Active at ASEAN : Dialogues with key stakeholders to tackle exploitation
On the 7th and 8th of August, our representatives from Terre des Hommes Netherlands led a presentation and discussion at an ASEAN conference focused on finding ways to prevent and address sexual exploitation of children. Here's more.
About the conference
The ‘ASEAN conference On the Prevention and Countermeasures for the Misuse of Financial Service Providers in Child Sexual Exploitation Crimes’ organised in Bali, Indonesia on the 7th and 8th of August brought together the region’s top child protection experts, financial sector organisations (for instance, Western Union), representatives from Interpol, UNODC and UNICEF, civil society organisations, lawyers and criminology experts, child protection practitioners, academicians and civil society/NGOs representatives.
Organised by ECPAT Indonesia and the Association of Criminal Law and Criminology Lecturer (ASPHERHUPIKI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection in Indonesia, the purpose of this conference was to find ways to tackle child sexual exploitation crimes arising out of the misuse of financial service providers.
The key topics covered were :
- Misuse of financial service providers in crimes of sexual exploitation of children at the International and ASEAN Countries' level
- Good practices of detecting and reporting suspected transactions related to child sexual exploitation crimes by involving financial service providers
- Strategy and potential for collaboration in engaging financial service providers to eradicate sexual exploitation of children
- Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse from Multi-Perspective
Role of Terre des Hommes
At Terre des Hommes Netherlands, we were represented by Ms Bushra Zulfiqar, Regional Director Asia and Zoe de Melo, Global Programme Manager, fighting Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE).
Ms Bushra presented on our efforts to tackle sexual exploitation of children in Asia, focusing on the scale of the issue in the region. In her presentation, she highlighted that in recent times there has been a 600% increase in online enticement, grooming & sexual extortion as well as an increase in Artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse materials with the top hosting countries hailing from Asia (Bangladesh, India and the Philippines). In her message to the stakeholders at ASEAN, she stressed the need to address contextual factors that put children at risk, following a risk and resilience model. She also spoke on the importance of placing children at the centre along with adequate policy implementation, budgetary allocation and strict legal action.
Ms Zoe moderated a panel discussion among various stakeholders presenting multiple perspectives from Indonesia and overseas in identifying the roles of actors in tackling the issue of sexual exploitation crimes specifically in the context of the misuse of financial institutions.
At the event, the Terre des Hommes Global Annual Report 2023 and Asia Regional Factsheets were shared with the stakeholders who found them engaging.
Way Forward
The following were the recommendations that arose from the 2-day discussion
- Strengthening implementation of key regional ASEAN level instruments, frameworks & plans including setting up verification protocols for fintech including e-wallets, crypto transactions
- Using & sharing cross-border financial intelligence for SEC detection & reporting with fuller ASEAN member states access to Interpol international data based on perpetrators
- Allocating internet resources to develop softwares for risk mitigation, info management & active suspension
- Monitoring of red flags, multiple accounts & transaction patterns for tracking SEC
- Education & awareness raising for industry finance service providers including early detection mechanisms
- Strengthening cross-border cooperation, joint investigations & knowledge management
- Putting children at the centre by co-creating solutions & scaling up digital literacy for vulnerable children
A detailed conference report will also be shared with the stakeholders.