Public Opinion is Clear: Urgent Legislation Required to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation! Read the story

Members

Respect, Educate, Nurture, Empower Women (RENEW)

Respect, Educate, Nurture, Empower Women (RENEW)

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/

Facts

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.

Resources

ECPAT International
South Asia – Summary of Recommendations: Legal Interventions in South Asia

Year: 2022

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ECPAT International
Bhutan – Legal Checklist: Key Legal Interventions to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism

Year: 2022

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Australian Institute of Criminology
Benevolent Harm: Orphanages, Voluntourism and Child Sexual Exploitation in Southeast Asia

Year: 2019

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ECPAT International
Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism: Southeast Asia

Year: 2016

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ECPAT International
Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism: Southeast Asia (2-page brief)

Year: 2016

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ECPAT International
Regional Overview: Sexual Exploitation of Children in South Asia

Year: 2018

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Stories

News from Bhutan

Indicators

Age of Consent

Not Yet Assessed

Extraterritoriality & Extradition

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

CSAM Definition

Not Yet Assessed

Background Check Required

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

National Commitments

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

Child Advocacy Centers

Not Yet Assessed

SEC Police Unit

Not Yet Assessed

Protection Standards Travel and Tourism

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

Public SEC Case Data

Not Yet Assessed