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EXPLOITED in PLAIN SIGHT an Assessment of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Protection Responses in the Western Balkans

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EXPLOITED in PLAIN SIGHT an Assessment of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Protection Responses in the Western Balkans RESEARCH REPORT EXPLOITED IN PLAIN SIGHT An assessment of commercial sexual exploitation of children and child protection responses in the Western Balkans MAY 2021 EXPLOITED IN PLAIN SIGHT An assessment of commercial sexual exploitation of children and child protection responses in the Western Balkans ww May 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is an output of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime’s Observatory of Illicit Economies in South Eastern Europe (SEE-Obs). SEE-Obs is a platform that connects and empowers civil society actors in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. It aims to enable civil society to identify, analyze and map criminal trends and their impact on illicit flows, governance, development, inter-ethnic relations, security and the rule of law, and supports them in their monitoring of national dynamics and wider regional and international organized crime trends. We wish to acknowledge the significant contributions made by the experts to this study, especially the experts preparing the country assessments, the experts on the Roma community and our tech advisors. We would like to thank Ana Majko (Albania); Amir Basić and Amela Efendić (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Liridon Latifi and Shkodran Ramadani (Kosovo); Vanja Rakočević (Montenegro); Stojne Atanasovska Dimishkovska (North Macedonia); Marija Andjelković (Serbia); Mirsada Bajramović, Alketa Lasku and Sahiba-Siba Srna (Roma communities across the Western Balkans); and Tomislav Ramljak and Lucija Velmelka (tech expertise). We are also very grateful for the support of Teuta Zymeri and Marija Todorovska. This report was produced by Livia Wagner, Kristina Amerhauser, Ruggero Scaturro and Thi Hoang. We would like to thank our colleagues for their support, in particular Walter Kemp for leading the review; Lucia Bird for her contribution to the legal analysis; and Anesa Agović, Saša Đorđević, Fatjona Mejdini and Aleksandar Srbinovski for their country inputs. We are also grateful for the support of other members of the SEE-Obs team: Uglješa (Ugi) Zvekić, Fabian Zhilla, Odd Malme and Trpe Stojanovski. This publication was produced with the financial support of the United Kingdom’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the GI-TOC and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Kingdom. © 2021 Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Global Initiative. Cover: © Bahrudin Bandic Design: Ink Design Illustration: Paulina Rosol-Barrass Please direct inquiries to: The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Avenue de France 23 Geneva, CH-1202 Switzerland www.globalinitiative.net CONTENTS Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................................................4 Glossary of key terms ..........................................................................................................................................4 Executive summary ..............................................................................................................................................6 Global phenomenon of commercial sexual exploitation of children .......................................... 10 Risk factors .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Consequences ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 Role of digital network technologies ................................................................................................................ 14 Background and context of the Western Balkans............................................................................... 16 Commercial sexual exploitation of children in the WB6 .................................................................. 20 Travel and tourism............................................................................................................................................... 22 Child marriage ..................................................................................................................................................... 25 Tech-facilitated CSEC ......................................................................................................................................... 28 Profile of the children at risk .............................................................................................................................. 31 Roma vulnerabilities ........................................................................................................................................... 32 Profile of the perpetrators ................................................................................................................................. 35 COVID-19 impact ................................................................................................................................................ 36 Child protection system and responses ................................................................................................... 38 Legal framework..................................................................................................................................................40 National child protection approaches ............................................................................................................... 42 Civil society support mechanisms .....................................................................................................................50 The private sector ............................................................................................................................................... 53 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 58 Targeted regional recommendations ......................................................................................................... 62 Country-specific recommendations ........................................................................................................... 72 Recommendation matrix ................................................................................................................................. 84 Notes ........................................................................................................................................................................ 88 Acronyms and abbreviations CSAM Child sexual abuse material CSEC Commercial sexual exploitation of children ECPAT End Child Prostitution and Trafficking ICT Information and communication technology ISP Internet service provider NCMEC National Center for Missing and Exploited Children SECTT Sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNTOC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization Glossary of key terms Budapest Convention Instrument serving as a guideline for any country developing comprehensive (Council of Europe Convention national legislation against cybercrime and as a framework for international on Cybercrime) cooperation between state parties. Child marriage Term indicating the marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and that refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married. Tech-facilitated CSEC/Online Refers to the sexual abuse of a person below the age of 18, as well as to Child Sexual Exploitation the production of images of such abuse and the sharing of those images online. Online child sexual exploitation is a constantly evolving phenomenon and is shaped by developments in technology. Child pornography Any content that depicts sexual exploitation involving a child. Visual depictions include photographs, videos, digital and computer-generated images indistinguishable from an actual minor.1 Child prostitution Sexual exploitation of a minor or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, commercial sexual exploitation (used with the term child prostitution) is illegal as part of a general prohibition on prostitution. Children on the move Children moving voluntarily or involuntarily, within or between countries, with or without their parents or other primary caregivers, and whose movement might place them at risk (or at an increased risk) of economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect and violence. 4 EXPLOITED IN PLAIN SIGHT • AN ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN AND CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Cybercrime Crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime or it may be the target. Cybercrime may threaten a person, company or a nation’s security and financial health. Cybersecurity Protection of internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyberthreats. The practice
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