Really creative initiative (agree with the other poster, the postcard is an especially poignant touch). How do you collaborate with other interested parties (NGO's, etc) that agree with your work? Also, what plans or considerations are there for replacing the income of the women? What information is available as to how many women are from Latvia and how many are trafficked into the country? What kind of backlash do you experience from club, bar, hotel owners? Do they consider your initiative as a nuisance or a real threat to their exploitive livelihoods?
Another question I have for you is related to the growth of your magazine. If it does expand and begins to include lengthy articles on legislation, statistics, etc--would this belong in the same "Riga's Best Nightlife Guide" or would you consider building the magazine as a separate entity.
Again, really creative way of addressing this problem.
Brad
----------
Portland State University, Master of International Management, current student
Iluta, How is your magazine distributed? Is it given away or purchased? If it is bought, how much does it cost? What is the result of tourist reading this magazine? How does it impact sex tourism? Is there any specific action that you encourage tourists to take? Thank you.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Thank you for your interest. It is given away in night clubs, bars and hotels where tourists usually spend their time. As the other guides are free of charge we also give our magazine free of charge.
The sex tourists have suprise and some thoughts to think about. The idea is new and to evaluate impact it always necessary some time and resources. And we work on this.
Iluta Lace
manager of the Association
Resource Centre for Women "Marta"
Looking at your brochures, it seems as though this is a very creative innovation that would certainly at first capture the attention of potential sex tourists. I also think that including a postcard of Riga with the words "I Miss You" to be sent to girlfriends and wives is particularly creative, and I would hope that at least a portion of the sex tourists would respond to this call to their conscience. Of course, not all will, and so your added efforts of targeting politicians and policies concerning sex tourism is very complimentary.
Although this would be difficult to measure how many sex tourists you do actually deter from these brochures, have you made any efforts to try and capture any data? Have you interviewed known areas/ girls to ask whether demand has decreased in any way? It would be great to try to bolster your work with data!
Thanks for the very creative idea. I look foward to seeing this expanded in other areas!
Jessica
----------
Gender Equality and Human Trafficking Specialist
Really creative initiative (agree with the other poster, the postcard is an especially poignant touch). How do you collaborate with other interested parties (NGO's, etc) that agree with your work? Also, what plans or considerations are there for replacing the income of the women? What information is available as to how many women are from Latvia and how many are trafficked into the country? What kind of backlash do you experience from club, bar, hotel owners? Do they consider your initiative as a nuisance or a real threat to their exploitive livelihoods?
Another question I have for you is related to the growth of your magazine. If it does expand and begins to include lengthy articles on legislation, statistics, etc--would this belong in the same "Riga's Best Nightlife Guide" or would you consider building the magazine as a separate entity.
Again, really creative way of addressing this problem.
Brad
----------
Portland State University, Master of International Management, current student
Iluta, How is your magazine distributed? Is it given away or purchased? If it is bought, how much does it cost? What is the result of tourist reading this magazine? How does it impact sex tourism? Is there any specific action that you encourage tourists to take? Thank you.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Dear Dana,
Thank you for your interest. It is given away in night clubs, bars and hotels where tourists usually spend their time. As the other guides are free of charge we also give our magazine free of charge.
The sex tourists have suprise and some thoughts to think about. The idea is new and to evaluate impact it always necessary some time and resources. And we work on this.
Iluta Lace
manager of the Association
Resource Centre for Women "Marta"
Looking at your brochures, it seems as though this is a very creative innovation that would certainly at first capture the attention of potential sex tourists. I also think that including a postcard of Riga with the words "I Miss You" to be sent to girlfriends and wives is particularly creative, and I would hope that at least a portion of the sex tourists would respond to this call to their conscience. Of course, not all will, and so your added efforts of targeting politicians and policies concerning sex tourism is very complimentary.
Although this would be difficult to measure how many sex tourists you do actually deter from these brochures, have you made any efforts to try and capture any data? Have you interviewed known areas/ girls to ask whether demand has decreased in any way? It would be great to try to bolster your work with data!
Thanks for the very creative idea. I look foward to seeing this expanded in other areas!
Jessica
----------
Gender Equality and Human Trafficking Specialist