are 140 boys in a tenderage group, so we can’t afford to take achance,’’ said the official, adding that theoffice-bearers would meet soon to decide thefuture course of action.Michael Corbett Joseph, Australian manarrested in Kerala for indulging in unnaturalsex with children, and released on bail -media news 9 May 2008In May 2008, the Kovalam police arrested anAustralian man, Michael Corbett Joseph, 16 forindulging in unnatural sex with children. Thepolice also took into custody Nazeer Khan, alocal man from Kovalam who was working asan agent for him. Michael Corbett had beenresiding in a house “Viswageetha” in Kovalamfor six months and the police informed that hewas involved in unnatural sex with thechildren since he moved there. The police alsoinformed that they received a petition onmissing children from the parents living in thetownship colony in May 2008. “MichaelCorbett Joseph has now left the country,taking anticipatory bail in July 2008, ongrounds that his mother is seriously ill and theSessions Court in Trivandrum released hispassport on condition that he would return inthree months”.Jakob Spalti, 80-year-old Swiss paedophile,on repeated bail at Kovalam, Kerala on 9October 2008In October 2008, a complaint of prolongedsex abuse was lodged by four boys from aHarijan colony in Chowara, near Kovalam,against 80-year-old Swiss national JacopSpalti. The Vizhinjam police registered a caseand seized the passport of Spalti afterrecording the statements of the boys. Spaltihad been living in the area for 15 years (hadreported links in Sri Lanka and is known tohave indulged in abuse of boys there as well)and lured boys by offering tuition andgenerous amounts of money to poor families.Preliminary investigations by EQUATONSrevealed that he had abused more than 20boys. Though his passport was seized onOctober 7, Spalti had secured anticipatorybail until 21 October. On 24 October the bailperiod was further extended. On 21 Octoberthe Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society calledfor a meeting involving Panchayat heads,Anganwadi teachers and social workers fromVizhinjan and nearby districts and passed aresolution for the immediate arrest of Spalti.Based on this pressure the Home Secretary33

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiaissued a letter to the Commissioner to meetand request the Director General ofProsecution to cancel Spalti’s bail. Despitethese efforts, pressure and clear awareness ofthe problem by various departments and lawenforcement agencies, no action has beentaken to arrest Spalti to date.The Mechanism for r Protection n of f ChildrenThere is no specific protection mechanism formale children in the states of Andhra Pradesh,Orissa and Kerala. The Department of Womenand Children has a few schemes for theempowerment of women and children thatprovide basic protection to the children, butthere is no specific provision for male children.There are no separate schemes for boys andgirls. They are termed as “child” under the JJAct. All the cases related to the care andprotection of children are sent to the ChildWelfare Committee (CWC) as prescribedunder Section 29 17 of the JJ Act, which statesthat all the State Governments have beenempowered to constitute for every district orgroup of districts one or more CWC forexercising the power and discharge of dutiesin relation to children in need of care andprotection under the Act. This Section alsoprescribes that the Committee shall consist ofa Chairperson and four other members, ofwhom at least one shall be a woman and anexpert on matters concerning children. TheCWC have the final authority to dispose ofcases for the care, protection, treatment,development and rehabilitation of the childrenas well as to provide for their basic needs andprotection of human rights. This Committeefunctions as a Bench of Magistrates.CWC looks into matters related to thefollowing issues Child Labour: domestic, dance bars, hotels,workshops, construction sites Begging children Abandoned/lost/runaway children Surrendered/relinquished children Voluntary admissions Uncontrollable children Cases referred by the Juvenile Justice Board Children affected/infected with HIV/AIDS Victims of trafficking/sexual abuse/childmarriage Victims of physical abuse by parents,police and employers Children transferred from other institutions Periodical review of children in institutions Seeking custody/visitation rightsThe structure followed in all the states for the formation of the CWC:Constitution of CWCDepartment of women andchild developmentChairperson,CWCMember,CWCMember,CWCMember,CWCMember,CWC34

Section 4: Legal FrameworkAfter the completion of an inquiry, if theCommittee is of the opinion that the said childhas no family or ostensible support, it may allowthe child to remain in the children’s home orshelter home until suitable rehabilitation is foundfor him/her or until he/she attains the age of 18.Section 34 18 of the JJ Act deals with children’shomes, which empowers all State Governmentsto establish and maintain, either by themselvesor in association with the voluntaryorganizations, children’s homes in every districtor a group of districts for the reception ofchildren in need of care and protection pendingany inquiry and subsequently their care,treatment, education, training, development andrehabilitation must be provided.Section 37 19 of the JJ Act deals with shelterhomes, where the State Governments havebeen empowered to recognise reputed andcapable voluntary organisations and providethem assistance to set up and administershelter homes for juveniles or children. Theseshelter homes shall function as drop-in-centresfor the children in urgent need support.The status is same in the case of all the threestates, the only difference is that in Kerala theissue of children is taken care of by theDepartment of Social Welfare, Government ofKerala, as Kerala State does not have aseparate Department of Women and Child,unlike the other states.The Honorable Supreme Court of India, in itsOrder dated 9 July 1997, passed in WritPetition (Civil) No. 824 of 1988 Gaurav JainVs. Union of India and other with WritPetition (Criminal) Nos 754-55 of 1990,directed the constitution of a committee toconduct an in-depth study on the issues ofprostitution, child prostitutes and children ofprostitutes and to evolve suitable schemes fortheir rescue and rehabilitation. The report ofthe committee on child prostitution mentionedthat one of the main reasons the issue mustcome to centre stage is because of the rapidgrowth of sex tourism, the entertainmentindustry, pornography in print, electronic andcyber-media.In a bid to combat the commercial sexualexploitation of children, the central Ministryof Women and Child Development 20 followedan order from the Supreme Court (SC) in acase of child prostitution. In a Public InterestLitigation, Vishal Jeet vs. Union of India, theSC of India passed an order on 2 May 1999,after hearing various parties on the subject of“child prostitution”, which stated that theCentral and State Government should set upAdvisory Committees to:a. Put in place measures for eradicating theprostitution of children;b. Implement social welfare programmes forthe care, protection, treatment,development and rehabilitation of youngvictims, mainly children rescued eitherfrom the brothel or from the vice ofprostitution; andc. Suggest amendments of the existing lawsor for enactment of any new law aswarranted for the prevention of sexualexploitation of children.Initiatives taken by the Ministry of Women &Child Development to Combat Trafficking andCommercial Sexual Exploitation of Women& Children 21 Ministry of Women and Child Developmentformulated a National Plan of Action toCombat Trafficking and CommercialSexual Exploitation of Women andChildren in 1998, with the objective ofmainstreaming and reintegrating womenand child victims of commercial sexualexploitation into society.35

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India The Ministry issued guidelines to theStates for the implementation of aNational Plan of Action. The Ministry constituted a Central AdvisoryCommittee which functions under the chairof the Secretary, Department of Women andChild Development, Government of Indiawith members from the Central Ministries,such as the Ministry of Home Affairs,Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry ofTourism, Ministry of Health, Ministry ofSocial Justice and Empowerment, Ministryof Information Technology, Ministry of Lawand Justice, State Governments that aresource, transit or destination areas,prominent NGOs working on this issue,international organizations working in thisfield, the National Commission for Women,Central Social Welfare Board and theNational Institute of Public Cooperationand Child Development (NIPCCD) Director,National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),and so on. Some of the Director Generals ofPolice of states where the magnitude of theproblem is stated to be acute are beingnominated on the Advisory Committee asspecial invitees. The CAC held meetings inthree-month intervals. The Ministry formulated a protocol forpre-rescue, rescue and post-rescueoperations of child victims of traffickingfor the purpose of commercial sexualexploitation. The MWCD, in collaboration with NIPCCDand UNICEF, developed three manuals:‘Judicial Handbook on CombatingTrafficking of Women and Children forCommercial Sexual Exploitation’; ‘Manualfor Medical Officers for Dealing with ChildVictims of Trafficking and CommercialSexual Exploitation’; and ‘CounselingServices for Child Survivors of Trafficking’. The MWCD, in collaboration with MHAand UNODC, is developing trainingmanuals for police and prosecutors andsetting up Anti-Human Trafficking Units(AHTU) in selected states such asAndhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, WestBengal and Goa. On the insistence of the Ministry of Womenand Child Development, the Ministry ofHome Affairs set up a dedicated nodal cellin the MHA for the prevention oftrafficking. The main function of such acell would be to coordinate, network andprovide feedback to the State Governmentsand other concerned agencies, as well asshare data inputs, best practices,innovations, etc. on a sustained andcontinuous basis to enable betteroutcomes. All its meetings will be held on aquarterly basis to review the progressbeing made on anti-trafficking activities. Separately, the Ministry of Women andChild Development has requested theMinistry of External Affairs to set up aninternal task force with representativesfrom the concerned ministries/departmentsto prepare an action plan foroperationalising the provisions of theConvention and ensuring that the enablinglegislation, enforcement mechanisms,policies, etc. are in place. The MEA has setup a task force for this purpose. All States’ DWCD Secretaries have beenrequested to hold regular meetings of theirState Advisory Committees constitutedunder the National Plan of Action toCombat Trafficking and Commercial SexualExploitation of Women and Children, 1998and to monitor initiatives being undertakenon the prevention, rescue, rehabilitation,reintegration and repatriation of victims oftrafficking in these respective states.36

