Internet platform fights child prostitution

It's hard to say how many there are, but there is no doubt they exist: vacationers who travel to other countries for the purpose of having anonymous sex with minors.

The risk of getting caught is low, according to criminologist Christian Pfeiffer. Local authorities, for example at popular Asian travel destinations, are often corrupt and not interested in solving crimes, Pfeiffer said, adding that collecting evidence is difficult if not even impossible.

But in theory, criminal prosecution would be possible in Germany. According to German law, German authorities are allowed to investigate German perpetrators once they return home, even if the criminal act occurred in a foreign country.

June 12 marks the kick-off of the upcoming World Cup, and many aid organizations are convinced that cases of child abuse and child prostitution will increase during the soccer event. According to estimations by UNICEF, more than 250,000 children are already sexually exploited in Brazil - worldwide that number goes into the millions.

Reporting for criminal prosecution

Now the German Federal Crime Police Office (BKA), the children's rights organization ECPAT and two German tourism associations have launched an Internet platform through which holidaymakers can report illegal activities that they have witnessed abroad - just in time for the start of the World Cup in Brazil and peak tourist season.

On the German website "nicht wegsehen" - which translates to "don't look away" - witnesses can fill out a form stating where and when they saw what offense.

The website features two buttons. The first one on the left leads to a contact form travelers can use to report criminal acts that they have witnessed abroad. These tips go directly to the BKA, which will then investigate the matter. Possible follow-up actions are getting in touch with local authorities abroad or forwarding legally relevant information to Interpol and Europol.

Reporting for prevention

If vacationers aren't sure whether they have witnessed a crime, then they can click on the right-hand button and send information directly to ECPAT. The children's rights organization will then collect data to better understand processes around sex tourism and child abuse.

"We will compile a database, and once we have collected many small pieces of the puzzle, we'll be able to see the bigger picture," said Dorothea Czarnecki, an ECPAT employee who is responsible for the new German website.

After all, experience has shown that the place and the way offenders get in touch with children is constantly changing. In order to not attract attention in Thailand, some sex tourists are going to Cambodia instead, Czarnecki said, adding that if certain hotels become too known for offering illegal sexual services, then the next step might be resorting to holiday apartments.

"If hints are accumulating and a certain location keeps being mentioned, then we can concentrate on preventing crimes from happening in the current risk area," Czarnecki said.

One way of doing this is by contacting partner organizations based in the region that can offer protection, counseling and medical help to affected children. In the best-case scenario, the partner organizations can even educate and offer the children vocational training, thereby giving them the opportunity to safely earn money.

Combining prosecution and prevention

Prevention is something very important to Max Weber - a pseudonym used by a 30-year-old man who feels attracted to children. Weber is able to control his sense of to whom he feels sexually attracted to, and is one of the people in charge of the German online consulting website "Schicksal und Herausforderung" ("fate and challenge").

Regarding the new online registration platform, Max Weber told DW that "starting with criminal offenders always has the downside that you start at a point where something has already happened. In my opinion, prevention is always preferable. But punishing offenders is obviously part of it as well."

That's why Weber welcomes the initiative of the BKA and the fact that the new website also links to the prevention network "Don't Offend."

"It's a way of addressing people like me, people who realize that they feel attracted to children and who can get help in case they need it."

The BKA can only investigate German suspects. That's why the new website is part of a European project that has been co-funded by the European Union. So far 16 countries are involved in the "Don't Look Away" campaign. Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands already have their own Web presence.

According to criminologist Pfeiffer, the moment and goal of the campaign are perfect given the upcoming soccer World Cup.

"Brazilian authorities currently try very hard to show their good intentions because they want to be good hosts," he said, adding that the fact that they are under pressure is an advantage for collaboration with German investigators. "What remains to be seen is how much of that will linger after the World Cup is over."