“Men would ask our ages and the younger the better... Some of the men would beat me, especially when I refused to take drugs or I insisted on using a condom… Now I know I was being exploited for my body” – Caroline, aged 16.1

Dear , Caroline’s experience is all too common. Between 30,000 and 50,000 children across Kenya are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, concentrated in coastal tourist hotspots.2 However, there is an international tourism standard designed to protect children against these abuses known as the Code of Conduct.3 Across the world, members of the tourism industry are rallying against this heinous crime. We believe that the Code can help bring about greater protection for children along Kenya’s tourist-friendly coast. This is why we are asking you to call on the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism to direct all tourism service providers to sign the Code of Conduct and ensure predators keep their hands off children. Five years ago the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Hon N.S Najib Balala, vowed to combat the proliferation of these abuses in tourist hotspots.4 Since then many of the larger hotels in Kenya have become signatories to the Code. While these laudable efforts have helped, more needs to be done. With increased scrutiny, perpetrators  now use smaller hotels, villas, and even taxi drivers to exploit children – as a result they are becoming more difficult to detect.5 Please sign the petition » Together, we can influence the whole tourism sector in Kenya to take commercial sexual exploitation of children seriously by pressuring the government to ensure all businesses fully implement the Code. Every child in Kenya deserves to be protected from sexual predators and trafficking.Join us in urging the Kenyan Government to ensure offenders travelling under the guise of tourism keep their hands off our children. In solidarity, Eugenia, Alex, Joanna, Tom and the teams at Walk Free and CAOK P.S. In the coastal towns of Kenya as many as 30 percent of teenage girls are being forced into casual sex work, while more than 10% of girls begin transactional sex before the age of 12.6 Please call on the government to take action now.