MARGAO
The Goa Women’s Forum (GWF) on Sunday has expressed deep concern over the fact that escort service websites have now started targeting the Dudhsagar waterfalls to promote sex tourism in South Goa.
While participating in the ongoing GOACAN Vigilance Awareness Week from October 29 to November 4 with the theme “I Care”, the forum has detected that the earlier escort service website namely http://natalyadsouza.co.in has changed to http://www.komaljindal.com
GWF convenor Lorna Fernandes has noted that the name Natalya D’Souza for the escort service website is not only to give it a local Goan identity.
She expressed her concern and suggested it was important to sensitize all the government officials and police personnel in the Dharbandora taluka about the implications of sex tourism and human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.
“In recent months there have been news reports of increased police action against the trafficking of women for prostitution and these cases are now found in the villages and towns of South Goa. The ability of the traffickers to base themselves in the villages is possible due to the demand for sexual services by domestic and foreign tourists as well as the poor awareness levels amongst the community about the modus operandi of these criminals,” she said.
Lorna further said the continued operation of the escort services websites offering college girls and housewives as call girls in Goa is also an important factor to boost the demand for commercial sex.
In this context GWF has written to South Goa Collector Dr Tariq Thomas and district police chief, SP Arvind Gawas, to take up with the Director General of Police and Chief Secretary the need to shut down these escort service websites which are openly promoting sex tourism in Goa.
“I have requested the South Goa Collector to examine the possibility of using the powers vested in him as District Magistrate to take action against these websites,” she said, adding that her letter has appealed to both the officials to take legal steps by filing a petition before the High Court.
She said the content of these websites was detrimental to the lives of women, children and families.
