HUG Project Thailand
Fall 2019 Newsletter
The WHY behind the WHAT
PREVENTION- because it's better to stop abuse than to repair the damage it causes. PROTECTION- because children deserve to live free from fear of sexual harm.
RESTORATION- because every life has intrinsic worth.
Bottom line: HUG wants to see kids and families empowered, perpetrators prosecuted, and survivors lives impacted. Lives not only restored to healthy, independent living, but also transformed to the point of helping others live fully.
Overall, HUG seeks to strengthen the Thai justice system; to see victim-centric child protection in Thailand as a model for Southeast Asia. Because abuse survivors should be treated with care and dignity. Ambitious. But #togetherwecan.
Advocacy
Quotable quotes from Interpol's Cecilia Wallin:
- "The ICSE (International Child Sexual Exploitation) database deals with the transnational nature of the problem: abuse taking place in one country, material hosted by a server in another country, and files being downloaded all over the world. Every time the material is viewed, the child is re-victimized."
- "All of this information (evidence) must be stored in a secure database to help in other cases. The database must be searchable in order to eliminate time wasted trying to recover victims who have already been located. If we only focus on sentencing offenders, we will miss many opportunities to share information and recover more victims."
- "Over 300 children in ICSE have already been identified by TICAC (Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children)."
- "There has never been a 'tipping point'- the number of children being abused has never decreased. The volume of child sex abuse material continues to grow at approximately 40% per year."
Arrests
TICAC has now conducted 175 arrests in total, including 76 cases of Child Pornography, 30 cases of Child Sexual Abuse, and 59 cases of Human Trafficking. Notably, TICAC has been able to increase the number of arrests each year since 2016. Furthermore, through this casework, 140 children have been rescued from further harm: 101 females and 39 males. These statistics only include children who participated in the legal process, and do not include many others who were discovered, identified, contacted, or were unreachable.
Team HUG also recently partnered with TATIP (Thailand Anti- Trafficking In Persons) police in a raid on a local karaoke bar. Four underage girls were removed from exploitation after a two-month long investigation.
HUG team members provide investigative support through:
- Open-Source Fact-Finding
- Surveillance
- Case Consultations
- Victim Identification
- Victim Assistance
- Child Forensic Interviewing
- Law Enforcement Capacity Building
Advice
Some tips for young people:
- Think before you send: Am I okay with this photo being shared with other people? Do I feel like I have to send this photo? Am I having second thoughts about sending this photo?
- Protect your three P's: Passwords, personal information, and privacy.
- Don't trust social media profiles. Many crimes are committed using fake accounts.
- Report problems to a trusted adult. Often young people will turn to their friends- who are ill-equipped to help.
- If you have been victimized, you are not alone. Reach out to someone safe for support.
For adults and caregivers:
- Start the conversation now. It's never too early or too late to open the door for discussion.
- Have one hundred 1-minute conversations vs. one 100-minute conversation. Ongoing mutual discussion is better than a lecture.
- Don't stay in the dark. Learn whom your child is communicating with online and what content is being shared.
- Educate yourself and your child. There are many wonderful resources available, like this and this and this.
Training Prosecutors
Traveling to Southern Thailand
Partnering with Schools
Caring for a little one
Promoting a campaign
Engaging Children
Transition Time
Email: connect@hugproject.org
Website: www.hugproject.org
Location: Northern Thailand, Thailand
Phone: +66 53273833
Facebook: facebook.com/hugprojectthailand