Although commercial sex work may be legal in some parts of the world, sex trafficking, sex with a minor, and child pornography are always criminal activities according to US law; travelers can be prosecuted in the United States even if they participated in such activities overseas. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act makes it illegal to recruit, entice, or obtain a person of any age to engage in commercial sex acts or to benefit from such activities.
Federal law bars US residents traveling abroad from having sex with minors. This applies to all travelers, both adult and youth. Travel health providers should inform student travelers (and other young people going abroad) that according to US law, it is illegal for a US resident to have sex with a minor in another country. Bear in mind, however, that the legal age of consent varies around the world, from 11–21 years. In some countries, there is no legal age of consent: local law forbids all sexual relations outside of marriage.
Regardless of the local age of consent, participation in child pornography anywhere in the world is illegal in the United States. This includes sex with minors, as well as the purchase, procurement, holding, or storage of material depicting such acts. These crimes are subject to prosecution with penalties of up to 30 years in prison. Victims of child pornography suffer multiple forms of abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, and psychological), poverty and homelessness, and health problems, including physical injury, STIs, other infections and illnesses, addiction, and malnourishment.
A report published in 2016 by End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes International (ECPAT) identified that most perpetrators of child pornography are “situational” offenders, people who may have never considered sexually exploiting a child until given the opportunity to do so. Americans and US permanent residents account for an estimated 25% of child sex tourists worldwide and up to 80% in Latin America. They are typically white men aged ≥40 who have been traced visiting Mexico, Central and South America (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic), Southeast Asia (Cambodia, India, Laos, Philippines, Thailand), Eastern Europe (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia), and other regions.
To combat child sexual abuse, some international hotels and other tourism services have voluntarily adopted a code of conduct that includes training and reporting suspicious activities. Tourist establishments supporting this initiative to protect children from sex tourism are listed online (www.thecode.org). Providers and travelers who suspect child sexual exploitation occurring overseas can report tips anonymously by:
- Using the Operation Predator smart-phone app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/operation-predator/id695130859).
- Calling the Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line (866-347-2423).
- Submitting information online (www.ice.gov/tips).
In the United States, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline collects reports of child prostitution and other crimes against children (toll-free at 800-843-5678, https://report.cybertip.org).
Since 2003, when Congress passed the federal PROTECT Act, at least 8,000 Americans have been arrested—and 99 convicted—for child sex tourism and exploitation. The PROTECT Act strengthens the US government’s’ ability to prosecute and punish crimes related to sex tourism, including incarceration of up to 30 years for acts committed at home or abroad. Cooperation of the host country is required to open an investigation of criminal activity, resulting in a much lower than hoped for conviction rate. Some countries are wary of working too closely with the United States. In others, the judicial system may be prone to bribery and corruption, or the government is otherwise willing to expand tourism (and the money it brings in) at the expense of children being trafficked for sex. For more ways you can help, see the Department of State list of 15 ways to fight human trafficking (www.state.gov/j/tip/id/help).