Section 4: Legal Framework All Chief Secretaries have been requestedto sensitise the lower level functionaries atcutting edge level on issues related tosexual abuse or molestation, so thatperpetrators of child abuse are severelydealt under the provisions of Indian PenalCode and other child-specific laws. The MWCD runs shelter-based homes,short-stay homes and swadhar homes forwomen in difficult circumstances. Thesecater to trafficked women/girls who havebeen rescued or run away from brothels orother places, for women/girl victims ofsexual crimes who are disowned by theirfamilies or who do not want to go back totheir respective families for variousreasons. The schemes provide shelter, foodand clothing for women and children belowthe age of 18, counselling, clinical,medical, legal and other support, as wellas training and economic rehabilitationand helpline facilities. At present, over146 swadhar homes and more than 342short-stay homes are being run in differentparts of the country.In 2007, the Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment proposed to combine its existingchild protection schemes, Integrated ChildDevelopment Scheme (ICDS), under onecentrally sponsored scheme entitled IntegratedChild Protection Scheme (ICPS). The Schemewill function as a Government/Civil SocietyPartnership under the overarching directionand responsibility of the Central/StateGovernments. The proposed Scheme aims toprovide for the care and protection of allchildren in conflict with the law and childrenin need. It would involve steps to strengthenfamilies and prevent their breakup, which maylead children to become homeless, withoutproper care and protection. At the same time,children already outside the mainstream needto be provided support beginning fromemergency outreach services to finalrehabilitation with their families andcommunities. Details of the Scheme are beingworked out and will likely be implemented inthe Eleventh Five-Year Plan.In 2007, NHRC, along with NCW andMWCD created guidelines and a plan ofaction 22 to prevent and combat humantrafficking, with a special focus on childrenand women. This plan of action alsorecognised that tourism is one of the causesfor trafficking and sexual exploitation.In 2007, the National Commission for theProtection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was setup in India to enquire into complaints andtake suo motu cognisance of matters relatingto the deprivation of child rights, nonimplementationof laws providing forprotection and development of children andnon-compliance of policy decisions, guidelinesor instructions aimed at their welfare. TheMinistry of Women and Child will also followup with State Governments to request that allState Governments and UT Administrationsconstitute the State Commissions for theProtection of Child Rights at the earliest.The Ministry of Women and Child Developmentdeals 23 with child protection schemes such asthe Programme for Juvenile Justice, IntegratedProgramme for Street Children, ChildlineService, Shishu Greha Scheme, Scheme forWorking Children in Need of Care andProtection, Rajiv Gandhi National CrecheScheme for Children of Working Mothers andthe Pilot Project to Combat Trafficking ofWomen and Children for Commercial SexualExploitation. An examination of these schemesby the MWCD revealed major shortcomingsand gaps in the infrastructure, set-up andoutreach services for children.General gaps identified by MWCD include: Inadequate implementation of laws and37

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indialegislations. Mechanisms and structuresprescribed by legislations not in place toenable effective implementation; No mapping of the children in need of careand protection or of the services availablefor them at the district/city/state level; Lack of support and access to services fora large percentage of children in need ofcare and protection; Inadequate outreach and funding ofexisting schemes, resulting in marginalcoverage of destitute children and childrenin difficult circumstances; Lack of allotment of negligible resourcesto child protection and unevengeographical spread in utilisation ofallotted resources; Overbearing focus on institutional serviceswith non-institutional services beingnegligent; Lack of coordination and convergence ofprogrammes/services; Lack of inter- and intra-state transfer ofchildren, especially for restoration to theirfamilies; Lack of professionally trained manpowerfor providing child protection services inthe country, especially counsellingservices; and Lack of lateral linkages with essentialservices for children, e.g. education,health, police, judiciary, services for thedisabled, etc.Specific Gaps: Lack of institutional infrastructure to dealwith child protection; Inadequate number of Child WelfareCommittees and Juvenile Justice Boards; Lack of requisite facilities for CWCs andJJBs to function efficiently, resulting indelayed enquiries and disposal of cases; Lack of standards of care (accommodation,sanitation, leisure, food, etc.) in children/observation homes due to low fundingnorms as well as due to lack of supervisionand commitment; Inadequate training of personnel workingunder the juvenile justice system and onother child protection programmes whichis also inequitable among States; Weak supervision, monitoring andevaluation of the juvenile justice system; Lack of basic facilities required for streetchildren projects, especially availability of24-hour shelters, food and mainstreameducation; Not all street children projects are dealingwith substance abuse, HIV/AIDS or othersexual abuse related vulnerabilities ofchildren; None of the schemes address the needs ofchild beggars; Minimal use of non-institutional careoptions such as adoption, foster care andsponsorship for children without family/parental care; Inadequate number of Shishu Grehas fororphans; Lack of rehabilitation services for olderchildren who are not adopted through theregular adoption process; After-care and rehabilitation programmesare not available in all the States, and evenin those States where they are available,they are being run as any other institutionalcare facilities under the JJ Act 2000;38

Section 4: Legal Framework Issues such as child marriage, femalefoeticide, street children, working children,and discrimination against the girl childare inadequately addressed; No interventions for children affected byHIV/AIDS, substance abuse, identity-baseddiscrimination, militancy, disaster (bothman-made and natural), abused andexploited children, and children of vulnerablegroups such as commercial sex workers,prisoners, and migrant population; and Inadequate attention to preventivemeasures with a major focus ongovernment programmes that address theproblem after it occurs.Although MWCD has taken good initiativestowards protection and awareness buildingand have reported major gaps inimplementing various schemes formulated forthe protection of children on the issues oftrafficking and sexual exploitation, they havenot taken cognizance of male childexploitation. Their protection mechanismsand awareness building are very muchfocused on women and female children.Endnotes1Section 376 of IPC “Punishment for rape“2Section 354 of IPC- “Assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty“.3Sairam Bhat, India Together, “Too little for the little ones“, December 2004.4Section 23 of JJ Act” Punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child“5Section 5 of ITPA “Procuring, including or taking person for the sake of prostitution“6In 2003, the Delhi High Court refused to consider a petition regarding the legality of the law,saying that the petitioners, a sexual health NGO called the Naz Foundation (The Naz Foundation(India) Trust, based in New Delhi, was established in 1994 to serve community needs that werenot being met by Government or other agencies. Naz India is committed to reducing the spreadof HIV/AIDS through education and to providing support to those living with the virus, theirfamilies and communities. Since nobody has been prosecuted in the recent past under this sectionit would perhaps seem unlikely that the section will be struck down as illegal by the Delhi HighCourt in the absence of a petitioner with standing. However, this does not rule out the possibilityof some other High Court ruling on this section or even the Supreme Court in a “Public InterestLitigation“ (PIL). Naz Foundation won its appeal in the Supreme Court against the decision ofthe High Court to dismiss the petition on technical grounds. The Supreme Court decided that NazFoundation had the standing to file a PIL in this case and sent the case back to the Delhi HighCourt to reconsider on its merits. The Delhi High Court has been reconsidering the petition sinceOctober 2006. In May 2008, the case came up for hearing in the Delhi High Court, but theGovernment was undecided on its position, with The Ministry of Home Affairs maintaining acontradictory position to that of The Ministry of Health on the issue of enforcement of Section377 with respect to homosexuality7United Nations, The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime,“Protocol To Prevent, Suppress And Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women AndChildren”8Government of India, Department of Information Technology. Ministry of Communications &Information Technology., New Delhi, “Report of the Expert Committee, Proposed Amendmentsto Information Technology Act 2000“, proposed section 67(2).39

