Thomas Maeseele

Reality and Rhetoric in European Policy on Child Sex Tourism: a Comparative Analysis of Policy Documents Thomas Maeseele

Attention for child sex tourism has markedly increased since the midnineties of the previous century. Being increasingly confronted with this phenomenon, the European Union (EU) could play an important role in its prevention and eradication. However, scholarly literature on the role of the EU is almost non-existent. This book not only presents an analysis of EU policy initiatives until mid 2007 but also provides a comparative perspective to policy initiatives of three EU member states (Sweden, the UK and Italy) and the EU. These initiatives are analyzed through an innovative approach consisting of a ?depth scan? and a ?width scan?. These scans prove to be a useful tool to analyze policy initiatives as they are found to provide a deeper insight into the complexity of policies on child sex tourism. Results are presented of how European policy operates, what major obstacles are present and where the lacunas can be found. Both scans learn us that root causes are addressed mostly rhetorically while in reality the emphasis lies on situational prevention and deterrence.