Exploitation of children – we know about it so why not arrest it ASAP

There was this detailed article about Sri Lanka being a haven for child sex tourists. We have known about it for a long time and Hikkaduwa area was known for this for a very long time. Yes we have laws, but have we put sufficient resources to arrest it, and make the people of the area where this occurs, of how grave a crime it really is, as it affects the psyche of the innocent children for their whole lives and can cause problems to society in future, making it a win win situation if prevented.

Read link for detail of the Child Sex Abuse issue in Sri Lanka

http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/08/01/features/89077

There is no point civil society merely harping on this, if the local police is not given the resources to tackle this problem, and the publicity of any arrests must spread so people who believe Sri Lanka is a haven will have second thoughts in coming here, if they are made aware that enforcement of our Laws is strict.

It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that unless something is done immediately and it is already about 25 years too late, the reputation of the whole Country suffers, and in the new age of Tourism where ethics, human trafficking and environmental degradation are hot topics, tourists choose to come to Countries that are clean in every sense of the word.

Sri Lanka must market itself as a destination that is CLEAN no matter which way you look at it. It can be done with a little help from our community, once they realize the win win potential of the slogan.

Not only do we take child sex seriously and put offenders behind bars with no respite, we must also clean our beaches of pollutants, we must also change the behavior of our people to respect the environment and pollute less. Then using this word Carbon Footprint which a very effective word in the Tourism jargon, we must do every thing to reduce this footprint as much as possible, by going green and recycling, and wasting as little as possible. Reusing every thing we can possibly.

Changing from plastic to reusable water bottles is another, and that will gain publicity immediately it is implemented.

Going back to the main topic of Child exploitation both for sex and for other work, the State MUST enforce strict guidelines, to lock people up for offences, and supply the necessary resources to catch and convict without Compromise.