The event is host to law-enforcement officials and representatives of NGOs from nine countries, namely Thailand, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Gen Surachate, who also serves as Director of the Police Crime Suppression Division, explained, “This meeting is to focus on international collaboration, working across borders and strengthening regional cooperation to combat child sexual abuse and various other forms of child exploitation.”
“The collaboration is between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and law enforcement agencies in Southeast Asia to cooperate and increase expertise in various fields, aiming to develop regional capacity to combat child sexual abuse to be most effective,” he added.
Joining the event, which began yesterday and continues through Friday (Oct 23-27), is Helen Schneider, Commander of the Australian Federal Police and Commander of the AFP’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and Human Exploitation.
Gen Surachate highlighted the long-established collaboration between the Royal Thai Police and the Australian Federal Police.
“It has always been very good in various aspects, whether it is Operation Taskforce Storm or the establishment of a transnational crime prevention and suppression network to coordinate between agencies,” he said.
Royal Thai Police task forces often travel to Australia for training, he added.
“The Royal Thai Police Office has given great importance to the problem of child abuse. It has established the Center for the Protection of Children, Women, Families, and targeted prevention and suppression of human trafficking and the fisheries sector,” Gen Surachate said.
In the first nine months of 2023, the Royal Thai Police investigated 411 cases of child abuse. During the same period last year, there were 482 cases, he noted.
The highest number of arrests were for possession of child pornography (164 cases), followed by sexual abuse (154 cases) and human trafficking (75 cases). The number of human trafficking cases was the highest in nine years, Gen Surachate said.
“Last year, the Royal Thai Police launched its ‘D.A.R.E 2 C.A.R.E.’ project, which is a project to educate children and youth in educational institutions, and in 2023 it has been expanded to parents and communities to enable parents and communities to participate in preventing their children from being abused,” Gen Surachate explained.
“In addition, the Child Safe Friend Tourism Project is a project that trains tourism personnel and business operators to help monitor and care for children and youth in places where they are at risk of being abused,” he added.
“As shown by all these operations, the Royal Thai Police has always given importance to solving the problem of human trafficking, especially the prevention and suppression of child abuse. It has integrated operations with all sectors in every dimension ‒ domestically, regionally and internationally ‒ to eliminate the problem of child abuse in a sustainable way, with the goal of having Thailand ranked to Tier 1 in the regular report on the situation of human trafficking,” he said, referring to the US Department of State’s annual ‘Trafficking in Persons Report’.
In the latest ‘Trafficking in Persons Report’, released in June, Thailand remains ranked in Tier 2, meaning “not fully compliant, but making ‘significant efforts’ to be compliant with the minimum standards.”
‘Jack Changes the Game’
At the event today, Amb Macdonald presented Gen Surachate with a copy of the illustrated children’s book ‘Jack Changes the Game’, published by the Australian Federal Police only last year.
The book was produced by the Australian Federal Police Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation to assist children and adults to develop an awareness of how to stay safe in the world of online gaming. The key audience targeted by the book are children 5-8 years old.
“Written by notable children’s author Tess Rowley and illustrated by Shannon Horsfall, ‘Jack Changes the Game’ takes a child’s perspective to online grooming, the challenges they face and why it’s important to talk to a trusted adult if they encounter any problems online,” explains the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and Human Exploitation (ACCCE).
“The book is a first-of-its kind for law enforcement and is based on a report made to the ACCCE. It gives an insight with age-appropriate advice about online grooming and how parents can take action if something goes wrong,” the agency adds.
Since ACCCE was established five years ago, the Australian Federal Police has charged 877 alleged offenders with more than 7,000 child abuse offences.
Most recently, the agency in August concluded an investigation that started with a tip-off and resulted in 19 arrests for child sex abuse offences.
“Marking the anniversary of the ACCCE, the AFP and key stakeholders have reflected on the children they have removed from harm, the perpetrators who have been sentenced before courts and the prevention work delivered for the public,” the agency noted last month.
“Reports of online child sexual exploitation to the ACCCE have increased by more than 180 per cent since it launched in 2018,” the agency added.
AFP Commander ACCCE and Human Exploitation Commander Helen Schneider said the increased number of reports – 40,232 in the past financial year, up from 14,285 reports five years ago ‒ reflected the scale of the horrific crime around the world.
“The ACCCE was created with a vision to keep children free from exploitation and a mission to be coordinated and connected with partners to counter online child exploitation,” she noted.
“It brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment,” Ms Schneider said.