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India9Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child, “National Plan of Action forChildren 2005“10Section 373 of IPC ”Buying Minors for purpose of prostitution, etc”. – Whoever buys, hires orotherwise obtains possession of any person under the age of eighteen years with intent that suchperson shall at any age be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercoursewith any person or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, of knowing it to be likely that suchperson will at any age he employed or used for any purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment ofeither description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.11Section 377 of IPC, “Unnatural Offences“ Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse againstthe order of nature with any man, women or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment forlife, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years andshall also be liable to fine.12Sandesh Prabhudesai, The Pioneer, Goa edition “Another pedophile goes scot free“., 14th April200213Nishtha Desai, Emidio Pinho, Audrey Pinto, “Child Sexual Abuse in Goa: A Case Analysis“, July200614Times of India, dated 2 nd February 2008 “Paedophile held for abusing 100 boys“, ,15ibid16Kaumudi, Kerala edition, dated 9 th May 2008, “Foreigner arrested on compelling children forunnatural sex“.17Section 29 JJ Act- “Child in need of Care and Protection: Child Welfare Committee“18Section 34 JJ Act “Children’s Home“19Section 37 JJ Act “Shelter homes“20Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development“ Report on the Committee onProstitution, Child Prostitutes and Children of Prostitutes and Plan of Action to CombatTrafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children“, , , 199821ibid22Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development “ Integrated Plan of Action onTrafficking in Human Beings with special focus on children and women“, , 200723Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, “Sub- Group report- ChildProtection in the eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)40

Section 5RecommendationsWhile the recommendations flow from thedata and the facts emerging from the researchstudy, it must be noted that similarrecommendations have been made over theyears by civil society organizations andresearchers working on the issue of sexualexploitation of children. It is critical thatvarious stakeholders demonstrate seriousintent to address the issue of sexualexploitation of children in the tourism sectordecisively and consistently.It is absolutely necessary for the Governmentand the tourism industry to accept that thechild sexual exploitation is a real and seriousissue, and they must play a more active role inprotecting, respecting and appreciating therights of the child. In the legal arena, theproblems in addressing male child abuse arerelated to the absence of law as well as a lackof a system of awareness and lack ofinformation – which makes this problem thatmuch more challenging, although there is agreat deal that the legal system can do toimprove its response to this crime.In the run up to consolidating India’s EleventhFive-Year Plan 2007-2012, 1 the PlanningCommission constituted several workinggroups to provide their inputs. The MWCD, inits working group report, mentioned thattourism is known to directly contribute to theexploitation of the child in the form of childlabour, child trafficking and sexualexploitation. Unfortunately, the Ministry ofTourism in its Tourism Working Group Reportand Steering Committee Report makes nomention of issues related to exploitation ofchildren in the context of tourismdevelopment. Following the footsteps of thecentral planning bodies, the tourism policiesand plans in all the three study states (Orissa,Andhra Pradesh and Kerala) also does notrefer to the issue. The Plan documents theneed to re-look into the issue with dueseriousness and incorporate necessary changesto safeguard children from exploitation.The Ministry of Tourism and the tourismindustry have been silent spectators tovarious forms of exploitation of children intourism, including sexual exploitation ofchildren and exploitation of children throughchild labour. Despite the growing number ofreported cases of sexual exploitation ofchildren in tourism (it is important to notethat the number of unreported cases aremuch higher in proportion than that whichare reported and the majority of these arethat of exploitation of girl children), MoTand industry players refer to them asoccasional cases, and refuse to accept thegravity of the matter. The concerns raised bythe civil society are skirted and played down,saying that it will tarnish the country’s imageas a tourism destination. However, MoTswings into action when any case of sexualexploitation of foreign tourists is reported,whereby the highest investigating body in thecountry is put into action to investigate thecase. Unfortunately, no such actions aretaken when children are sexually abused bydomestic tourists. It is time for a serious andurgent national response to this crisis.41

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaIt is important to recognise that ‘children’does not mean only the female child; malechildren are equally vulnerable and alsosubjected to these forms of exploitation. Thismust be recognised and appropriate rescue,rehabilitation and reintegration services shouldbe established to respond to the victims.General l Recommendations The National and State Tourism Policiesmust acknowledge the role of tourism inexploiting children, clearly denouncesexual exploitation of children and committhat tourism and tourist destinations willbe child exploitation free zones. The Ministry of Tourism should develop a“National Plan of Action to Counter ChildAbuse In Tourism” by involving all thestakeholders, including industry, touroperators, travel agents, hotels, localauthorities, the judiciary, the police, childrights and other civil society organisationsand communities for the protection ofchildren and combating child abuse. All State Tourism Departments must followthe MoT National Plan of Action andcreate a State plan of action to counterchild abuse in tourism. Ministries such as MoT and State TourismDepartments have at times refused toacknowledge the problem and takeadequate steps, claiming that the task oflooking into the issue of protection ofchildren was not their mandate. ThePlanning Commission at the Central andState level should call for and facilitatecoordination between different ministriesand departments in addressing suchconcerns that call for concerted efforts byall the related ministries and departments. Work with various industries, includingsmall and medium scale enterprises, as itis in these and other informal sectorswhere the exploitation of children occursfrequently. MoT, at central and state level, mustinclude in their Annual Report theincidents uncovered of child sex tourism,efforts they have taken to combat this andtheir commitment to make India free fromchild-sex tourism. The tourism industry, tour operators, travelagencies and hotels should develop codes ofconduct or join the existing Code of Conductfor the Protection of Children from SexualExploitation in Travel and Tourism. 2 Related to the protection of children fromall forms of exploitation in tourism, acorporate ethical policy against sexualexploitation of children must beestablished and a proper reporting andmonitoring mechanisms be put in place topromote socially responsible tourism.Some protective clauses could include: All establishments that provide lodging,accommodation, temporary housing,rooms, quarters or any similar facilityshould ensure that children are safe andnot at risk of abuse within their premises,including all adjoining areassuch as beaches, parks, etc. Owners and caretakers must ensurethat no child is allowed to enter anysuch establishment unless the child isregistered as staying in the room withfamily or relatives. Establishing contact with hotelsrequiring them to prevent unregisteredchildren (in the register book at checkin)being taken into tourist’s rooms. Fines and penalties should be extremelysevere for companies and/or individualsthat are engaged in prohibitedbehaviour. If a hotel fails to reportincidences of minors being brought into42

