CHILD FRIENDLY TOURISM CODE FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN

Over a decade ago the Goa Children’s Act, 2003 was passed to safeguard the rights of all the children residing in Goa. This Act is a unique law that looks at children holistically. The Act has specific provisions with regards to tourism related child sexual abuse. It prohibits adults from keeping unrelated children with them and entrusts hotels with the responsibility of ensuring that no child is abused in the hotel premises. As per section 8 (22) of the Goa Children’s Act the Tourism Department shall evolve a Child Friendly Tourism Code for the State of Goa to ensure that all children are protected at tourist destinations.

Tourism is the mainstay of Goa economy. A large number of foreign and Indian tourists visit Goa every year. The Department is concerned about ensuring that tourism is conducted in a responsible manner and that children are not adversely affected by tourism. The frequent reports about children being used for beggary, child labour and commercial sexual exploitation raise concerns about the affected children while adversely affecting the reputation of tourism. The Department would also like to ensure the protection of children of tourists. The Tourism Department would like to formulate a Code in order to protect children in the State of Goa.

Recognizing that the tourism infrastructure and facilities can be used to exploit women and children in various forms, the Union Ministry of Tourism along with all stakeholders, including the tourism departments of all states adopted the Code of Conduct for Safe and Honorable Tourism on 1st July 2010. The Code included certain safety measures pertaining to children and women in tourism. It is a set of guidelines to encourage tourism activities to be undertaken respecting the basic rights of women and children to dignity, safety and freedom from exploitation. By developing and adopting the Codethe Tourism Department is committed towards practicing tourism in a socially responsible manner.

In its early years Children’s Rights in Goa (CRG) developed a coordinated community response against tourism related child sexual exploitation as the State was in denial about the existence of this phenomenon. Presently CRG is dedicated to improving the status of children in Goa. It creates awareness about the rights of the child and is committed to preventing all types of child abuse and exploitation of children. Children’s Rights in Goa has adopted a multi-pronged approach to this situation. CRG works directly with children towards their empowerment creates awareness amongst children about how they can protect themselves, conducts advocacy to bring in child-friendly policies and legislation, seeks better implementation of existing laws, and, simultaneously, works towards strengthening child protection mechanisms in Goa.