Transnational child sex offending: tackling a growing international phenomenon Sarah Wefers & Derek Perkins NOTA conference, 2019, Belfast Property of NOTA 2019 Offender characteristics associated with transnational child sex offending: A systematic review Sarah Wefers1, F. Jeane Gerard2, Kate Whitfield1, & Jennifer Drabble1 1 2 @s_wefers Property of NOTA 2019 Background • Definition: Transnational child sex offending is the commission of sexual offences against children abroad (NCA, 2015) ▫ 'child sex tourism', 'travelling sex offenders' or 'sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism' (Koning & Rijksen- van Dijke, 2016) • 1-2 million victims every year (Koning & Rijksen-van Dijke, 2016) • victimisation is associated with severe and enduring physical, psychological and social consequences (Mekinc & Music, 2015; Panko & George, 2012) • child trafficking and child exploitation for sexual purposes is a "billion dollar global industry" (Kosuri & Jeglic, 2017) Property of NOTA 2019 Where does it happen? • has mostly been related to developing countries ▫ e.g. Thailand, Philippines, South America, Africa • but recently it was identified that more affluent countries are increasingly affected by transnational child sex offending (Hawke & Raphael, 2016) • "There is no hemisphere, continent, or region unaffected by the child-sex trade" (Klain, 1999, p. 32) Property of NOTA 2019 Example: European case Property of NOTA 2019 Property of NOTA 2019 Transnational child sex offenders (TCSOs): typologies Motivation/ trigger (e.g. George & Modus operandi (NCA, 2013) Panko, 2011) • transient offenders: short • preferential offenders: act travel abroad on paedophilic interest • embedded offenders: 'voluntourism' (van Doore, Martin, & McKeon, reside abroad for extended • situational2016): puts children offenders at risk due: to low amount of time (employed, opportunity,supervision and curiosity, no background checks volunteer work) unaware of age • Internet-enabled offenders: live streaming Property of NOTA 2019 Transnational child sex offenders (TCSOs): typologies Motivation/ trigger (e.g. George & Modus operandi (NCA, 2013) Panko, 2011) • transient offenders: short • preferential offenders: act travel abroad on paedophilic interest • embedded offenders: • situational offenders: reside abroad for extended opportunity, curiosity, amount of time (employed, unaware of age volunteer work) most TCSOs are assumed to be • Internet-enabled situational offenders offenders: live streaming Property of NOTA 2019 Transnational child sex offenders (TCSOs): typologies Motivation/ trigger (e.g. George & Modus operandi (NCA, 2013) Panko, 2011) • transient offenders: short • preferential offenders: act travel abroad on paedophilic interest neither typology is based on • embedded offendersempirical: findings• withsituational TCSOs! offenders : reside abroad for extended opportunity, curiosity, amount of time (employed, unaware of age volunteer work) • Internet-enabled offenders: live streaming Rationale • TCSOs have been identified as a severe threat to children already decades ago (e.g. Ireland, 1993) • Although tourism researchers have reported extensively on sex tourists (Tepelus, 2008) and much is known on TCSO victims (Hawke & Raphael, 2016), there appears to be a severe lack in empirical research on TCSOs Aim: to identify published/ unpublished studies on offender characteristics of TCSOs, appraise the quality and synthesise their findings to establish the current state of knowledge on TCSOs • Which offender characteristics are associated with transnational child sex offending? • understanding TCSOs is vital in keeping children safe Property of NOTA 2019 Property of NOTA 2019 Methods: inclusion criteria Studies that reported on… • adult offenders who crossed international borders and sexually offended against children (<18 y/o) abroad • TCSOs' demographics, psychological factors, sexual factors, and/ or behavioural factors • measured through self-report, police reports, or expert experiences Property of NOTA 2019 Methods: search method • nine databases ▫ PsycINFO (ProQuest), PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, Scopus, EBSCOhost: Hospitality & Tourism Complete, ScienceDirect, and EThOS • manual search of reference lists • grey literature search • six experts in the field Methods: data collection 2 cross-sectional studies, 12 grey literature studies, 1 published collection of case studies Property of NOTA 2019 Methods: quality assessment • critical appraisal: ▫ cross-sectional studies: Appraisal tool for Cross- Sectional Studies (AXIS; Downes, Brennan, Williams, & Dean, 2016) ▫ grey literature: AACODS Checklist (Tyndall, 2010) ▫ case studies: Critical Appraisal of a Case Study tool (CEBM, n.d.) • risk of bias: ▫ adapted from Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool (Cochrane, 2018) Property of