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of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Rosalia Gil, minister of child welfare, took a strong stance against legal prostitution after a seminar Friday on sexual exploitation of minors. Minister Gil spoke in favor of eradicating legal sexual tourism, acknowledging its correlation to sexual abuse of children. "Tourists all over the world think of Costa Rica as a place for sexual diversions, and it’s leading to larger social problems," said Minister Gil when questioned by a reporter. At the seminar, various representatives gathered to launch new strategies in snuffing out sexual abuse of children in this country. The panel included officials from the Judicial Investigation Organization, Policía de Transito, Minsterio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública and the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, among others. A representative from the Spanish government also attended the seminar to describe a pact made between the two countries to fight the societal ill. Spain provided funding for the week-long training seminar that ended with the visit by top officials Friday. Ana Helena Chacón, vice minister of security, spoke of the new strategies as ways of cleaning up Costa Rican tourism. The program is a collaborative effort devised to detect and capture the people responsible for sexually abusing children, at least as far as those who exploit youngsters commercially. The board of panelists discussed the major components of the intricate plan, which seemed to target foreign tourists as the sole |
perpetrators of the abuse. The emphasis
primarily is on child prostitution.
The Policía de Transito has called on taxi drivers to become the eyes and ears of their investigative efforts by serving as informants. Whenever a driver encounters a tourist inquiring about sex with a minor, he or she is required to immediately report the information to the police, said Javier Chavez, minister of Obras Públicas y Transporte. Likewise, taxi drivers caught helping tourists acquire child prostitutes will have their licenses revoked, said Chavez. Hotels discovered as being used as brothels for sex with a minor will be closed down. Massage parlors, that are known to employ under-agers, were also targeted. Under the plan, no business licenses for this type of operation will be issued. An official of Migración y Extranjería cited the creation of a blacklist that will be distributed to border agents. The list contains the names of individuals suspected of sexual abuse. Bruce Harris, president of Casa Aliazana, the child advocacy group, has provided a list of about 60 names he said has been compiled from FBI information and private sources. The list also includes individuals suspected of (not convicted of) sexual abuse. According to the official, anyone who is on this list will not be permitted to enter this country. The blacklist and the effort to enroll taxi drivers has been reported in the past. However, the comments by Minister Gil for the first time spotlighted legal prostitution as a major factor in child prostitution, a connection officials tend to avoid. |
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editor of A.M. Costa Rica When officials talk about sexual exploitation of children, they point
the finger at North Americans and tourists, thereby simplifying the problem
beyond solution.
Sexual exploitation of children here is not a North America problem. The overwhelming numbers of exploited children are molested within their own families or with the full support of close family members. Plus officials overlook the pervasive nature of drug addiction that turns youngsters into willing participants in whatever sort of depravity generates cash for crack. The girls standing on the corner of Avenida 2 and Calle 11 are there to earn money for drugs by whatever way possible. And Rosalia Gil, the minister for children (above), is correct when she recognizes that legal prostitution supports child prostitution. But hardly anyone, least of all the tourism officials, wants to eliminate adult prostitution. The main emphasis on sexual exploitation seems to be directed at the North Americans who would molest children. The new initiatives target tourists. These people should be targeted, but not at the expense of officials giving themselves big pats on the back for doing very little. If you look at the Diario Extra Web site, there is but one ad in English: "Protecting children and adolescents against sexual exploitation." Now why would a Spanish-language newspaper publish an ad in English? The answer: The ad is placed by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. Cleverly, the instituto suggests to Ticos that the problem is predatory foreigners. Here some of the biggest exploiters of children outside of their own family are policemen. President Abel Pacheco admitted this in a talk three months ago when he promised to crack down on offenders. We haven’t seen any arrests yet, but we hear stories of policemen forcing themselves on children on the street or even in the police station. |
One would think that Costa Rica police would be able to find this man. He is believed to have been here since late 2000. We bet they haven’t even looked. Of course, they wouldn’t extradite him even if they did find him. After all, he is Costa Rican. But shouldn’t someone check to see if he is around children? Both Casa Alianza and ECPAT are organizations interested in the well-being of children. Casa Alianza is quick to send out a news release when a North American goes to trial for illegal sexual conduct with children. We have yet to see a press release on a Costa Rican. The social agencies cast child molestation as "the commercial exploitation of children." No money, no commercial exploitation. Yet the bulk of the exploitation is not bought and paid for. It is no less harmful. We have nothing but respect for these private social agencies, and we can recognize their frustration in providing training, providing equipment and then failing to see any progress. But we also believe it is unfair to target foreigners when the bulk of the exploitation is intensely local. By the way, if you know where Quinones is, contact the FBI. |
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