End Child Prostitution and Trafficking

ECPAT International
Founded 1990
Type NGO
Purpose Child protection
Location
  • Phayathai Road, Rachathewi, Bangkok, Thailand 10400
Area served
Global
Key people
 Carol Bellamy (Chair)
Website www.ecpat.net

The End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on halting the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes and the sexual exploitation of children in the travel and tourism industry.

The ECPAT International network consists of 102 member organisations in 93 countries.[1] Its secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand, providing technical support to member groups, coordinating research, and managing international advocacy campaigns.

History

In 1990, researchers and activists helped to establish ECPAT as a three-year campaign to end "sex tourism," with an initial focus on Asia.[2] (The name originally stood for “End Child Prostitution and Trafficking,” but this full title is no-longer utilized. Today the organization goes by its initials ECPAT.)

In 1996, in partnership with UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Rights of the Child (now known as Child Rights Connect[3]), ECPAT International co-organised a global world congress against the sexual exploitation of children, in Stockholm, Sweden. The congress was hosted by the Government of Sweden, which also played a major role in attracting support and participation from other governments. As a result, ECPAT grew from a regional campaign into a global non-governmental organization.[4]

Between 2009 and 2012, ECPAT, in partnership with The Body Shop, helped run the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People[5] campaign, which called on governments to safeguard the rights of children and adolescents to protect them from trafficking for sexual purposes. More than 7 million petition signatures were collected worldwide and presented to government officials around the world and to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Research and human rights reporting

States with one or more organisations that are connected to the ECPAT network
  ECPAT group(s) in the state
  None

ECPAT International produces a variety of research and resources for use by its network members, other NGOs, UN agencies, and researchers. These include regular country reports, regional reports and studies on specific forms of child sexual exploitation, such as the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism,[6] and the online sexual exploitation of children.[7]

ECPAT is mandated to monitor the commitments of governments around the world and their legal obligations to protect children from sexual exploitation. ECPAT produces regular country monitoring reports[8] that are presented to the United Nations in Geneva, to follow up implementation of the Stockholm Agenda for Action (Stockholm, 1996).

Network membership

The ECPAT network currently consists of 102 member organisations in 93 countries. These include independent civil society organisations, grassroots NGOs and coalitions of NGOs focused on a range of child rights violations.

The code of conduct for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism

The Code is a set of protocols that tourism operators may sign up to, in order to ensure that their businesses do not facilitate or encourage the sexual exploitation of children by travelers and tourists. The Code was developed by ECPAT Sweden in 1996 and is promoted through the international ECPAT network. Today, more than 1,300 tour operators, hotels, airlines and other travel businesses across 42 countries have signed up.[9][10]

Protecting children online

ECPAT International works with law enforcement partners, such as INTERPOL, to prevent the online sexual exploitation of children. It engages with other child rights organisations, for example, through the Internet Governance Forum and is a member of the Virtual Global Taskforce[11] and the European Financial Coalition against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Online. ECPAT is also part of the International Telecommunication Union´s Child Online Protection initiative.[12] ECPAT has signed agreements with the International Association of Internet Hotlines,[13] the Internet Watch Foundation and Child Helpline International.[14]

ECPAT advocates for the ratification of international and regional legal instruments such as the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote convention).

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "ECPAT International". ECPAT International. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  2. ↑ "Regional Overview of the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Southeast Asia" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "members & partners | Child Rights Connect". www.childrightsconnect.org. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  4. ↑ "World Congress III". Resources.ecpat.net. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  5. ↑ "Stop Sex Trafficking | The Body Shop Australia". The Body Shop. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  6. ↑ "Global Report 2016 - globalstudysectt.org". globalstudysectt.org. 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  7. ↑ "Towards a Global Indicator on Unidentified Victims in Online Sexual Exploitation - summary report" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "Resources Archive - ECPAT International". ECPAT International. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  9. ↑ Ms. Anne van der TuukAbang Africa Travel (2013-11-21). "History". The Code. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  10. ↑ Hetter, Katia. "Fighting sex trafficking in hotels, one room at a time". CNN.
  11. ↑ "Private Sector Partners". virtualglobaltaskforce.com. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Working Together". ITU. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "ECPAT International and the INHOPE Foundation cooperate in the fight against child sexual abuse material". inhopefoundation.org. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  14. ↑ http://www.childhelplineinternational.org/resources/news/mou-asia-pacfic/
  15. ↑ "Anti-trafficking group wins Interpol award for child sexual..." Reuters. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  16. ↑ Marc Moorghen. "ECPAT International Receives $1.5 Million Hilton Humanitarian Prize - Press release". hiltonfoundation.org. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
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