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09 March 2012
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Russian Federation Monitoring Report: Status of Action
Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
Report Summary: Although Russia has enjoyed increased economic prosperity
since the breakup of the Soviet Union, this economic development has not
translated into significantly enhanced protection of children from CSEC.
Russia is among the top ten origin countries for trafficked human beings,
although a lack of strong data collection makes it difficult to obtain
disaggregated figures of the number of child victims of sex trafficking. Russia
is also the second largest producer of child pornography, although the
government is working with the USA (the largest producer) and other
countries to address this problem. Despite the fact that Russia does have
an active Child Rights Ombudsperson, most cooperation and coordination
mechanisms remain informal rather than systematic. While the government
has advanced some CSEC-related legislation, it has not yet ratified the
OPSC and various other European treaties, and many current provisions do
not meet international standards. Priority actions for Russia include
developing a centralised registry for child sex offenders and ratifying
and fully implementing the OPSC. Click here to download the full report.
ECPAT UK invitation to participate in the open consultation
of Travelife Sustainability Criteria Review
ECPAT UK is pleased to announce the launch of the second stage of Travelife Sustainability
Criteria Review and as a valued supporter, would like to
invite you to participate in the open consultation which will be open until 16 March 2012.
With the emergence of complementary sustainable tourism approaches such
as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) criteria, it has
become clear that the Travelife Sustainability System should consider
these industry developments so that it keeps pace with best
practice. After an impressive response to the Stage 1 consultation,
these contributions have been used to incorporate many of the GSTC
criteria into Travelife’s, as well as the mandatory criteria of the EU
Ecolabel, which will sit under the main Travelife criteria as
indicators.
As before, participating in Stage 2 of the review is easy and you find
all the information about the online consultation tool at www.travelife.org. Thanks to
your support, the new Travelife Sustainability System criteria are
shaping up well and to enhance them further, we urge you to provide your
invaluable feedback again during the second stage of the open
consultation.
Phase 3 of Canada’s Man-to-Man Campaign
Beyond Borders ECPAT Canada, is embarking upon phase 3 of its Man-to-Man
campaign. The public awareness campaign aims to address the demand for
sex with children by getting more men to discuss the issue. It
specifically challenges men to find ways to take action to end the
demand.
For phase 3, Beyond Borders has partnered with the Canadian Centre for
Child Protection, which manages Canada's hotline for reporting online
child sexual exploitation—cybertip.caIn
addition to refreshing the website, endthedemand.ca, the campaign's
message is being promoted in major Canadian centres through billboard,
subway/transit, print and digital advertising.
One advert that will appear in men's bathrooms, features a smartphone
text message conversation between two friends highlighting the many
opportunities in daily life that men can use to take a stand on the
issue.
The Signing of the new Optional
Protocol on the CRC on a communication procedure
by 20 States
Following the signature ceremony of the new Optional Protocol on the CRC on a communication
procedure, which was held on 28 February 2012 in Geneva, the
following 20 States have signed the new Optional Protocol (OP):
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, Italy,
Luxembourg, Mali, Morocco, Montenegro, Maldives, Peru, Portugal, Serbia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Uruguay.
The excellent advocacy work conducted by several ECPAT member
organisations, especially in Latin America, was instrumental in many
governments’ signing of the new OP.
The signing of the new OP is critical because it reflects the commitment
of the above-mentioned States to ratify this new international legal
standard in the future. The ratification of international
treaties/conventions (which include the new OP) is a process under which
States accept to be bound by the obligations set forth in those
standards.
As the entry into force of the new OP is conditioned to its ratification
by 10 States, the ECPAT network will pursue its advocacy efforts towards
the ratification of the new OP by signatory States. In addition, other
initiatives will be undertaken to encourage more governments to sign and
ratify the new OP.
The Asia-Pacific Regional Commemoration of International
Women's Day
Representatives from ECPAT International attended the Asia-Pacific
Regional Commemoration of International Women's Day, which was held on 8
March 2012 at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. The theme of the
event was: ‘Youth Voices UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls’.
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Child Wise 2012
Black and White Gala Ball
Child Wise are holding their first fundraising ball in Sydney on 12
May, celebrating 20 years of working to make the world a safer place for
children. Join Child Wise for the night and enter into a world in
which the issue of child abuse is Black and White, a world that does
not stand for the exploitation of children and a world that supports
the eradication of these crimes. Child Wise’s message is also Black
and White: together we can improve the lives of thousands of
children. The Ball will be held at the Star Room, located at the IMAX
Theatre Complex on Darling Harbour. The night will include a three-course
meal, entertainment and a raffle. Tickets
are now on sale here
Situation of Child Trafficking of Child Migrants: Thai NGOs’
Perspectives workshop
On 28 – 29 March, Terre des Hommes Netherlands and Foundation for Women
Thailand will organise a workshop on the Situation of Child Trafficking of Child Migrants:
Thai NGOs’ Perspectives; the workshop will be held in
Viengtai Hotel, Bangkok and will review the current situation,
initiatives in response to child trafficking and expand conceptual
framework in addressing the problem into children on the move. A number
of strategic plans at national and regional levels among NGOs are
expected to be realised at the workshop.
Compiled and edited by
Miroslav Kalniev, ECPAT International.
For further information or to include details of news or events, please
contact: Miroslav
Kalniev
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ECPAT International Conducts ‘Protecting Children from
Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism’ Workshops in Bangkok and
Pattaya
ECPAT International implemented three half-day workshops in Bangkok (23
& 24 February 2011) and Pattaya (2 March 2011) as part of the ECPAT
Netherlands’ anti-child sex tourism project. With the support of the
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project works in five countries to
empower the travel and tourism industry through The Code of Conduct. With
the support of SKAL Thailand, a member of The Code of Conduct,
invitations were circulated to over 400 companies in Thailand. The
workshop focused on ‘child protection’ and highlighted how companies can
report cases of child sex tourism or commercial sexual exploitation of
children to the relevant authorities. Prior to the workshop, although
most participants were ‘aware’ of the issue, many did not understand it
and most importantly, they were usually hesitant to report cases as they
were not aware of the appropriate course of action. Feedback showed that
participants came out of the workshop with a better understanding of the
issue and how to report possible cases or suspicious incidents to law
enforcement. The strong presence of law enforcement representatives,
especially foreign police liaison officers, including representatives
from the Australian Federal Police and US Homeland Security – ICE agents
sent a strong message about their interest in these cases and their
commitment to ensuring follow-up. As the direct result of the workshops,
several companies have asked ECPAT to follow-up with additional support,
specifically assist in setting up policy and procedures and training for
the staff and some have expressed interest in signing The Code.
 