Section 5: Recommendationsthe hotel by a person other than familymembers, the hotel should lose itslicense. Strict monitoring might also beapplied to tour companies if their guidesfacilitate tourists securing children.Owners and managers of the hotel orestablishment should be held solelyresponsible for any contraventions. Responsible parties must ensure that nochild has access to any Internetfacilities that are not fitted with filtersor to any objectionable materials,including through film, videos, discplayers,cable or any other mediumprovided by that establishment. Theowner and the manager of the hotel orestablishment shall be held solelyresponsible for any violation. Tourism personnel must be trained onthe prevention of child-sex tourism by: Providing information to travellers; and Providing information to local keypersons at travel destinations.PreventionMWCD should develop a comprehensive Actthat considers sexual abuse and exploitation ofchildren a very serious crime and impose verysevere and deterrent punishment to theoffenders, both Indians and foreigners, whocommit sexual exploitation against children inthe context of tourism. MWCD mustpressurise the Ministry of Home Affairs on thecreation of extradition laws to ensure thatforeign perpetrators of crimes are brought tojustice and ensure that no foreigner escapespunishment by leaving the country. Agree on a uniform age to define a childin legal terms, as various acts in Indiaconcerning children have different agelimits, allowing many loopholes. Werecommend that a “child” should bedefined as a person up to 18 years of age,as required by the CRC, which is ratifiedby India. Assess and evaluate the impact of suchimplementation on the local situation(whether there is a change in thesituation) in partnership with theDepartment of Tourism, local selfgovernmentand local NGOs. Incorporate special support and carefacilities for sexually exploited malechildren (in the JJ Act or other thanJJAct, 2000 provisions). State action plans should includeprovisions to tackle and protect boys fromprostitution in all settings andmanifestations, especially in high riskareas, such as in the case of AndhraPradesh, Orissa, etc. MWCD should work with differentstrategies and plans of action for womenand children and not have the sameprotection mechanism because of thedifferent levels of vulnerability. They musthave their own specific care andprotection needs. State Commissions for protection of childrenmust be immediately formed in all states. The Juvenile Justice Act provided for theestablishment of a special Juvenile PoliceUnit authorised to deal with children, butchild protection units have not beenformed in most States. Every policestation should have at least one speciallytrainedofficer designated as the Juvenileor Child Welfare Officer responsible forhandling cases involving children in needof care and protection or in conflict withthe law. Therefore, Child WelfareCommittees need to be set up at districtlevel, with properly trained staff who areequipped to deal with child abuses cases.43

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaTheir coordination with law enforcementas well as with the State and the CentralAdvisory Committees must be enhanced. Care facilities and human resources shouldbe made available to adequately supportsexually exploited boys. These servicesmust be based on minimum standards ofcare which are yet to be developed.Moreover, greater access to viablealternative livelihood options must bemade available to sexually exploited boys. Efforts must be made to actively involve thepanchayats (elected bodies responsible foradministration at district level, usually incharge of local development issues), inmonitoring the situation in their areas,including checking children who come intoand leave village. A system for recordkeeping must be created. In addition,community-based organizations must workmore closely with the police to provide legalassistance to victims as well as to ensurethat the police systematically lodges eachFirst Information Report (FIR) 3 with therelevant details and actively pursues cases. There is an urgent need to form aDepartment of Women and a Departmentof Children in the State of Kerala.Currently, all cases of child exploitationare administered by the Department ofSocial Welfare, resulting in cases ofexploitation of children not getting muchattention or preference in terms ofprotection and prevention.From the research it is seen that childpornography is often produced and distributedusing information technologies and theInternet. New technologies and the growth ofthe Internet are creating more commercialopportunities for child exploiters andpornographers and facilitating development andextending the reach of distribution networks.These technologies also facilitate organisedsexual abuse and violence against children bynetworks of commercial buyers, sex tourists,paedophiles and traffickers, as well as variousforms of prostitution of children and youngpeople. The global distribution of childpornography via the Internet and othertechnologies without uniform laws to protectchildren makes it difficult for national lawenforcement authorities to prosecute offenderslocally. It is therefore of primary importancethat India bring its legislation in compliancewith the international child protectionstandards set forth in the Convention on theRights of the Child and its Optional Protocol onthe sale of children, child prostitution and childpornography, both of which India has signedand ratified. Amend the Information Technology Act2000 to include provisions that clearlydefine and prohibit child pornography inaccordance with international standards; Amend the Information Technology Act todefine child pornography as anyrepresentation, by whatever means, of achild, or of a person who appears to be achild, engaged in real or simulated explicitsexual activities or any representation ofthe sexual parts of a child for primarilysexual purposes; Amend the Information Technology Act tocriminalise all acts of producing childpornography for the purpose of distributionthrough a computer system, offering,making available, distributing,transmitting child pornography through acomputer system, using computer systemsand other information technologies togroom children; as well as possessing childpornography on a computer system. As oneof the leading nations in the developmentof new technology, India can no longer44

Section 5: Recommendationsignore the abuse of children beingfacilitated through information andcommunication technology.Protection Strengthen hotline services byguaranteeing that they have the networksand services callers need, including victimprotection services as well as police followupas required. Guarantee availability ofmultiple languages so as to accommodatemost, if not all callers. Conduct mapping of the children in need ofcare and protection or of the servicesavailable for them at the district/city/statelevel with the help of local CSO. Include specific child rights laws andmethods of handling child abuse cases inthe Police Training School curriculum. Airport authorities, border police, railwaypolice, traffic police shall report anysuspected cases of abuse of children or anadult travelling with a child undersuspicious circumstances, such adults mustbe detained for questioning at the nearestpolice station. Set up child-friendly procedures within thelegal system. It is the duty of the State to remove allchildren in prostitution from their existingplaces of exploitation and to ensure that theyare rehabilitated and integrated into society. All steps should be taken in the protectivehomes to restrict or even deny the visitingrights of anyone who may be considered tobe a perpetrator, including the parent ofthe child.Prosecution Any offence in the case of tourismrelatedchild sexual abuse should beconsidered as non-bailable, as definedunder Section 2 (a) of the Code ofCriminal Procedure, 1973. Strict enforcement of existing legislations– ITPA and IPC sections. Implement JJA 2002 to establish a specialcell for child protection and designatingspecial police for the same. Establish special units within the policeand expand the mandate of tourist policefor monitoring and reporting child sextourism. Immediate steps should be taken to adoptextra-territorial laws and initiateappropriate action to ensure that nooffending tourist (foreign or domestic)escapes punishment by leaving thecountry/state. Existing legal framework should be strictlyenforced and appropriate legislation beimmediately initiated to make sexual abuseand commercial sexual exploitation ofchildren a serious crime and imposedeterrent punishment on the offenders,Indian and foreign. Mandate a developer of photographs orfilms, if he/she finds that the photos/filmsdeveloped contain sexual/obscenedepictions of children, to report this to theDeputy Superintendent of Police. Failure toreport such photos/films shall attract apenalty of imprisonment. Any form of soliciting, publicising ormaking children available to any adult oreven to other children for sexual activitymust be prohibited. Hosting websites,taking suggestive or obscene photographs,providing materials, soliciting customers,guiding tourists and other clients,appointing touts, using agents or any other45

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiaform which may lead to abuse of a childmust be punished with life imprisonment. Partnerships must be developed betweenthe Panchayats, police and NGOs toimprove collection of evidence, expeditingcases and affecting successful prosecutionsin child abuse cases. Indian Law on prostitution must beamended to specifically address children,clearly defining which activities and typesof remuneration are prohibited andcriminalising all acts of obtaining,procuring or providing a child forprostitution, as required under the OptionalProtocol. In addition, legal protectionagainst sexual exploitation must begranted to male children.Prevention n and d Awareness s Raising g Camampaigns Sensitisation and training of authoritiessuch as railway and traffic police andairport authorities, is particularly importantso that they are aware of various childrights laws and methods of preventing andhandling child abuse related cases. Extensive media campaigns should beconducted, in partnership with the tourismindustry, to inform tourists thatexploitation of children and child sextourism is not acceptable. Provide awareness and capacity buildingprogrammes for all law enforcementauthorities to effectively address cases ofchild sexual abuse, including the process ofpenalising the offenders. Protect children who are vulnerable andthose who have no support or access toservices through awareness programmes. Build the capacity of police, governmentdepartments and local NGOs to addresschild pornography, as there is a lack ofsuch expertise in India and the problem isescalating.Future e ResearchMore in-depth studies on the commercialsexual exploitation of boys are needed tosupport effective campaigns and interventionsagainst this phenomenon. A national levelnetwork/forum on prostitution of boys shouldalso be established as the foundation foradequate responses, exchange of informationand programme intervention.Endnotes1Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, “Report on the WorkingGroup on Development of Children for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012)“2Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourismcan be accessed at www.thecode.org3First Information Report (FIR) is a written document prepared by the police when they receiveinformation about the commission of a offence. It is a report of information that reaches thepolice first in point of time and that is why it is called the First Information Report.46

