Global Monitoring Report on the Status of Action against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

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Summary: This report will be available shortly.

[19 December 2006] - ECPAT International has today released a global monitoring report on the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The report provides information and analysis on more than 50 specific country situations and an assessment of the efforts made, and still needed, to protect children from sexual exploitation.

Children of all ages are under threat from abusers and exploiters. The changing nature of the means used to meet adult demand for sex with children and the fragmented action being taken to protect them, has maintained this threat. Ten years after the scale of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) was first acknowledged at the First World Congress against CSEC, this report shows that legal measures alone are not enough to stop the demand.

Analysis of countries around the world shows that poverty, low levels of education and political and civil unrest still force huge numbers of children into sexual exploitation. At the same time, new consumer culture and media influence are redefining the boundaries of social belonging, creating profound pressures which can propel children into the hands of adults who will use their bodies and exploit children’s search for resources to meet these expectations. While the children are often wrongly blamed, the role of the perpetrator who exploits them through abuse of power and wealth goes largely unnoticed and unaddressed. Only half of the countries examined have child prostitution laws that carry penalties for exploiters and in most cases, prosecution is constrained by the necessity to prove rape, coercion or corruption of minors.

While the global awareness of child sex tourism has led to improvements in prevention and protection mechanisms, the dramatic growth in low cost airline routes and increase in worldwide tourism have facilitated the ease with which abusers can access children without constraint in virtually any destination. Likewise, developments in information technology are seeing multi-billion dollar growth in child pornography materials and the number of adults accessing images of child abuse. The children they seek to entrap can now be victimized from anywhere in the world with very few countries putting sufficient protection measures in place.

ECPAT research has found that less than 25 per cent of countries have a dedicated and current National Plan of Action (NPA) to combat the various forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Of those which do, many NPAs contain weak goals and objectives and have no assigned resources for implementation.

“These reports are a wake up call to the global community to do more to prevent these heinous crimes against children” states Chairperson of ECPAT International, Ms. Amihan Abueva. “The first two World Congresses galvanised world awareness and action to combat sexual exploitation but unless the issue remains in the global spotlight, the response of the world community is in danger of being diluted as the problem gets more complicated in its manifestations and scope”.

ECPAT calls for immediate action:

  • Countries must fulfill their obligation to develop strategies and National Plans of Action to combat commercial sexual crimes against children in all forms.
  • National laws must be changed to reflect the international legal instruments that countries have committed themselves to.
  • All children up to the age of 18 must be afforded legal protection from commercial sexual exploitation, while enforcement of the law must be rigorous and punishment should reflect the grave nature of these violations against children.
  • The responsibility to support comprehensive care, protection and recovery services for children who have been exploited in commercial sex must be assumed by States, as in many countries, NGOs are the only primary care providers.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=11970&flag=report

The report is available as a series of country reports.

For copies of the reports, go to http://www.ecpat.net/eng/A4A_2005/login.asp

For more information, contact:
Eris Kasmi
Communications and Campaigns Officer
ECPAT International
328 Phaya Thai Road, Ratchathewi - Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
Tel: +662 215 3388; Fax: +662 215 8272
Email: erisk@ecpat.net
Website: http://www.ecpat.net

Further information

Organisation: 
ECPAT - International Secretariat

Countries

    Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.