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>View discussions about this entry País: United States
Organization: TheCode (Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel&Tourism)
Sector Focus - Business
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 1998
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Project URL: http://www.thecode.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - TheCode gives tourism industry an operational tool to prevent and combat child sex tourism and to protect children’s rights.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - Companies signing TheCode commit themselves to implementing 6 core measures: 1) Elaborating corporate ethical policies rejecting child sex tourism. 2) Training the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations. 3) Introducing clauses in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of child sex tourism. 4) Providing information to travelers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc. 5) Providing information to local "key persons" at the destinations (community leaders, authorities, law enforcement, customs officials, etc.). 6) Reporting annually on the implementation of the above actions. TheCode addresses the entire tourism supply chain, and engages a variety of tourism stakeholders. At corporate level, companies are required to have ethical policies, and to train their staff both in origin countries and in destinations. On the demand side – companies are asked to inform and educate the travelers. TheCode motivates companies to develop leadership skills at destination level, by working together with suppliers and community leaders, therefore building local networks of awareness and support.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - Child sex tourism is a global phenomenon transcending borders and cultures. According to UNICEF, over 2 million children fall victims of trafficking, pornography and sex tourism every year. Development of the internet exacerbated these problems in recent years. TheCode asks the private sector to engage in awareness raising, training and education in cooperation with local communities. TheCode requires companies to address child sex tourism not as a separate issue, but to incorporate preventative actions within their already existing quality assurance systems, and health and safety practices.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - Our intention is to develop TheCode organization by strengthening and standardizing the implementation procedures at global level in the 32 countries where TheCode has over 600 signatory members. Although the growth of TheCode has been rapid in the last couple of years, the operation is currently supported only by and international Secretariat (one full time staff), and the voluntary Executive and Steering Committee bodies. The vision is that consolidation of the results achieved so far, will be carried out with support provided by regional offices. A Code development strategy has been adopted by the Annual General Meeting of TheCode in 2007, and TheCode Executive Committee is currently in the process of fundraising towards the implementation of the strategy. It is intended that future fundraising would be based on institutional contributions (grants from governments), as well as contributions by private members/tourism companies.
Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - TheCode has three key partners: the ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking) international network; the UN World Tourism Organization; and UNICEF. These key partners assist TheCode implementation and expansion, given their areas of expertise including children’s rights and sustainable tourism development.
The Code would benefit from further awareness rising within the tourism industry, as well as within the academic community. Additional research would further support evaluation of the experiences developed until now including their effectiveness, challenges. As the phenomenon of child sex tourism is in continuous change, TheCode would benefits from establishing further partnerships with local NGOs in tourism destinations. TheCode would also benefit from engagement with faith groups, activists and socially responsible investors, in pooling together lobbying efforts for the protection of children and their rights. As the topic of child sex tourism is sensitive by its nature, we strongly believe in a positive approach, that reinforces a constructive role of the tourism industry, that is also beneficial for the local community. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - We protect children from sexual exploitation in tourism, and to give tourism companies a practical tool in engaging to prevent this global phenomenon.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - We estimate TheCode quantitative impact from the numbers of companies becoming formal signatories, and by the number of trained staff. Over 600 companies (tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, etc.) in 32 countries are currently implementing the Code. Over 30 million tourists are using the services of one of the companies signatories of the Code. Several airlines (Air France, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines) have supported our global campaign by developing in-flight spots and running them in long-haul flights (see attachment). Tourism authorities in Brazil and Costa Rica launched national awareness campaigns on the prevention of child sex tourism.. Training manuals including examples of good practices have been developed in English, Spanish and French. Trainings have been carried out in: Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Belize, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Kenya, Thailand, etc.Success of TheCode implementation until now has been recognized as successful by governments, press and the UN agencies – UN World Tourism Organization, UNICEF, OSCE and ILO.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - Tourism destinations are often centers of economic development and social growth, especially in poor countries. We have noticed that while introducing TheCode implementation, local staff and community also become more aware on the importance of preserving intact the social values and the cultural integrity of destinations. Furthermore we noticed that tourisms staff is often empowered to address other labor rights and fair working conditions, once they received training on a topic as sensitive as child sex tourism.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - The final beneficiaries of our program are children in tourism destinations. Local communities are indirect beneficiaries of our program, through the support and assistance they receive in developing responsible tourism.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - TheCode is not yet financially self-reliant, and a strategy has been adopted to advance and strengthen the sustainability of the organization. It is envisaged that TheCode will pursue in the future both private sector and institutional funding to achieve further organizational growth. TheCode has so far been funded from institutional grants from the European Commission (2004-2004) and Japan Committee for UNICEF (from 2004 – ongoing).
