If you suspect any sexual exploitation of children in tourism, please report it immediately!

28 October, 2019 Share

Sexual exploitation is an insult and an assault on the dignity and fundamental rights of children. That’s why almost half (46% to be exact) of the projects that RIU undertakes in its CSR strategy are aimed at children.

The fight to prevent and tackle the causes where children are exploited and victims of abuse in travel and tourism is for us one of the most relevant aspects in our industry.

This is a scourge that violates their childhood, so we must underline the importance of education for more and more people to realise the need to protect children and report sexual exploitation.

Here at RIU we’re fully aware that it’s an issue to work on together, keeping our eyes wide open and immediately reporting any possible suspicion.

Since 2012, the company has been a member of the ECPAT network for the protection of children and teenagers against sexual exploitation in tourism and it has committed to meeting the requirements of the ECPAT Code of Conduct, known as The Code.

The Code is a multi-stakeholder initiative with the mission to provide awareness, tools and support to the tourism industry to prevent the sexual exploitation of children within the context of travel and tourism.

At RIU we endorse the criteria of the Code by:

• RIU has a corporate ethical policy against the sexual exploitation of minors.
• We provide staff with training about this problem in all countries where we operate. 11,858 participants in ECPAT training.
• By contract, our suppliers in every destination commit to taking a common stand against the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. 956 suppliers have signed the ECPAT clause.
• We provide information to customers through printed information and our website.
• We keep the key local agents in each destination suitably informed.
• We adopt preventative measures to impede the creation and dissemination of tourist programmes that promote or permit sexual contact with underage people.
• In collaboration with four hotel chains (Barceló Hotel Group, Grupo Batle, IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts and Grupo Piñero), we made a training video to advise hotel staff on how to prevent, detect and act in possible cases of this illicit activity which is penalized by law and yet constitutes the third most profitable business after arms and drugs trafficking.

By the end of 2019, we’ll have conducted 14.000 ECPAT training sessions with the firm commitment to keep on fighting against the sexual exploitation of children so that they can keep on being children.