“Boys can be victims too” - Down to Zero: Combatting Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in South East Asia

Sammanfattning: War, conflict and instability increase the presence of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), while globalization and the Internet have internationalized the prob- lem. Though girls are often seen as the primary victims of CSEC, increasing amounts of boys and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex victims are identified each year. As the lead for the anti-CSEC program Down to Zero in South East Asia, Terre des Hommes Netherlands tries to include these often overlooked victims in their program. However, as there is no official gender approach for Down to Zero, employees have to rely on their own gender understanding within their work to create positive peace. Applying Margaret Somers’ (1994) narrative analysis to eight semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Down to Zero staff members and using the social constructivist lens and Galtung’s perception of violence and peace, this thesis explores how Down to Zero is influencing the creation of positive peace in South East Asia through its under- standing of gender. The study argues that a dichotomous view of gender is the dominant narrative, while personal gender understandings are more inclusive. Finally, positive peace is slowly created through the inclusive gender personal gender perceptions.