BibliographyReport“Assessment of the Situation of Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Town of Puri,State of Orissa, India”, March 2007“Children in Prostitution in the cities of Trivandrum, Ernakulam and Calicut- InKerala State- A Report”, 1999ECPAT, Question and answer about the commercial sexual exploitation of children,an information booklet, 2001ECPAT, “Global Monitoring Report on the Status of Action Against CommercialSexual Exploitation of Children in India”, 2006ECPAT, “Situational Analysis Report on Prostitution of Boys in India (Hyderabad)”,June 2006, research done by Sree Lakshmi AkulaEQUATIONS, “A Contextual View of Tourism and Child Prostitution in India”,1990EQUATIONS, “Study on Coastal Sex Tourism and Gender”, National Commissionof Women, 2002EQUATIONS, “Situational Analysis of Child Sex Tourism in India (Goa andKerala)”, 2003EQUATIONS, “Rights of the Child in the Context of Tourism- a Compilation”, 2006Group Development, “Child Sex Tourism- Action Survey” April 2001Guidelines for National Tourism Administration- focal points for the protection ofchildren from sexual exploitation in tourism- OMT-WTOIndrani Sinha, “No Says Radha to Sexual Abuse”, Convention on the rights of thechild, How NGO’s can use the UN Convention as an instrument for the protection ofchildren, Saga 1997Dr. Julia O’ Connell Davidson and Jacqueline Sancher Taylor of Department ofSociology, University of Leicester, UK, “Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism” inGoa, A research paper prepared by ECPAT, April 1996Maharukh Adenwalla, “Child sexual abuse and the Law”, India centre for HumanRights and Law, 200047

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaReport of the seminar on “Child Prostitution and the Sexual Abuse of Children,PEACE, Sri Lanka, July 1993Report on “Trafficking of Women and Children in India” by National Human RightsCommission, 2003Report on “Laws and Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial SexualExploitation of Children in India”, Aparna Bhat, Director Human Rights LawNetwork, ECPAT, November 2004World Vision, “Sex, Sun and Heritage: Tourism Threats and Opportunities in SouthEast Asia”- A report on best “practices on tourism and trafficking for UNIAP andWorld Vision by Heather A.Peters, Ph.D.Official l DocumentsGovernment of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development “Study on ChildAbuse India: 2007”Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, “Report of theCommittee, Investigating into Allegations of Large Scale Sexual Abuse, Rape andMurder of Children in Nithari village of Noida (UP)”Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development “National Plan ofAction for Children 2005 -2012”Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development “A Report: WorkingGroup on Development of Children for the Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-2012”Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, “Integrated Planof Action to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking with Special Focus of Womenand Children”, 2007Government of Orissa, “Tourism Activity Report” for the Department of Tourism andCulture, 2006-2007Books s and JournalsAparajita De, Indrani Sinha, “A Handbook for Better Police InvestigationTechniques to Combat Crimes against Children”, Sanlaap, 2002Aparna Bhat, “Supreme Court on Children”, Human Rights Law Network, June 2005Lin Lean Lim, “The Sex Sector”- The economic and social bases of prostitution inSoutheast Asia, International Labour Office- GenevaP.M. Nair, IPS, “Trafficking in Women and Children in India”, National HumanRights Commission, Orient Logman, 2005Nishtha Desai, Emidio Pinho, Audrey Pinto, “Child Sexual Abuse in Goa- A CaseAnalysis”, Children’s Rights in Goa, July 200648

BibliographyRon O’ Grady, “The Child and the Tourist, The story Behind the Escalation of ChildProstitution in Asia”, ECPATLegislations s ReferredThe Goa Children Act 2003The India Penal Code 1860The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956Information Technology Act 2000Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000International Conventions ReferredUnited Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child 1999The Optional Protocol on the Sale of children, Child Prostitution and Pornography 2002The Optional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons,Especially Women and Children, and Supplementing the United Nations Conventionagainst Transnational Organized Crime United Nations, 2003Electronic c SourcesNavhind times newspaper article http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=112416-Indian express News paper article http://www.indianexpress.com/article=161007Ministry of Women and Child Development- http://wcd.nic.in/Department of Information and Technology - http://www.legalserviceindia.com/cyber/itact.htmlWorld Vision, Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project –http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/globalissues_stpNewspapers s and d Media a Articles “Another Paedophile Goes Scot Free”. Sandesh Prabhudesai, The Pioneer, Goa,14 th April 2002 “Too little for the Little Ones”, Sairam Bhat, India Together, December 2004 “HIV@Rs100”, The Outlook, dated 10 th November 2006 “Unholy Undercurrents: Is the Puri Beach becoming a Fishing Ground for thePaedophilic?” By Anvita Sekhar, AIDSBUZZ, 2006 “Kerala Turning into Child-Sex Tourism Hub: Study”, The Indian Express, NewDelhi, 16 th January 200649

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India “Spiritual Tourism Grips Hospitality Players”, Lijee Phillip, the EconomicTimes, Chennai, 18 th March 2007 “Child Sex Tourism Raises its Head in India”, The Indian Express, New Delhi,13 th October 2007 “Not Goa, Jaipur or Kerala: It’s destination Andhra”, The Indian Express,Kerala Edition, 16 th October 2007 “Child Sex Tourism Prevalent in India”, Times of India, New Delhi, 23 rdNovember 2007 “Child Sex Tourism Prevalent in India”, The Navhind Times, Goa Edition, 24 thNovember 2007 “Paedophile held for Abusing 100 Boys”, Times of India, 2 nd February 2008 “Foreigner Arrested on Compelling Children for Unnatural Sex”, KeralaKaumudi, Kerala Edition, 9 th May 2008 “Seeking Release: Sex Sells on the Seven Hills”, D. Srinath, The New IndianExpress, Bangalore Edition, 20 th June 2008Reading g Materialsls1. A report of the workshop on “Prevention of Child Prostitution”, Department ofWomen and Child Development, Government of Karnataka and UNICEF, 19982. “International Law and Legal Aspects of Child Sex Tourism in Asia- Acontemporary form in Slavery?” - Thesis in international law by ConcettaTaliercio 1993.3. “Child Sex Tourism”, report of the conference hosted by the Michael SieffFoundation held at Cumerland Lodge , February 19964. “Child Sexual Abuse”- Vol-V5. EQUATIONS, “Tourism and Child Prostitution”- A compilation of news clips forthe National Consultation on Child Prostitution in India, November 19956. “Tourism and Child prostitution Watch”- Task Force, 8th March 1997, ITBBerlin, Germany7. “Sex Tourism and Prostitution- Aspects of Leisure, Recreation and Work”Martin Oppermann8. Report on the awareness programme on “Prevention of Sex Tourism andTrafficking”, convened by National Human Rights Commission in collaborationwith UNIFEM9. “Child Abuse issues in Kerala”, Seema Bhaskaran, Ph.D (unpublished), for theSchool of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies, M.G. University,Kottayam, Kerala.50

Annexure IInterview questions and methodologyAs part of the research we initially identified the local NGOs working on this issue ofmale child prostitution in each sites. Later we had discussion with the seniormembers of the organizations. When they were convinced about our researchobjective and with EQUATIONS history and credibility they gave their full supportIn Tirupati we spent a day in explaining the research methodology and objectives tothe PASS field staff. We clarified their doubt about tourism’s links to sexualexploitation of children and in particular male children. With their help weidentified the places to visit - bus stops, railways stations, street corners, where thechildren hang out and are abused normally. We also visited the Drop-in Centres runby PASS for male children, and Snehalaya working for rehabilitation of streetchildren in Tirupati.In Puri our investigation in 2008 we visited People Cultural Centre, RUSH-”Rural& Urban socio-cultural Help” and People’s Empowerment and Need basedCommunity Development (PENCODE) in Puri. We visited Puri, Konarak, PentakotaVillage and areas around the Jagannath Temple.These children were asked a range of questions – the broad questionnaire used by usfor this research is detailed below. As the issue is very sensitive speaking to them itselfwas a major challenge which we faced. In both the sites the children were hesitant tospeak to us initially, they made faces, smiled in a sarcastic or uncomfortable manner,and this made even us the researchers very uncomfortable. But as we wereaccompanied by local people and we promised confidentiality they gained confidence.We were in the course of the conversation able to share with them openly the reasonwhy we are meeting them. We explained the situation and the purpose of this research.We let them know that in speaking frankly to us they may experience the trauma andwe sincerely apologised for that, but explained why we needed to know the facts.It is important to mention that the children we met were also happy to explain theirsituation and that someone was interested in listening to them and understandingtheir difficulties and their feeling. This bonding helped them give us informationabout their social background, the difficulties they are facing in coming out of thesituation and why are they still continuing in prostitution.First we spoke to the children individually and then the next day called for a focusgroup discussion involving all the children together along with the organizationswith whom we collaborated in doing this research.51

