After the anti-Sex Tourism law took effect in Australia, it immediately kept one convicted paedophile from leaving the country at the Sydney airport.
The law seeks to keep registered child sex offenders from leaving the country for travel, specifically to Southeast Asia.
The Australian child sex offender register currently has a list of 20,000 convicted pedophiles, who have served their sentences.
Because of this newly imposed law, the said offenders will be barred from leaving the country.
They can only travel if they're able to provide proof that the reason for travel is approved by law enforcement agencies.
40% of the 800 child sex offenders who travelled out of Australia last year did so without notifying the authorities
According to Australian Prime Minister Julie Bishop, around 40% of the 800 child sex offenders that travelled out of Australia last year did so without notifying the authorities.
"For too long, these predators have travelled overseas undetected, including to countries where weaker laws mean they have opportunities to commit heinous crimes," Bishop told the New York Times.
Are there enough laws against paedophiles to protect children worldwide?
This is just the beginning of what the Australian government hopes to help a great deal in cutting down the number of child exploitation cases in countries like Indonesia, where Australian Robert Ellis sexually abused 11 girls in a Bali resort.
As well as the Philippines where, in 2016, 53-year-old Peter Gerald Scully, from Melbourne, Australia was arrested for committing 75 counts of extreme child rape and torture and filming it for an international pedophile ring over a period of several years.
In line with this, there will also be tougher laws targeting digital pedophilia.
These laws will impose stricter penalties to internet service providers who do not report online child sex abuse to the proper authorities.
sources: The New York Times, The Japan Times, News.com.au
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