Contact: Kesang Dolkar
Phone: +975 2 332159/334751
Address: RENEW, PO Box: 1404, Lower Motithang, Phenday Oudhpel, Thimphu, Bhutan
Email: kesang22@gmail.com
Website: http://renew.org.bt/
In 2016, 26% of women between the ages 20-24 had been married before the age of 18, 6% had been married before the age of 15. To combat this, Bhutan is a member of the South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children and has implemented a regional action plan to end child marriage.
In Bhutan, bars (Drayangs) frequenters are entertained by employees who dance and serve beers. The profession, which includes adolescent girls and boys, may be vulnerable to trafficking for sexual purposes as well as different forms of sexual and physical abuse.
A source country for Bhutanese children subjected to forced labour and sex-trafficking, victims are exploited both within the country’s borders and India.
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
Year: 2019
Year: 2016
Yes
Age of sexual consent is 18 years. The national legislation provides for a three years close-in-age exemption.
Analysis of country legislation on age of sexual consent, 2024
Partial
Active extraterritoriality is provided for all offences punished by the Bhutan laws in general as well as for offences committed abroad involving a computer system or network located in Bhutan. The double criminality principle appears to not apply for extraterritoriality.
Extradition applies to only a few of the SEC-related offences. Double criminality does not applies to extradition.
SECTT Legal Checklist Bhutan, 2020
Not Yet Assessed
No
There are no mandatory legal provisions for criminal background checks nor legislation prohibiting convicted sex offenders to hold positions involving or facilitating contact with children. However, persons convicted of any offence against children are prohibited from holding the post of a Child Welfare Officer.
SECTT Legal Checklist Bhutan, 2020
Partial
Bhutan has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No. 182.
Bhutan has not ratified the OPIC, the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics nor the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
SECTT Legal Checklist Bhutan, 2020
Not Yet Assessed
Not Yet Assessed
Yes
Bhutan has put in place a mandatory legal requirement for all tour operators to implement a policy against commercial exploitation, including SEC.
SECTT Legal Checklist Bhutan, 2020
Not Yet Assessed
