europe4

A study in the Czech Republic has provided evidence that children are still being sexually
exploited, mainly by sex tourists from Germany and Austria, in the border region between
the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. In a common appeal to governments in the
region, UNICEF Austria, Czech Republic and Germany, together with the child rights
organisation ecpat, have issued a call for action and criticized governments for not fulfilling
their commitments.
A new study has been published by UNICEF, as a follow-up to a report one and a half
years ago by the German NGO KARO. The main purpose of this new report is to ascertain
what school age children in Cheb and Prague think about prostitution and child prostitution.
The author Eva Vanícková, of the Third Medical Faculty of Charles University, compiled
responses from 1,585 pupils from Cheb and Prague primary schools. The main findings of
the research are as follows:

The majority of school children know child prostitution exists (65% of children in Prague,
75% in Cheb).
A surprisingly large percentage of children claim to have seen a child prostitute (12% in
Prague, 29% in Cheb).
The way in which prostitution is viewed by children, is surprising: 18% of girls consider
prostitution to be an opportunity to live a luxurious life; 24% of girls consider prostitution to
be an opportunity for people without education to obtain money; 25% of boys consider
prostitution to be an opportunity to obtain money for drugs.
9.5% of children in Cheb say they can envisage becoming involved in prostitution (in
Prague only 6%).
Almost 14% of children in Cheb have already been approached by an adult person with an
offer of sex for money (in Prague 10%).Other important conclusions from personal
interviews with children were:
Children living in certain streets in Cheb see prostitutes every day.
There is a lack of sexual education at school: most children have no idea how to act in a
risky situation, such as being approached by a sex tourist.
Children do not know whom to contact if such a situation arises or how they can find help.
Many parents are worried about their children’s security and therefore do not allow them to
go out and play in the afternoon.
Children do not have the opportunity to communicate openly on the topic of prostitution,
with many teachers refusing to talk about the topic.
"Hookers and pimps" is a common game of young children in the parks.
UNICEF believes the issue of child sexual abuse, including prostitution, pornography and
child trafficking in Europe, particularly in the border areas between East and West, needs
to be made a priority and to be combated intensively.
In Germany, UNICEF and ecpat criticize the authorities for not keeping the promises made
in November 2003. After the publication of the original KARO report, a multinational
working group committed itself to an extensive programme of work to combat sexual
exploitation in the border region. Of this programme only one point has actually been
fulfilled – by the Czech authorities - namely that ecpat was given the opportunity to train
Czech police officers in how to deal sensitively with victims of crimes, such as sexual
abuse.

On the German side, no progress was made - neither the promised awareness raising
campaign nor crime prevention initiatives at the border. In addition ecpat was not given the
opportunity to train German police and border personnel. On the contrary a meeting of the
working group, scheduled for the end of 2004, was delayed but a new date never set.
Additionally KARO, the NGO dealing with this problem since the mid nineties, no longer
receives funding from the State of Saxony. Two social workers from KARO still support
victims of sexual abuse in the border region between Saxony and the Czech border but this
is only possible because KARO receives funding from private donors.
UNICEF believes that the governments must take their responsibility more seriously.
UNICEF Austria, Czech Republic and Germany and ecpat Germany believe that
governments must fulfil their commitments. Measures are urgently needed to protect
children and to track down the perpetrators of these offences. In particular, the following
are needed:
Concrete and more intense cooperation on the operational level at borders, to increase
efforts to identify and punish the perpetrators.
More training for police officers in Austria and Germany to identify victims and treat them
sensitively - as victims not as criminals.
A prevention campaign in the border region.
Funding for NGOs such as KARO to provide support to victims.
Implementation of UNICEF guidelines regarding provision of support to child victims in
Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.