Udon Thani, 15 March 2018 - The Central Juvenile and Family Court of Thailand invited GLO.ACT to speak at its academic conference for nearly 2000 Thai court representatives from across the nation on 8 February 2018 in Udon Thani, Thailand. The biennial conference aims to build the capacity of court examination and adjudication of cases brought to Thai juvenile and family courts.
H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden, the keynote speaker, stressed the need to break the silence upon which child sexual abuse thrives and to give a voice to victims of this crime. As for countries adopting standardized child protection laws, she stated, "child sexual abuse enabled through the Internet is a global problem. Offenders come from many countries and crimes of exploitation are committed and spread across borders. Harmonized legislation helps global collaboration so that we can help fight the crime and protect children - together".
Ms. Snow White Smelser, GLO.ACT Project Officer, presented information on online child sexual exploitation, child trafficking and the impact of child abuse. She highlighted the linkages found between child sexual abuse and consequent depression, drug and alcohol addiction, obesity, and early death. The solution, she suggested, is to consider the roots of these symptoms and rebuild the victim's social fabric by fostering healthy relationships.
The participants in attendance included 116 senior-level professional judges from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and other specialized courts and 1727 lay judges, the majority of whom were female, from Juvenile and Family Courts. Lay judges, as opposed to professional judges, are not required to have law degrees and do not complete training to become a judge. They work in a variety of fields, such as business or education, and share at least one common experience: interacting with children, whether their own or in the community. During a court hearing, two professional judges sit with two lay judges, with gender balance among the four. Lay judges are expected to give insights and perspectives that a law professional may overlook when adjudicating child and family cases. Other participants included Thai prosecutors, Thai police, and non-governmental organizations such as World Childhood Foundation, SafeguardKids Foundation, and UNICEF.
The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.
External Links:
H.M Queen Silvia's child abuse Thailand speech (English)
Stopping the heinous crime of child-sex abuse | Bangkok Post: lifestyle (English)
National News Bureau of Thailand (Thai)
Manager Online News (Thai)
Regional News for 77 Provinces (Thai)
Home Cable TV News (Thai)
For more information, please contact:
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act