U.S. domestic prosecution of the American international sex tourist: efforts to protect children from sexual exploitation.

• Author: Andrews, Sara K.

1. INTRODUCTION

   The commercial sexual exploitation of minors by international tourists is a humanitarian tragedy carried out on a grand scale with virtually no repercussions for the criminal perpetrators. (1) According to End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT), an international child advocacy organization based in Bangkok, child prostitution in developing countries is a culturally embedded problem that is significantly exacerbated by foreign tourists. (2) The United States is one of the "sending countries" that enables the international child sex market to flourish by providing a wealthy and willing customer base. (3)

   Although exact figures of the number of American tourists who travel abroad for the purpose of engaging in sex with minors are difficult to obtain, arrest/detention records of popular travel destinations in the developing world, such as Southeast Asian countries, reveal a significant U.S. presence. (4) These records, however, are limited in their ability to provide an accurate assessment of the overall magnitude of the problem, because most sex tourists evade arrest in the countries in which they commit their crimes. (5) According to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, "[s]ex tourists often escape prosecution in the host countries" because of factors "ranging from ineffective law enforcement, lack of resources, corruption, and immature legal systems." (6) Most developing nations have little incentive for domestic enforcement because tourism is one of the main driving forces behind their economies. (7)

   Over the past decade, the U.S. has publicly recognized the severity of the problem of child sexual exploitation on a global level and has undertaken measures designed to help solve the problem. (8) In 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, better known as the Crime Bill. (9) The legislation included a provision, referred to as the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act, which made it a criminal offense to travel abroad for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a minor. (10) In June 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sex Tourism Prohibition Improvement Act of 2002, declaring the bill would "close significant loopholes" in the existing law. (11) Certain provisions included in this bill became law in April 2003, when President George W. Bush signed the PROTECT Act. (12) In addition, in December 2002, the U.S. became the forty-second country to ratify the Optional Protocol to the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography. (13) Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2000, the Optional Protocol is the first instrument of international law to provide a framework for the criminalization of the actions of child sex abusers on a global level. (14)

   Through its legislative efforts and support for the Optional Protocol, the U.S. has taken steps to acknowledge the gravity of the global problem of child sexual exploitation, as well as the complicity of U.S. citizens in its perpetuation. However, recognition of the severity of the problem, although an important development, is only the first step in the process of addressing child sexual exploitation in a meaningful and effective way. Since its passage in 1994, the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act has resulted in few actual prosecutions of U.S. nationals who traveled abroad for the purpose of committing sex crimes against minors. (15) Other "sending" countries, some with comparable extra-territorial legislation and some with more comprehensive laws, have also encountered low levels of enforcement. (16)

   Part II of this Comment provides background on the extent of the problem of sex tourism. Part III explores the responses of the U.S and Australia on the one hand, and "receiving" countries on the other, examining what these nations are and are not doing in the areas of law and enforcement. Part IV describes the collective diplomatic reaction of the international community, and Part V concludes with recommendations for future U.S. initiatives to combat the complicity of U.S. citizens in the commercial sexual exploitation of children on a global level.

2. THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM

   "Tourism and the [sex] industry are mutually reinforcing." (17)

   Tourism is one of the largest, most lucrative industries worldwide. (18) For many vacationers, particularly those traveling from industrialized nations to developing countries, paying for sex with a male or female in their destination country is an integral part of the travel experience. (19) Each year foreign travelers from predominantly Western countries pump billions of dollars into the economies of developing nations when they purchase sexual services. (20) This practice, commonly referred to as "sex tourism," although more often than not illegal in both the host country and the country of the traveler's origination, has become widely acknowledged. In fact, it is so common that the New Oxford Dictionary added the phrase "sex tourism" to its publication in 1998. (21)

   Whether by preference or circumstance, children are frequently targeted by travelers for commercial sexual exploitation. (22) The U.N. has defined child sex tourism as "tourism organized with the primary purpose of facilitating the effecting of a commercial-sexual relationship with a child." (23) Child advocacy groups identify three major categories of sexual exploitation of minors for monetary gain: prostitution, pornography and trafficking for sexual purposes. (24)

   The commercial sexual abuse of minors is not a new phenomenon. (25) It is a culturally embedded, global problem that has existed throughout history, with locals traditionally providing the largest customer base. (26) However, the technological advances that have facilitated global travel in the twentieth and twenty-first century have enabled a much broader, international range of consumers to travel long distances to obtain sex with minors. (27)

   Although foreign demand for commercial sex in developing countries is significantly outweighed by local demand, the presence of international consumers and the financial resources that accompany them are significant factors in the perpetuation of the sex industry worldwide. (28) Additionally, the dramatic financial disparity between customers from industrialized "sending" countries and those who service them in the "receiving countries" results in a heightened imbalance of power that increases tourists' access to children and presents disincentives for local governments to criminally prosecute the perpetrators. (29)

   1. THE EXPLOITED

      Due to the covert nature of child sexual exploitation and the lack of a comprehensive methodology for tracking the levels of involvement of children in the sex industry, both governmental agencies and youth advocacy organizations are hesitant to assign concrete figures to the numbers of minors involved. (30) Reliable estimates are exceedingly difficult to obtain, as much of the evidence of child exploitation is anecdotal. (31) Consequently, figures vary. (32) Nevertheless, most organizations are in agreement that the commercial sexual abuse of children occurs at an alarming rate. (33) UNICEF has estimated that there are more than one million child prostitutes in Asia alone. (34) While child commercial sexual exploitation has customarily been associated with Asian countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan, it has become a significant social problem in Africa and Latin America, and the trafficking of youth into the sex industry is on the rise in Eastern Europe. (35)

      Part of the difficulty in obtaining accurate empirical data is the lack of a universal definition of what constitutes a child. (36) While the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child defines children as "every human being below the age of eighteen years," the age of majority for the purpose of consent varies from country to country. (37)

      Although the breadth of the child sex industry is difficult to measure, reasons why children are drawn into it are more easily discernable. Money is almost always at the root of the problem. (38) Most children who are coerced or lured into the sex industry come from extremely poor, rural areas, where one daughter's earnings as a prostitute could support an entire family. (39) Some children are knowingly sold into prostitution by their parents, while others are duped into separating from their families based on the false promises of recruiters who offer aid in securing legitimate employment for the child only to market that child into the sex industry for personal profit. (40)

      Many children who suffer psychological or physical abuse from their families take to the streets and become casualties of the sex industry due to financial necessity. (41) Additionally, significant numbers of women and children are abducted either forcibly or based on false promises, trafficked across national lines, and coerced into engaging in sexual activity for the profit of others. (42)

   2. THE PERPETRATORS

      A common misperception about child sex abusers is that they are all pedophiles. (43) Although it is true that pedophiles contribute to the problem, the majority of customers who pay money to sexually exploit children are first and foremost prostitute users. (44) They may or may not actively seek out underage victims, and their use of sex workers may be habitual or situational. (45) Moreover, they come from all walks of life. (46) They are predominantly male and predominantly from wealthy, industrialized nations like the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Australia, France and Japan. (47)

      Children may be sought out as the victims of sexual exploitation for a variety of reasons. In many countries a premium is placed on purchasing sex with virgins, who are prized not only for their youth, but also for their purity and expected lack of...