UPDATE (December 2015): This petition is now closed. Thank you to the more than 10,000 supporters who called on the Foreign Secretary to immediately introduce measures that make it easier to investigate and prosecute travelling British offenders, and protect vulnerable children. We continue to campaign for the Government to prevent British nationals from sexually abusing children in travel and tourism. 

In many tourist destinations worldwide, children are routinely subjected to horrific sexual abuse, violence and degradation at the hands of unscrupulous traffickers and offenders from many different places, including the UK. Cases have been documented recently where British nationals, some convicted sex offenders, have travelled to countries such as Kenya, India, Cambodia and the Philippines to sexually abuse children, avoiding prosecution by local and UK authorities and leaving victims alone without the vital protection and support they need. This has to stop.

After the World Cup in Brazil, more children have been reported to be sexually abused this summer than in previous years – a 25% increase. This highlights the vulnerability of children in disadvantaged circumstances to exploitation and abuse, particularly where the local authorities are either ill-equipped or indifferent to respond to the vast numbers of cases involving offenders from around the world, including the UK. It also reminds us that the UK Government has not communicated the steps it has taken to prevent abuses by British nationals and protect vulnerable children in tourism.

Now is the time to take the next step to do our part and help interrupt the nightmare of sexual slavery for children in destinations around the world.

We can do this by calling on the Government to strengthen its commitment in the fight against transnational child abuse by implementing international obligations and setting up national and international law enforcement teams to protect children everywhere.