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaIn Guruvayoor the problem was that there was no organization working on malechild sexual exploitation in the area or even other parts of Kerala. There are notmany demarcated or known red-light areas, sexual exploitation happens in homesand in lodges. The issue is less visible. Children who were victims of sexual abusewere not on the streets. Therefore in Guruvayoor we had focus group discussion withthe community members in each village, anganwadi teachers and workers who wereuneasy and insecure about giving us information.Annexuxure e I a: Survey y QuestionnairesThe Issues that we addressed in the Investigative study on Male Child SexualAbuse in pilgrim tourism sites in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and OrissaI. General Profile of Tourists : good if we collect some back ground information evenbefore visiting the place. Type of tourists visiting? mean – the motivation of their travel, or domestic /foreign, individual / group, From where do they come? Which are the busiest seasons? No of tourist arrivals (foreign and domestic) Profile of tourist visiting the place, like for which country, local means fromwhich stateTourist inflow in the district Domestic Tourists (Peak and Lean period) Foreign Tourists (Peak and Lean period) Change in the pattern of tourists inflow Number of hotels/ resorts ( high budgeted hotels, medium budgeted hotels– What is their expenditure pattern? – like How much do they spend inaccommodation, travel, food, local conveyance, shopping, etc)– Duration of stay– Whether they come as groups/ Individuals (Foreign Individual tourist/Domestic Individual tourists)II. Basic socio-economic context of the place Overview of economic, cultural, religious, and social factors that affect theexistence of male prostitution. Just putting few indicators to collect informationbased on this so that we know what information to be collected in each socioeconomic context Economic information-1. Degree of dependency of economy on tourism– ranking of tourism in comparison to other sectors2. Degree of benefit distribution, if any3. employment benefits to local people– % of direct and indirect employment52

Annexure I– Nature of employment (low skill, seasonality, low pay) Cultural information1. Commodification of culture2. Standardization3. deterioration in traditional systems4. loss of cultural identity Religious information1. Spiritual practices2. change in the practicesSocial factor1. Impacts on children– Exploitative forms of tourism– Map the different kind of sexual exploitation of boys happening inthe states.– Forms of child labour, child abuse both female and male childIII. Profile of male children vulnerable to sexual exploitation and in few casesvictims of CSEC Details of male children at risk of being sexually exploited (e.g., age, whetherlocal or from other districts or states, trafficked, migrant) Vulnerability factors that push and pull male children into involvement inprostitution (e.g., living conditions, access to education, gender stereotypes,previous abuse, unsupportive family) \ How does engagement in this activity physically, psychologically and sociallyaffect these children?IV: Responses to the tourism linked male child sexual exploitationThis can also be used in a snowballing method (ask one child who may be abusedand then ask if he knows of other male children – siblings, cousins, friends are alsoin this and if they will be willing to speak)Questionnaire for children Name of the child: Age: Origin (Native place): Present Location: Municipality/ Corporation/ Panchayat: Occupation, if working as child labour or above 14 yrs. : Mother Tongue: Languages Known: Where is he living right now and with whom:53

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India No. of members, living together: Educational Qualification: If literate, till which standard the child studied: If he has dropped out from school, what are the reasons (siblings and theinterviewee child): What was the child (interviewee) doing after leaving school (How does the childoccupy himself after he has left school) – may be keep it broad as at times directquestions may become a problem. How did the child come to the present location?1. Did the child go any other place before the child reached to the presentlocation?2. Who brought the child there?3. What was the mode of transport? What was the circumstance that led the child in this exploitative situation What is the child’s experience if willing to speak on (please capture negative andpositive experiences) – have a few broad points that the researcher maybe able toask – where do they get taken, how much are they paid, what are they made todo, what do they feel about it, How do they work this out – individual / agents - how much does he get paid /how much does the agent Have there been cases of abuse by the pimp (agent) / client (physical) –psychological will be there What kind of people the child comes into contact with- is it tourist or locals (iftourist is it pilgrim tourist) Do they have any health care facilities provided, if so by whom – NGOs, Dept ofHealth, private hospitals. If the child has been rescued from the situation, what is his present mode ofearnings/survivalAny other information that the interviewer feels important to note:Tourism linked Questions: these questions apply to all the stakeholders:Start with a little on tourism What do you think about tourism What are the type of tourism in the area What are their food habits What do you think about tourists and how are there behaviour to you all What do you think tourism must give you, both positive as well as negative, if ithas created any problem, if so how and why, can you please explain so that weknow whey you are stating this. What are your thoughts on small lodges and hotels coming up in your area? Have you noticed any rooms given for tourist stay in there homes, if so where andfor how many days, what was your experience. If they open up start asking what are the tourist demands Have you notices anything suspicious and change in there behaviour after few day54

Annexure I Do they travel constantly or stay at home whole day.. Have you notice tourist playing with children/ do they give gifts and take themout for side seeing. If so what are your thoughts on that What you notice any nexus with the tourism hotels, police, small petty showsIV. Profile of the environment in which male children are involved in prostitution The details of the organized network in place involving male children inprostitution, if such a network exists Locations where male children involved in prostitution are sexual exploited Access to healthcare and support services (particularly related to HIV/AIDS andother STIs) – Access to education -schooling and information (including on HIV/AIDS andother STIs) Vulnerability to drug/alcohol use and abuseQuestionnaire for Family members (These questions are to the families we knowtheir children have been abused)Start with their ideas on tourism, benefits if any due to that, build confidence andthey start asking more details How many children are their in the family, age Is the child working or helping in getting any finance for house If so what is the child occupation, and where does he work? Do you know if your child / other children are involved in this activity…. if sohow What kind of people the child comes into contact with- is it tourist or locals (iftourist is it pilgrim tourist) – when, where, how? How far does the child go to work? What is the child’s daily routine and how is his relationship with familymembers? Did the child mentioned of any stranger friends who you don’t know. Who is the exploiter of the child, do you know did you seek any help from the community head or to any NGO- what were theirresponse Have the child changed- if so how – if not what are you doing with such a childpracticeAny other information that the interviewer feels important to note:Questionnaire for NGOs:Start with general tourism related questions How did they know that this problem exists- sources (particularly male childrenprostitution)55

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India How many children do you come across working/exploited in a day / week /month. – What kind of people the child comes into contact with- is it tourist or locals (iftourist is it pilgrim tourist) Are the exploiters - tourists (foreign & domestic tourist), local people, others(bus / lorry driver, migrant workers) Nature of sexual exploitation, who are the exploiters, how it happened andwhere. (collected these information from NGO’s because the children would haveundergone this trauma may be many times as counselor asked him, care takerasked him, if there is a legal case, the again he is revisiting this experience everytime he appears in the court. We need to collect information from the dailyprofile of the NGO that should have details of these children or else from thecounselor as he/she would know it all) How do you think we can combat this, what are your approach to this problem What action can we take or can you recommend few action to prevent male childsexual abuse can we seek police help on this, how are their approach toward this, can youexplain any case study of your experience Do you give awareness/ counseling, any rehabilitation plans What has been response of the communities, panchayats, and government to thisissue when it came to light (has it come to light – have they been confronted withthis issue – should check on that first). To find out the rehabilitation and reintegration mechanism of boys victimsprovided by the NGO if any and by the stateFind out more details from them in the form of case study: might be they havedetails of male child abuse in the rehabilitation homes - Details of exploiters (e.g., age, gender, where they are from, ethnic background,profession, education) Method by which sex exploiters find access to prostituted male children Details of whether sex exploiters specifically seek out male children, or do notnecessarily prefer them to girls, women, or men Information of how society, culture and religion in each state are relevant to thepractice – Analysis of discrimination against male victims of prostitution – discriminationhere means if a male child is abuse how are they dealing with it, is it in the samefocus and care as in the case of a female child abuse or any other proceduresfollowed by them Awareness of society on the existence of male prostitution Present status of the issue and how far it has changed if so?Questionnaire to Panchayat/ Municipality officeAgain start with tourism related questions, their ideas and then slowly start askingabout our research questions.56

