Child Protection
Kuoni Destination Management takes innovative action to always ensure that each element of travel services provided, respect the land and its people and fall under the overall mandate of responsible tourism. The Company has taken the global initiative forward and has started a child awareness programme, in order to protect children from sexual exploitation at all holiday destinations in India.
The Company is working towards eradicating a global scourge - the sexual exploitation of children. As part of the group's global initiative, the Company is carrying out various activities to raise awareness among children and to educate them on their rights.
While the problem is widespread, the sexual abuse of children is especially pervasive at popular tourist destinations. Children, usually from marginalized sections of society, try to make a living doing odd jobs, and are at serious peril from unscrupulous people who take advantage of their innocence and youth. Problems faced by children at tourist destinations range from physical, mental and/or sexual abuse.
The Company is associated with an NGO that helps children who are victims of child abuse or are at risk. Having set up a corpus of a hundred thousand rupees and a contribution of forty seven thousand rupees donated by the travel industry, this fund was handed over to the NGO to help the affected children. One of the main objects of the programme is to empower children with knowledge of their rights, rehabilitate victims of sex crimes, and facilitate the development of life skills. The NGO carries out many activities with the children and conducts public awareness campaigns to protect them.
The program focuses on the following areas:
- Medical check-ups.
- Provision of space that the children can identify as their own.
- Counselling sessions and showing children audio-visuals to enhance their knowledge regarding their rights.
- Making older children aware of different livelihood options.
- Offer training to the children in the fields of computer operations, cookery, auto mechanics, electrical works, pottery, jewellery making and glass painting.
- Help place those who show a genuine interest and aptitude for a different vocation into certified vocational training institutions. This will help to improve their life chances in the future.
In order to make this programme a success and reduce the sexual abuse of children, the company has issued detailed information to all its overseas tour operators and all concerned offices within the country so that these issues may not be ignored. A formal note has also been submitted to the Ministry of Tourism in order to address the gravity of this exploitation.
By signing a code of conduct for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the travel and tourism industry, the company has made a commitment to prevent the same.