NOTA 2019 Property of NOTA 2019 Results: quality assessment • Critical appraisal: cross-sectional generally methodologically sound greatest studies confidence grey literature lack of accuracy and objectivity, high in studies authority and significance case studies lack of clarity on methodology • Risk of bias: high selection bias 100% high measurement bias 93% high reporting bias 73.3% high interviewer/ experimenter bias 60% high other bias 46.7% Property of NOTA 2019 Results: offender characteristics Demographics: • 0.4% of a male community sample anonymously admitted to having travelled abroad to abuse a child • almost exclusively male • older than 40 years old • from rich Western countries • employed or retired • not in a romantic relationship • minority has criminal record (however, previous violent offences predicted TCSO status in Koops et al., 2017) Property of NOTA 2019 Results: offender characteristics Psychological factors: • consider themselves as high risk to children, have thought about seeking professional help • intimacy deficits • belief that CSA is legal abroad/ less likely detected • offence-supportive cognitions: • children as sexual objects • adult-child sex as not harmful • entitlement • considering females from other cultures as sexually 'more open'/ hypersexual • children from other cultures as sexually more mature • men have biological needs for sex Property of NOTA 2019 Results: offender characteristics Sexual factors: • sexually deviant ▫ e.g. more paedosexual behaviours (esp. with boys), use of indecent images, child prostitutes; engage in more diverse sexual practices (e.g. more anal sex) • mixed findings whether TCSOs are mostly paedophilic or sexually interested in adults • seem to target a variety of children ▫ male/ female, all ages Property of NOTA 2019 Results: offender characteristics Behavioural factors: • pre-offence: ▫ planning ▫ use offender networks ▫ grooming (child, community; contact through charities) ▫ intermediaries • peri-offence: ▫ offend in hotels or rented accommodations ▫ some produce indecent images ▫ some pursue adoption/ guardianship; marry local women ▫ different types: short-stay vs. long-stay • post-offence: ▫ threaten victims, bribe law enforcement ▫ pay bail, flee country Property of NOTA 2019 Discussion • limited findings suggest that TCSOs may be a distinctive type of (child) sex offender ▫ e.g. age, specific offence- supportive cognitions • poor quality of studies limits their trustworthiness and generalisability • more research is strongly needed! Property of NOTA 2019 Discussion: implications • emerging profile may help law enforcement in prioritising cases ▫ history of violent offences, paedosexual behaviour • need for criminal record check for people working/ volunteering with children abroad • treatment targets ▫ offence-supportive cognitions, intimacy deficits, sexual interest ▫ may be a group particularly open to treatment? Property of NOTA 2019 Reference list (studies incl. in systematic review) • Ahlénius, E. (2010). A qualitative analysis of the judicial aspects of child-sex tourism in Thailand. Kriminologiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet. • Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. (2013). Threat assessment of child sexual exploitation and abuse. London. • Child Wise. (2007). ASEAN child-sex tourism review. Melbourne, Australia: Association of Southeast Asian Nations. • Delaney, M. (2011). An exploration of child sex tourism (CST): three case studies. Ann Arbor, University College Cork (Ireland). • Kleiber, D., & Wilke, M. (1995). AIDS, Sex und Tourismus: Ergebnisse einer Befragung deutscher Urlauber und Sextouristen. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH und Co. KG. • Koops, T., Turner, D., Neutze, J., & Briken, P. (2017). Child sex tourism: prevalence of and risk factors for its use in a German community sample. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 344-351. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4270-3 • Moerenhout, L. (2013). Kindersekstoerisme. Zoetermeer, Politie. • O'Connell Davidson, J., & Sanchez Taylor, J. (1995a). Child prostitution and sex tourism in Costa Rica. Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International. • O'Connell Davidson, J., & Sanchez Taylor, J. (1995b). Child prostitution and sex tourism in Cuba. Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International. • O'Connell Davidson, J., & Sanchez Taylor, J. (1995c). Child prostitution and sex tourism in the Dominican Republic. Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International. • O'Connell Davidson, J., & Sanchez Taylor, J. (1995d). Child prostitution and sex tourism in Goa. Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International. • O'Connell Davidson, J., & Sanchez Taylor, J. (1995e). Child prostitution and sex tourism in South Africa. Bangkok,