As part of their dedication to sustainable tourism in South Africa, Abang Africa have successfully implemented all six of The Code’s criteria to protect children from sex tourism and reached Top Member status.
Abang Africa has been quick to understand the key role that the tourism industry holds in the battle against child sex tourism – Bravo! Although the tourism industry is not directly responsible, many offenders travel to commit crimes against children.
Anne van der Tuuk, General Manager of Abang Africa, says that “by communicating with travellers and international operators as well as local suppliers involved in tourism, greater awareness can be created. If you have the power to make a difference like that then it would be wrong not to.”
Abang Africa is using their power to truly make a difference by actively spreading The Code’s key messages to their many suppliers and sister organizations, leading some of them to become members of The Code themselves.
Abang Africa have met The Code’s third criteria by including a zero tolerance of child exploitation clause in their contracts with suppliers and have taken one step further through their community outreach activities educating youth about the dangers of sex tourism and how to keep themselves safe.
Anne van der Tuuk explains why Abang Africa have chosen to fully implement The Code’s criteria and spread the message wider within the tourism industry:
We have great belief in creating awareness by sharing the stories and providing people with the tools necessary to take action.
In addition to their inspiring efforts to raise awareness of child sex tourism, Abang Africa have also put hard work into training their staff on children’s rights and how to identify and report suspected cases of sexual exploitation. Training staff is another one of The Code’s six criteria that companies must implement in order to reach Top Member status.
All of us here at The Code are proud to have such a dedicated new Top Member actively working to keep children safe in South Africa. Thank you Anne and Abang Africa, we are sincerely grateful for your hard work and commitment to helping protect children from sex tourism.