Annexure I– Do you know of a problem like this? If yes, then How did they know that this problem exists- sources (particularlymale children prostitution If no, then maybe tell them about it How many children working/exploitation in a day, you come to know, if so how What can be done to prevent this problem, whare are you plans as a communityleader What do you say on the action to be taken to prevent male child sexual abuse How was the family members/children’s response to that?, were they supportiveto the initiatives, can you pleas stare with us few of your experience What action are you following to prevent this form of exploitation of children? What are your future strategies to prevent sexual exploitation of children What types of actions do you think should be undertaken by the government toaddress the issue? Hope you are getting full support from NGOs towards working on this problem,what do you think we can do to help you such like, give awareness….Questionnaire for meeting with DepartmentStart with questions related to tourism Do you know this problem exists if so how How did you come across these issues exist? Have they conducted and investigation / examination into this problem. Locations where male children are involved in sexual abuse Does location change on a daily basis or is it fixed (let them answer if they haveany data) Who are the clients- is it tourist if so what kind pilgrim, side seeing etc What action have you taken against the exploiters (clients and the middlemen/women) What action you have taken against the children, Have families approached you to take any action? No of children involved in this activity on a daily basis What are the step followed by you to rescue the children/ and catch (punish) theexploiters Are the exploiters working in a organized manner, if so have you identified thenetwork Is this information passed on to the state head/central department- if so whatwas their response and follow-up action What action are you following to prevent this form of exploitation of children? What are the laws, legal support available with the state mechanism to preventand control this problemPlease collect statically data, documentation, books, and reports from thedepartments.57

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaV. Responses to the problem Acknowledgement of the problem amongst Government agencies, NGOs,academics, media and the public Responses by the Government and NGOs, and the type of actions taken Existence of good models and/or good practices Legal status of prostitution within the country, responses by law enforcementbodies, and analysis of how male children are protected under the law –especially concerning whether they are prosecuted or perceived as victims Organizations working on the issue of boy prostitution What kind of responses is available to the male victims of prostitution? Are thereany community based models of rehabilitation and reintegration of male victimsof prostitution What priorities should be defined in order to effectively respond to the situation? What types of actions should the government undertake to address the issue? What aspects of legal reform are needed to prevent and protect male childrenfrom prostitution Present and potential roles of NGOs in addressing male child prostitution.58

Annexure IIMedia ClippingsKerala a Turning g into o Child-Sd-Sex x Tourism Hub: b: StudyShocking, but true. God’s Own Country is slowly turning into a hub of child-sextourists, according to a path-breaking study, which says that sex tourism has becomea problem for Kerala a la Goa. Along with the growth of tourism in Kerala, there isincreasing victimisation of children, says the study. It quoted investigators as sayingthat hoteliers in places like Alappuzha and Ernakulam promoted sex tourism“…because such services bring in extra income’’. “Victims are often projected byagents as college girls in search of fun and excitement or wanting to earn an extrabuck.’’ “In places like Alappuzha, foreign tourists stay in houseboats, makinghouseboat sex tourism a new and thriving concept. This is a safe method, as thereare hardly raids on houseboats.’’ “There are fewer laws against child abuse in Indiaand the beaches of Goa and Kovalam in Kerala are increasingly becoming the maindestinations for those seeking child prostitutes.’’“In India, the abuse of both male and female children by tourists has acquiredserious dimensions,” says the 748-page study called ‘Trafficking in Women andChildren in India’, which was sponsored by the National Human Rights Commission.“Unlike Sri Lanka and Thailand, this problem has not been seriously tackled ordiscussed openly (in India) and has remained more or less shrouded in secrecy,making the likelihood of child abusers being caught and punished very low,” it said.Detailing a case study that led to the conviction of a foreigner in Goa, the study saidthat beach boys, shack owners and former victims of paedophiles are facilitating theprocurement of boys and girls for sex. Enforcement agencies, it said, “…haveturned a blind eye to this problem and cases have seldom been registered’’. “Thesilence of the community and its unwillingness to speak out and openly discuss theissue have further compounded the problem.’’The study quoted investigators as saying that many children mentioned that they hadsex with a varied range of tourists for Rs 50 to Rs 200.“It is hard to measure the incidence of child-sex tourism as it is difficult to conductquantitative research on such a clandestine and illegal industry.’’ Qualitativeresearch and anecdotal evidence suggest that child-sex tourism is growing andspreading in different regions of the world.59

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in India“There is also evidence that over the last few years, increasing numbers of sexoffenders, particularly from Western countries, are shifting to less developed countriesdue to increasing vigilance and action against paedophilia in their own countries.’’The study, conducted by the New Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences and fundedby USAID, calls for greater international battle against child-sex tourism. “Thedestination countries need to enact and enforce stringent laws and punish theexploiters and their collaborators,” the study said. (Indian Express, New Delhi, 16 thJanuary 2006)Child d Sex x Tourism Raises s its s Head d in n IndiaAs India tries to get more visitors to its shores, experts are warning that child sextourism is raising its head in a dangerous way, not just in tourist havens but also inreligious hubs in Tamil Nadu and Orissa. Carmen Madrinan, an international expertin the field, who was here for a UN conference on human trafficking, said the childsex industry in India had spread from its traditional hubs in Goa and Kerala.“It is also gaining momentum in religious places in Tamil Nadu and Orissa,”Madrinan, executive director of the NGO End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography,and the Trafficking of Children (ECPAT), said.“India is among the most rapidly growing economies in the world and theintroduction of economy airlines, the development of untapped destinations,improved infrastructure and new modes of tourism - such as eco and experientialtourism - have brought tourists even closer to unexposed communities.” “With thisincreased proximity, criminal activities against children and other vulnerable groupsare likely to grow,” said Madrinan.According to the Ministry of Tourism, tourist arrivals in the country rose from 3.92million in 2005 to 4.43 million in 2006, showing a sharp increase of 13 percent.“Asian countries, including Thailand, India and the Philippines, have long beenprime destinations for child sex tourists,” said Jeff Avina, director of operations atthe UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Vienna.“India’s economy is booming and it is high time the government here enforced lawsmore stringently before the situation becomes difficultto manage.”The issue caught media and government attention in India in 1991 when six menwere accused of sexually abusing downtrodden children at an orphanage run by coaccusedFreddy Albert Peats in Goa. They hailed from countries like Australia, NewZealand and Germany.According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the accused not only sexuallyassaulted the young boys but also took their nude photographs. Unfortunately, onlyPeats could be sentenced as the other managed to flee the country.60