If known, provide information on your finances and organization - Annual budget;
Annual revenue generated; Number of staff: The current budget is $110 000/year. The organization has one full-time staff (Secretariat Coordinator), 5 Executive Committee members (decision-making body) working on a voluntary basis and meeting 3-4 times a year, and 13 Steering Committee members (advisory body) meeting bi-annually. In-kind support is provided by a large network of partners including ECPAT groups, UNICEF offices, UNWTO and tourism companies. TheCode is registered as a non-profit organization in Sweden. The Secretariat is housed at ECPAT USA offices in New York. What is the potential demand for your innovation? - The current demand for TheCode implementation is higher than our abilities to respond to all requests for assistance. Due to the fact that tourism develops on a massive scale especially in poor countries in Africa and Asia, we expect that the demand for training and assistance in implementation of TheCode will continue to increase rapidly. This is also due to the fact that child sex tourism is associated to the wider phenomenon of global trafficking which exploded in the last couple of years.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - Child sex tourism is often the last issue a tourism company wants to learn about. Companies are afraid of negative connotations that the public may associate with their brands, and initially they refuse any dialogue. In the US there is the further threat of potential legal liability, if a company would take a public stand against child sex tourism. Due to these reasons, approaching the private sector to provide financial support for TheCode operation has been very difficult.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - The Code was initiated in April 1998 as a project of ECPAT Sweden in cooperation with Scandinavian tour operators and the World Tourism Organization (WTO). During 1999-2003, TheCode expanded in six European tourism sending countries. In April 2004, TheCode has been launched in North America with the support of UNICEF. In the presence of HM Queen Silvia of Sweden, the first major US company to sign TheCode was Carlson Companies, Inc. TheCode became an independent international non-profit organization in May 2004, registering in Sweden and operating globally with the support of ECPAT, UNICEF and UNWTO. A Quarterly Newsletter was launched in September 2004. In March 2005, The Code was launched in Japan with the support of Japan Committee for UNICEF, and top Japanese companies including JTB and JATA. The Code currently operates in the following countries:
- tourism sending: Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, France, US, Canada; - tourism receiving – Latin America (Costa Rica, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala); Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Albania, Russia); Asia (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, Syria); Africa (SubSaharan countries, South Africa), etc.While securing financial sustainability of the organization remains a challenge, in recent years significant progress has been made in raising awareness within the tourism industry to the problem of child sex tourism. TheCode is recognized as the top corporate social responsibility tool to prevent trafficking and child sex tourism by UNICEF, UNWTO, ECPAT International, OSCE and ILO. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - TheCode Chair is since 2008 Mrs. Fausta Borsani of Kuoni Holding, representing also the Tour Operators’ Initiative for Sustainable Tourism. Ms. Borsani spent her career working in the often contradictory context of economy, efficiency and ethical compliance. TheCode Secretariat is since 2001 Camelia Tepelus, a sustainable tourism expert and researcher on corporate social responsibility, environment and human rights in tourism. Ms Tepelus was instrumental in TheCode development from 42 companies in 2004, to the current membership of over 600 companies in 32 countries.
Contact Information:
Camelia Tepelus
Secretariat Coordinator TheCode (Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel&Tourism) (NGO) Discussions about this entry
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Empowering the travel industry to prevent child sex tourism. (TheCode.org)
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On July 16, 2008, the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Ending Global Slavery” Competition and would like to pass on the following feedback for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators who are exposing, confronting and ending modern day slavery. We wish you continued luck with your sustainable, innovative, and socially impactful initiatives.
All the best, The Changemakers Team
“This initiative has already begun to impact the aviation sector and has the potential to incorporate all means of travel. We are interested in learning more about its plans for expansion.”
“It is a fantastic idea to work with travel and business executives to obtain top level support to prevent trafficking and slavery. We look forward to seeing how they scale this model so it becomes the premier standard by which to judge sustainable tourism initiatives.”
- Changemakers “Ending Global Slavery” Judges: United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking, International Organization for Migration, Design Within Reach, Vital Voices Global Partnership, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Humanity United.
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The Changemakers Team
Ashoka's Changemakers
The Code of Conduct is an efficient and appreciated CSR instrument for the protection of children from commercial sexual exploitation in travel and tourism, which reaches yearly already over 35 millions of international tourists travelling in “hot spots” known for child sex tourism.
The key factors for this successful implementation are follows.
• This initiative has been industry driven since the beginning but is based on a multi-stakeholder cooperation between the industry, governmental bodies, international organizations and child protection organizations. For the protection of children, competitors commit to cooperate which ensures a high quality in implementation due to peer pressure.
• “The Code organization and the annual monitoring done by the local Code representative (usually independent child protection NGOs like ECPAT), the signatory company feels a strong accountability also some years after the signature. With the worldwide establishment of the Code of Conduct in the tourism sector an important process for the protection of children against commercial sexual exploitation in travel and tourism could be started.
Inspiration for similar efforts can be taken in the case of child labour, trafficking, ponograph by formulating a code of conduct for the tourism industry which will serve as a prevention tool. This must be formulated with initiatives from the industries for protection of children from child labour and to raise awareness among stakeholders in order to strengthen the understanding of the code as part of the corporate social responsibility.
