'Tourist was offered child for sex for Rs 50 on Goa beach' - The Times of India
'Tourist was offered child for sex for Rs 50 on Goa beach'
PANAJI: Child sex workers are on offer for as little as Rs 50 on Goa's beaches, former chairperson of the state commission for women, Pramod Salgaocar, said on Tuesday.
Relating a conversation she had with a young Hungarian tourist recently, Salgaocar said, "The young man complained that he was approached by a man who offered him 'children' for sex. When he asked 'How much?', he was told, 'Only fifty rupees'."
"You don't even get chicken for Rs 50," the tourist reportedly pointed out, and asked her how the Goa government could allow such things to go on.
"Child sex abuse and paedophilia are problems that are rampant in the state, which is promoting tourism indiscriminately. The Goa government is forever in denial, and has its eyes set only on the money brought in from tourism," said Salgaocar, who is also the producer of the film 'Baga Beach'.
Salgaocar's statement did not surprise activists in Goa, who point out that unless the police are sensitized to tackle the issue, the situation will remain bleak for Goa's abused children.
NGO El-Shaddai co-founder Mathew Kurian said that despite reporting several known paedeophiles in the Candolim-Calangute beach belt to the police, no action was taken. "The beach belt in Goa is notorious for child sex abuse-the young children offering massage services to tourists are easily exploited and there are minor boys who are engaged by older women for sex. The children of migrants are extremely vulnerable, and are openly exploited," Kurian said.
He pointed out that the police are usually reluctant to take up the matter when foreign tourists are involved. "This problem is present not only in Goa, paedophilia happens in other places as well," he added.
Women's rights activist and Bailancho Saad founder Sabina Martins said that one does not even have to go as far as the beach belt to find street children vulnerable to sexual abuse. "A few days ago, I came across two small girls, aged around seven or eight, holding a baby and begging in Panaji near 18{+t}{+h} June road at 11pm. It is so unsafe for such small children to be out on the streets so late. It is obvious that someone has pushed them into the profession, that a powerful syndicate controls it," Martins said.
There are two kinds of child sex abuse in Goa-kids who are abused at home, or by people they know, and children in the commercial sex circuit, she said. "Despite the Goa Children's Act making it mandatory for every citizen to report crimes against children, people often prefer to look the other way, and even when we report it, the police do not take any action," she said.
'Tourist was offered child for sex for Rs 50 on Goa beach'
PANAJI: Child sex workers are on offer for as little as Rs 50 on Goa's beaches, former chairperson of the state commission for women, Pramod Salgaocar, said on Tuesday.
Relating a conversation she had with a young Hungarian tourist recently, Salgaocar said, "The young man complained that he was approached by a man who offered him 'children' for sex. When he asked 'How much?', he was told, 'Only fifty rupees'."
"You don't even get chicken for Rs 50," the tourist reportedly pointed out, and asked her how the Goa government could allow such things to go on.
"Child sex abuse and paedophilia are problems that are rampant in the state, which is promoting tourism indiscriminately. The Goa government is forever in denial, and has its eyes set only on the money brought in from tourism," said Salgaocar, who is also the producer of the film 'Baga Beach'.
Salgaocar's statement did not surprise activists in Goa, who point out that unless the police are sensitized to tackle the issue, the situation will remain bleak for Goa's abused children.
NGO El-Shaddai co-founder Mathew Kurian said that despite reporting several known paedeophiles in the Candolim-Calangute beach belt to the police, no action was taken. "The beach belt in Goa is notorious for child sex abuse-the young children offering massage services to tourists are easily exploited and there are minor boys who are engaged by older women for sex. The children of migrants are extremely vulnerable, and are openly exploited," Kurian said.
He pointed out that the police are usually reluctant to take up the matter when foreign tourists are involved. "This problem is present not only in Goa, paedophilia happens in other places as well," he added.
Women's rights activist and Bailancho Saad founder Sabina Martins said that one does not even have to go as far as the beach belt to find street children vulnerable to sexual abuse. "A few days ago, I came across two small girls, aged around seven or eight, holding a baby and begging in Panaji near 18{+t}{+h} June road at 11pm. It is so unsafe for such small children to be out on the streets so late. It is obvious that someone has pushed them into the profession, that a powerful syndicate controls it," Martins said.
There are two kinds of child sex abuse in Goa-kids who are abused at home, or by people they know, and children in the commercial sex circuit, she said. "Despite the Goa Children's Act making it mandatory for every citizen to report crimes against children, people often prefer to look the other way, and even when we report it, the police do not take any action," she said.
