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institutions have broadcast numerous programmes on these
issues targetting children and young people, as well as caregivers
and the general public, and have provided a voice for both
children and women on issues that concern them. The media
has taken a key role in monitoring trafficking as well as other
human rights violations, and media reports have been the
primary source for documenting the incidence of trafficking
in the country. 152 On the other side of the coin, it has been
reported that district-based journalists practice “self-censorship”
as a result of threats from criminal groups involved in the sex
industry.
In recent years, Nepal’s media has been instrumental in raising
awareness of the issues surrounding Nepal’s entertainment
and sex industries. However, with a few exceptions, funding
constraints have limited the media’s ability to mobilize in-depth
investigative journalism on the issues. To date, there has been
insufficient support from international non-governmental
organisations to provide training and support to conduct
thorough investigative journalistic efforts. The print, radio and
television media have at times failed to abide by the principle
of confidentiality although the Code of Conduct 2060 requires
journalists to protect the identity of victims. In 2005, the
Committee on the Rights of the Child noted with concern in
its Concluding Observations on Nepal that “the identity of
child offenders, rape victims or children in difficult circumstances
continues to be disclosed in the media, which is a clear
infringement of article 16 (right to privacy) of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child”. 153 2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 77
THE PUBLIC
While research, media and NGOs have provided a platform
for the voice of the workers in Nepal’s entertainment and sex
industries to be heard, the voice of Nepal’s public has been
conspicuously absent. To date, no formal survey of public
opinion on the growth and establishment of the entertainment
and sex industries has been conducted. The views of the public,
both adults and children, have not been adequately expressed
in the reports and statements by the media, government,
NGOs, INGOs, political groups or the business sector, each
of which has its own interests, which may or may not reflect
the views of the public. There are no formal mechanisms in
the government to ensure that the voice of people is heard.
Despite numerous activities supported by international nongovernmental
organisations in regard to the entertainment
and sex industries, none have been directed at soliciting the
public’s opinion regarding the presence and future of a sex
industry in Nepal.