The Code of Conduct is an efficient and appreciated CSR instrument for the protection of children from commercial sexual exploitation in travel and tourism, which reaches yearly already over 35 millions of international tourists travelling in “hot spots” known for child sex tourism.
The key factors for this successful implementation are follows.
• This initiative has been industry driven since the beginning but is based on a multi-stakeholder cooperation between the industry, governmental bodies, international organizations and child protection organizations. For the protection of children, competitors commit to cooperate which ensures a high quality in implementation due to peer pressure.
• “The Code organization and the annual monitoring done by the local Code representative (usually independent child protection NGOs like ECPAT), the signatory company feels a strong accountability also some years after the signature. With the worldwide establishment of the Code of Conduct in the tourism sector an important process for the protection of children against commercial sexual exploitation in travel and tourism could be started.
Inspiration for similar efforts can be taken in the case of child labour, child trafficking, child ponography by formulating a code of conduct for the tourism industry which will serve as a prevention tool. This must be formulated with initiatives from the industries for protection of children from child labour and to raise awareness among stakeholders in order to strengthen the understanding of the code as part of the corporate social responsibility.
Hello Camelia,
It is great that you have 600 companies on board. It is clear that you're having a big impact. You mention that these companies are carrying out the 6 measures of TheCode. How do you ensure the implementation of these measures? Thank you.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Hello Dana, and thanks for the pertinent question. Indeed, ensuring implementation is one of the big challenges TheCode is facing, as interest from tourism companies has increased much faster than our organizational ability to answer requests for training, technical assistance and support. Even in these circumstances, TheCode Executive Committee together with national ECPAT partners or other NGOs are putting pressure on companies to report on implementation of the Code 6 criteria. Some examples of reports from 200-2004 are posted on the website, and introduced in the Code mannual of best practices.
To strengthen the implementation process and monitoring, since 2007 TheCode ExCom started promoted a standardized implementation procedure accompanied by reporting forms. There is also an on-line reporting tool that was recently activated.
What we would aim for is creating positive pressure - by listing the companies that have reported on implementation, and also listing as 'inactive' the companies that, after 2 years since signing have not provided proof of progress. Having said all this, I must also add that once we manage to establish more regional offices for TheCode organization (in addition to the one global office we have now in NY), we will be in a better position to monitor the implementation by the signatory companies in over 32 countries where theCode has signatories until now. Thanks again for your question! Camelia
Great initiative and excellent website that has plenty of information. I do have a few questions. First, how do airlines contribute to the Code? Is it by canceling partnerships with hotels found in violation of the code, or is the level of cooperation more extensive than this? Second, what is the relationship of the Code with local police and Interpol? It seems that much of child sex tourism is controlled by organized crime. To what extent does cooperation with the Code jeopardize the safety of informers, etc? Is the primary goal of the Code to provide awareness and information of the issue, training to people in position to notice and discourage, and then for them to find the appropriate channels to deal with the problem? My main question is what happens at the hand-off, from local information of Code violations to enforcement? Third, my guess is that much of child sex tourism is away from main-stream channels and does not interface much with tourism providers. To what extent can the Code reach children that are living in brothels- where the sex tourist will not bring them to a hotel or otherwise draw attention to this exploitation?
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Portland State University, Master of International Management, current student
Hello Bradly, great, specific questions - thank you! 1. Several airlines support our work to protect children from sex tourism. The absolute champion is AirFrance - who is already at the 3rd generation of in-flight spots raising awareness on the issue. You can find these on YouTube - I'm talking about 30-60 seconds PSAs which highlight that children should not become victims of travel and tourism. AirFrance also helps ECPAT International with fundraising, by offering products through their in-flight catalogues. Other airlines have also supported our work by producing awareness raising spots - they include Austrian Airlines, Alitalia and Lufthansa - you can see these at this link. vhttp://www.unwto.org/protect_children/campaign/en/multimedia.php?op=1&subop=8
We are still struggling with various US airlines to support us in similar ways, but so far we are facing significant reluctance, mostly due to fears of potential litigation.
2. Companies have to establish a cooperative relationship with the local police in destinations. Also we've been having a very positive cooperation with Interpol, who was a member of the Code Steering Committee 2000-2004. Indeed, the primary goal of TheCode is to create a protective environment within the legitimate tourism industry, through training and awareness raising on the issue of sex tourism. You will be surprised to learn that in tourism colleges/universities, future professionals receive no training whatsoever on this matter, or how to handle tactfully potential scenarios of suspected child sex tourism on the premises of the companies. I want to stress that we are not against tourism development, just the contrary, we are trying to promote tourism helping poor destination develop, in a sustainable, responsible way. 3. If a subcontractor is caught in direct violation of TheCode - ie child sex tourism occurring on their premises, then their contract is canceled. We had this scenario happening with a Swedish company canceling contracts in Bulgaria. 4. TheCode reaches out to legitimate travel industry. It should not be confused for, and can not replace law enforcement (expected to handle children in brothels).