VZCZCXRO6447
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHBI #0541/01 3260930
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210930Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL MUMBAI
TO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 7977
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 1934
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1729
INFO RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 1901

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUMBAI 000541 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN KFRD PHUM SMIG ELAB IN
SUBJECT: GOA SEES SOME PROGRESS IN FIGHTING SEX TRAFFICKING 
 
REF: 06 NEW DELHI 7078 
 
¶1.   (U) Summary:  In a series of recent meetings in Goa, 
interlocutors told Congenoff that the enactment of the Child 
Rights Act and the demolition of the red light district in 2005 
have helped to reduce the visibility of the problem of sex 
trafficking in Goa.  Social activists in Goa also reported that 
police are responsive in interceding in suspected pedophilia 
cases.  In addition, tourism industry representatives expressed 
their commitment to prevent hotels from being used for sex 
trafficking, but acknowledged that private homes rent out space 
used by those determined to circumvent the law.  However, NGOs 
noted that these efforts have forced the industry to 
decentralize and relocate, making it more difficult to estimate 
the size of the problem. Nevertheless, prosecutions of suspected 
sex traffickers and the rehabilitation of victims remains the 
biggest challenge in fighting this problem, as it is elsewhere 
in India.  End Summary 
 
 
 
Vacation Destination Goa 
 
------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶2.   (U) Goa is a small state of 1.35 million people, a former 
Portuguese colony until its annexation by India in 1961.  It is 
famed as a popular beach destination with Westerners - 
especially Europeans and Russians - but in recent years, the 
majority of Goa's tourism dollars come from domestic travelers. 
Almost 2.5 million tourists per year visit Goa, of which 15 
percent are foreign tourists. At 42 percent of the tourist 
arrivals, Britons are the largest group, followed by Russians at 
8.5 percent.  While officials at the Goa Chamber of Commerce say 
that tourism has not yet been affected by the global economic 
downturn, there is likely to be a slowdown in the winter high 
season which begins in November. 
 
 
 
Cleaning its Image - Relocating the Problem 
 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U)   In the past few years, Goa has made concerted efforts 
to erase its image as a destination for the sex trade.  While 
there have been some high-profile arrests of foreigners for 
pedophilia, there is no agreement on how severe or widespread 
this problem is.  In 2005, the Goa police bull-dozed the major 
red-light district, known as Baina.  Since then, police say 
there has been a major reduction in sex trafficking in the city, 
as measured by the number of police raids:  according to the 
police, there were 34 raids in 2005, 10 in 2006, and 9 in the 
first half of 2008. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) Nevertheless, the sex industry still exists in Goa, 
largely catering to locals, Indian domestic tourists and those 
foreigners determined to seek out the illicit trade. 
Interlocutors told CongenOff during an October 24 visit that the 
sex trade has decentralized, making it harder to reach out to 
trafficked women to rescue them or provide health services. 
Nishtha Desai of Children's Rights in Goa (CRG) said the sex 
traffic has relocated, but doubts it has reduced substantially. 
The sex trade is now plied in railway and bus stations, truck 
depots, male beauty salons and market areas. This change mirrors 
the shift seen in Mumbai, even though Mumbai still has an active 
red-light district. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) According to local contacts, Goans have made concerted 
efforts to eradicate the sex trade from their community. 
Hoteliers, NGOS and Sanjeev Gadkar, Head of the Directorate of 
Women and Child, agreed that the 2005 Child Rights Act of Goa, 
which attacks both commercial sex trafficking and pedophilia, 
has helped to curb sex trafficking in the state.  The Child 
Rights Act provides for penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment 
and a fine of 200,000 rupees (about $4000) for the sexual 
assault of a child, and bans bringing children into a hotel 
unless by a blood relative.  The Act makes hotels responsible 
for the safety of children on their premises, including 
adjoining beaches, with the owners and managers held personally 
liable.  The Act also requires police to remove children from 
any exploitative setting and ensure their rehabilitation. 
Street children are required to be placed in a state shelter and 
provided rehabilitation. The enactment of the Child Rights Act 
was brought about by the joint efforts of police and child 
 
MUMBAI 00000541  002 OF 003 
 
 
advocates.  Gadkar noted that Community sentiment against 
prostitution and child sexual abuse, together with giving the 
police effective tools to disrupt the trade, have made a visible 
difference in Goa. 
 
 
 
¶6.   (U) Gadkar said he did not believe that victims of sexual 
exploitation were brought to Goa through violent means.  He 
noted that most of the women in the sex trade were forced into 
the trade by poverty; some, he said, were tricked into leaving 
their homes by "boyfriends" who then got them involved in 
prostitution.  Desai of CRG told CongenOff that children 
involved in the sex trade often came to Goa with their families 
who were economic migrants: while parents were working in hotels 
or farms, the children, left unattended on the beaches, became 
prey for pedophiles. Much of CRG's efforts involve outreach to 
migrant communities, canvassing beaches for children at risk of 
exploitation, advising parents of the risks to their children if 
they hang out on the beaches, and offering alternative 
activities for youth to keep them away from sexual predators. 
 
