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Netherlands

Snitch on sexual tourists online

14 January 2010
Presseurop
De Volkskrant
De Volkskrant, 14 January 2010

"Imagine you are on holiday in a faraway country and you see a fellow tourist taking local children back to his hotel room? What can you do?" If you are reluctant to contact authorities at your destination, which is often time-consuming and "complicated," you can still submit information to a special website that has been put online by Dutch police, reports De Volkskrant. According to the daily, since 2002, Dutch citizens accused of child sexual abuse abroad may be tried in the Netherlands, and information may be supplied to investigators anonymously. De Volkskrant adds that the initiative forms part of the "Break the silence" campaign, organized by police and tourist industry professionals to raise public awareness of sexual tourism among travellers to Brazil and Thailand – two destinations, which often attract pedophiles.