The Royal Thai Police and an anti-human trafficking NGO have joined to open the Child Advocacy Center in Pattaya.
Christine and Nick Caine, founders of the A21 Campaign, joined police officials from the newly formed Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children Jan. 16 at the center’s offices on Sukhumvit Road in Naklua to announce their partnership against trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Pol. Gen. Tamasak Wicharaya, director of the TICAC, said the partnership developed in response to the government’s policy to end child trafficking and child-sex tourism.
The center aims to improve the protection of trafficked and exploited children in an effort to reduce trauma, promote restoration and increase the number of prosecutions of traffickers, he said.
A21 – which stands for Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century – said the services are designed to take a victim-centered approach. Within a safe environment, the Child Advocacy Center will allow victims of trafficking to speak to forensically trained interviewers about the trauma they have experienced or witnessed.
Tamasak said that that prosecution of child trafficking has improved with the number of cases last year increasing from 2015, with 86 percent ending in convictions.
Christine Caine, a motivational speaker and member of Christian music Hillsong Church, started A21 in 2008. It operates in 10 countries with its Thailand office in Bangkok.