 
 
Hotels Share Fight Against Sex Trafficking 
 
------------------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶7.   (U) Despite the Child Rights Act, and the efforts of many 
community activists, hoteliers acknowledge, however, that 
determined perpetrators continue to find other means to pursue 
their activities.  Hoteliers in the Goa Chamber of Commerce 
explained to CongenOff the various means used by the hotel to 
dissuade guests from bringing prostitutes onto their premises, 
and halting the activity if discovered, but they readily 
acknowledge that tourists determined to find illicit sex in Goa 
will circumvent the law by renting space in private homes where 
the police do not conduct raids.  Hoteliers told CongenOff that 
a dictate from the state government, designed to curb terrorism, 
requires that every hotel guest present a photo ID at the time 
of check-in, and that the hotels are required to fax a copy of 
the registration card for any foreigner to police within 24 
hours of the guests' arrival. Gadkar said that DCWD runs a media 
campaign through the hotels to stop prostitution. According to 
hoteliers, if the hotel learns that a registered guest has a 
visitor in the room, the front desk or security calls the room 
to ask that the other person be registered as well, which 
discourages use of the hotel premises for sexual exploitation. 
The hoteliers said their staffs are very concerned about child 
abuse and have called in the police when they suspect a guest 
has brought in a minor not his child.  The police respond 
immediately by sending investigators to the hotel. 
 
 
 
¶8.   (U)  Interlocutors also insisted that Goans are more 
proactive than Indians who live in other parts of the country 
and will call the police if they suspect a child is at risk; 
neighbors report suspected abuse by others in their neighborhood 
or suspicious behavior they note in public. Gadkar added that 
the exposure and identification of areas known for prostitution 
in the media have made it more difficult for sex traffickers to 
operate in Goa.  However, local reporters in Goa noted to 
CongenOff that reporting on known traffickers or leaders of 
prostitution rings risks retaliation or intimidation. 
 
 
 
Prosecutions Remain Difficult 
 
----------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) According to CRG, the victimization of children by 
pedophiles is a bigger problem than sex trafficking; in both 
cases, prosecutions are rare.  While police and the community, 
working together, have had some success in foiling prostitution, 
there has not been a concomitant success in the prosecution of 
cases.  CRG said prosecutions often fall apart when the victim 
recants their story or refuse to testify.  CRG claims that 
police are reluctant to hold tourists in custody pending 
investigation, as they might for an Indian suspect, for fear of 
creating a diplomatic incident.  By the time police complete 
their investigation, the perpetrator has often absconded. 
Forensic tests often take several months for results to be 
returned to the police; by then the perpetrator is safely back 
home and the prosecution cannot move forward. Under the Child 
Rights Act of Goa, child sexual abuse by a tourist is a 
non-bailable offense.  According to the hoteliers, police are 
 
MUMBAI 00000541  003 OF 003 
 
 
reluctant to take actions that may impair the tourism trade for 
the resorts.   CRG representatives suggested that the police 
institute a witness protection-like program for victims.  They 
also suggested that Interpol should share information with the 
Indian police regarding known or suspected pedophiles and others 
convicted of illegal sexual predatory practices to prevent them 
from coming to India. (Note: India is a member of Interpol, but 
it is not clear how this information is shared with local police 
throughout India. End note.) 
 
 
 
Limited Rehabilitation Capacity 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) Gadkar said that most of the women picked up in police 
raids are repatriated to their home towns where possible, as Goa 
has not had great success with shelters for such women.  There 
is little funding for rehabilitation and while the state 
provides clothing, food and security, the women have no income 
and often return to sex work.  Some women have been able to take 
part in rehabilitation programs which often help women run small 
businesses from their homes, but those opportunities are rare. 
One such rehabilitation center is Swift Wash, a commercial 
laundry run by the NGO ARZ for women rescued from sex work. 
There, women from Goa - and women from outside the state who now 
have local families - are provided employment and a full 
economic and psychological support network.  The state usually 
returns minors to their parents, but if they cannot be safely 
returned home, Goan officials acknowledge that there are no 
viable options for rehabilitating minors in shelters in the 
state. The minors picked up in prostitution raids or from 
pedophiles are sheltered temporarily at a state home for 
orphans, according to Gadkar. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (U) Comment:  Goan interlocutors expressed a commitment to 
addressing the problems of commercial sexual exploitation and 
sexual victimization of children.  Hoteliers and the tourism 
industry as a whole have become valuable partners in these 
efforts.  Locals also cite Goa's high literacy rate and levels 
of education as one reason for the success of these awareness 
campaigns.  (According to state statistics, 82 percent of Goans 
are literate, compared to India's national average of 61 percent 
literacy.)  Despite these efforts, prostitution continues in 
Goa, albeit in less visible locales; as with Mumbai, the 
industry is able to adapt and relocate, making it difficult to 
estimate and evaluate the extent of the problem.  With its small 
size and resources, the state has also not used its resources to 
develop rehabilitation centers, relying on the goodwill of local 
NGOs.  End Comment 
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