Annexure IIThe state, in fact, has a special law against child sexual abuse, the Goa Children Act2003. The fines and jail terms under it are severe – Rs 100,000 with imprisonmentfor one to three years for sexual assault and incest, and Rs 200,000 with seven to10 years’ jail in the case of a grave sexual assault.In other parts of the country, “the accused is booked under rape charges formolesting a girl child while in the case of a male child, the accused is booked forsodomy,” said a senior police official. Child sex tourists are typically male andcome from all income brackets. While some tourists are paedophiles who seek outchildren for sexual relationships, many are situational abusers who do notconsistently seek out children as sexual partners.According to a study conducted by ECPAT, more than one million children worldwideare drawn into the sex trade each year. “Male boys are more victimised or soughtafter in the industry,” Madrinan said.“Global work against child sex tourism has revealed that individuals and groupswith a sexual interest in children have learned to use the infrastructure of tourismand the backdrop of socio-economic exclusion that at times surrounds tourist centresto abuse children for sex.” She said the most significant societal factor that pushedchildren into prostitution was poverty.“Children in these families become easy targets for procurement agents in search ofyoung children. They are lured away from broken homes by ‘recruiters’ who promisethem jobs in a city and then force the children into prostitution. Some poor familiesthemselves send their children for prostitution or sell them into the sex trade toobtain desperately needed money,” Madrinan added.Renuka Choudhary, Minister for Women and Child Development, told IANS: “Sextourism exists in almost every country and we are aware of the problem here.Paedophiles would not be spared at any cost.” “I have complained about sex tourismto the Home Ministry and they have assured me of taking appropriate action on it,”Renuka added. (The Indian Express, New Delhi, 13 th October 2007)Not t Goa, Jaipur r or r Kerala. a. It’s destination n AndhrdhraRajasthan, Goa or Kerala might be the most romanticised tourism destinations inthe country, especially with foreign travellers, but when it comes to domestictourists, Andhra Pradesh is the undisputed number one.Last year, Andhra Pradesh attracted one fourth of all domestic tourists, almost fivetimes more than Rajasthan, which is famous the world over for its magnificent fortsand palaces. Delhi, Goa and Kerala did not even make to the top 10 list.According to the figures compiled by the Ministry of Tourism, 461.16 milliondomestic travellers were recorded last year, an 18.1 per cent jump over the previousyear. Of these, 24.2 per cent visited Andhra Pradesh, while Uttar Pradesh, whichboasts of the Taj Mahal, attracted 22.9 per cent.61

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in IndiaTamil Nadu (12.7 per cent), Karnataka (7.8 per cent) and Rajasthan (5.1 per cent)made it to the top five states.The reason for Andhra getting the maximum number of domestic tourists is thetemple city of Tirupati. Tirupati gets nearly 20 million visitors every year and is oneof the most visited religious places in the world. “Obviously, Tirupati is attractingthe maximum tourists for Andhra,” said Leena Nandan, joint secretary in theTourism Ministry. “Even in other parts of the country, domestic tourism is driven bypilgrimage,” she added.With a 5.9 per cent share, Andhra Pradesh is not doing badly in attracting foreigntourists too, though Delhi and Maharashtra, the two busiest entry points to thecountry, are way ahead of others in this department. Delhi was visited by 17.3 percent of all foreign tourists, while 14.5 per cent went to Maharashtra. Uttar Pradeshfollowed closely with 11.6 per cent tourists.Last year, India had 4.45 million foreign tourists, an increase of 13.5 per cent fromthe previous year. It gave the country 0.52 per cent share of global tourist arrivals.France, with 79.1 million foreign tourists, was the most visited country in 2006.Outbound visits by Indian nationals saw a 16.2 per cent jump in 2006 with around8.34 million people undertaking foreign visits for tourism purposes.States attracting most domestic tourists Andhra Pradesh, 24.2 per cent Uttar Pradesh, 22.9 per cent Tamil Nadu, 12.7 per cent Karnataka, 7.8 per cent Rajasthan, 5.1 per centStates attracting most foreign tourists Delhi, 17.3 per cent Maharashtra, 14.5 per cent Uttar Pradesh, 11.6 per cent Rajasthan, 10.7 per cent Tamil Nadu, 9.1 per cent (The Indian express, Cochin Edition, 16th October2007)Child d Sex x Tourism Prevalent t in n India: Renuka a ChowdhdhuryChild sex tourism is prevalent in many states of the country, was told in the LokSabha. The Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury said ina written reply that studies conducted by the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) and National Commission for Women (NCW) shows that inthe name of pilgrim, heritage and coastal tourism, sexual exploitation ofchildren is quite widespread.62

Annexure IIThe Minister said that government is planning to propose an amendment in theexisting Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 providing stringent punishmentfor those involved in trafficking, including of children.Studies said that a lot of reports of human trafficking have come in fromMaharastra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengaland Orissa.The government is introducing a new scheme ‘Integrated Programme for StreetChildren’ for their rehabilitation. The target group for the scheme would bechildren without family ties and vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.The Women and Child Development Ministry has also formulated another scheme‘Integrated Child Protection Scheme’ which would be implemented in the 11th planperiod for setting up of ‘transitional shelter homes’ in urban and semi-urban areas forthe street children. A national website detailing the number of missing children willalso be maintained under this scheme. The Ministry is enhancing the number ofJuvenile Justice Boards in a year to ensure smooth functioning of cases where minorsare involved. (Times of India, New Delhi, 23rd November 2007)Paeaedodophile e held d for r abubusing g 100 boysMotihari/Patna: A 40-yearold man who abducted nearly 100 teenaged boys andsexually abused them in captivity has been arrested by the Bihar police. Arjun Sahwas caught on Wednesday when he was going from Motihari to Dhaka in a truck.There were two boys, a private school student from Riga in Sitamarhi he hadkidnapped on January 23, and another teenager from Bettiah. ‘‘Sah is a paedophile.He was nabbed earlier and had been charged with sodomy. He was released in2006,’’ said ADGP (headquarters) Anil Sinha. A resident of Sakara Bazar on theIndo-Nepal border of Bihar’s East Champaran district, Sah has also receivedransom from the parents of abducted boys, police sources said. East Champaran SPS K Jha said Sah was arrested after the father of the boy he had kidnapped fromRiga filed a missing person’s report. The Sitamarhi and Chiriya police sought thehelp of East Champaran police to rescue the boy. In the process, they arrested Sahand rescued the two boys. The East Champaran police handed over Sah to Sitamarhipolice. During interrogation, Sah confessed that he kidnapped boys to sodomisethem. The kidnapped boys also said they were sodomised by Sah repeatedly duringcaptivity. Jha said Sah stayed in hotels with the boys he kidnapped. Sah is accusedof kidnapping 27 children in Vaishali, Gopalganj, East and West Champaran, UttarPradesh and Nepal. (Times of India, New Delhi, 2nd February 2008)Seeking g Releae: ae: Sex x Sells ls on n the Seven n HillslsTirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, is a site of pilgrimage and piety.However, there are other human impulses too that find vent on the these sacred hills:a survey conducted by NGOs involved in AIDS control revealed that Tirupati has63

Unholy nexus –Male Child Sexual Exploitation in Pilgrim Tourism Sites in Indiaemerged as a “hot spot” for commercial sex. AP State AIDS Control Society(APSACS) director R Chandravadan admitted that sex workers op-erate in thesacred hills; addressing a media con-ference, he said that a survey conducted by the“peer educators” of sex workers showed that there are as many as 3,500commercial sex work-ers in and around Tirupati. According to the sur-vey, 100-150sex workers, based in Tirupati and around the hills, have been carrying on ‘verysecretly’ in 10-15 secluded spots on the hills. “Tiru-pati has turned into a bigchallenge for us. Along with the increase in pilgrim rush, commercial sex is alsogrowing. Since it is a sensitive issue, in view of the unique position of the place, weare treading cautiously,” Chandravadan said.APSACS will rope in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s (TTD) administration inchecking the problem, and also provide training to doc-tors so that they are able todeal with infections and prevent the spread of HIV, Chandravafen added. As news ofthe comments were relayed over local television, the government swung into dam-agecontrolmode, claiming that statements had been distorted; that the survey was not an“offi-cial” one. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam ex-ecutive officer KV Ramana Charyconvened a press conference again, along with Chan-dravadan, to clarify matters tothe press. When media people insisted that Chandravadan not been misrepresented, hestaged an abrupt walk-out. Ramana Chary attempted to clarify that there was nocause for alarm; that it is possible that there may be isolated incidents of prostitution,but these were exceptional. (The Indian Express, D. Srinath, Tirupati edition, 20thJune 2008) Annexure II: Interview questions and methodology64

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