Online Paedophile Network Shut Down by ECPAT International
and Royal Thai Police
On 28th
February 2012, ECPAT International released a press release to highlight
a tip-off to ECPAT International which resulted in the Royal Thai Police
shutting down an online paedophile website based out of Thailand.
Details were released about the operation, in which the website, known as
Khon Rak Dekh, meaning 'Love Children' in Thai, was used by paedophiles
to share pornographic material of children, many of whom appeared to be
as young as eight years old. It also appears that advice was shared
between users on the best ways to gain access to children in Thailand.
The Royal Thai Police have launched an investigation to track down the
website's owner and are making efforts to rescue the children. For more
information, please click here.
Southeast Asia Regional Child Protection Workshop in Phnom
Penh
On 1-2 March, 89 representatives from law enforcement agencies, NGOs and
UN agencies from the UK and four South-East Asian countries attended at a
two-day South-East Asia Regional Child Protection Workshop, held in the
Intercontinental Hotel, Phnom Penh. The workshop was part of the
International Child Protection Network (ICPN), an initiative of the UK's
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre. The Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of the Interior, H.E. Mr Sar Kheng, who presided
over the workshop, stated the Cambodian government's commitment to fight
all forms of CSEC and promised that the more will be done to protect
children from CSEC through regional cooperation. ECPAT International’s
Regional Officer for East Asia and Pacific shared Thailand's latest data
on regional trends and the latest developments in combating sexual
exploitation in travel and tourism and child trafficking. She also urged
the government to address the problem appropriately and promote the
involvement of the private sector in prevention and protection.
  
Training of Law Enforcement Officers in Peru
Law enforcement agents in many Latin American countries are still not
able to clearly identify victims of child trafficking and are often
unaware of how to treat the victims from a child rights perspective.
ECPAT International has partnered with REDES, an ECPAT affiliate group in
Peru, to provide training to police officers from the province of Junín.
Since 30 January 2012, 10 workshops have been carried out in two areas of
the province with a total participation of 90 officers. Colonel Ruben
Dario Galdo Bellota, Chief of Police of the Province of Junín, welcomed
and supported this initiative of ECPAT International and REDES.
ECPAT International has also supported the translation and
adaptation of ‘Combating
the trafficking in children for sexual purposes: A training guide’, a
manual for stakeholders that was originally prepared and
written in English by Muireann O’Briain, Anke van den Borne and Theo
Noten.
 
New tool: Translated and Adapted from the training guide
‘Psychosocial Rehabilitation of Children who have been Commercially
Sexually Exploited’
For the care service providers to victims of commercial sexual
exploitation to be effective, they should include the creation of a safe
and non-abusive environment. Caregivers should be able to meet the
different needs of children and be willing to recognise their value and
respect their views. With this in mind, ECPAT International has partnered
with the NGO RAICES, an ECPAT affiliate group from Chile, to translate
and adapt to the Latin American context the training guide written by
Stephanie Delaney and Colin Cotteril entitled: ‘Psychosocial Rehabilitation of
Children who have been Commercially Sexually Exploited’. The
guide will be used by Denisse Araya and Iria Retuerto, two specialists
from RAICES, to conduct two training sessions with caregivers, social
workers and psychologist from the region. The workshops will take place
in the month of April in Guatemala and Peru with approximately 35
participants.
Training of Trainers on CSO in Lomé, Togo
From 22 to 24 February 2012, a three-day Child Safe Organisations (CSO)
training workshop was held for health centre and NGO staff working in the
field of child rights and HIV/AIDS. The workshop took place at the
Conference room of Centre Espérance Loyola-CEL, in the Jesuits Catholique
Community in Lomé, Togo.
The nineteen participants were given a short introductory course on
issues surrounding child protection issues, how best to ensure children
are protected and how to manage child protection issues. To complete the
training, each organisation will present a draft of Child Protection
Policies and Procedures.
  
Certification of School on Safe Internet Projects updates in
the CIS Region
From 1 March until 1 May, under the frame of the ECPAT/Body Shop project
‘Certification of Internet-Safe Schools (CISS)’, a competition of video
clips on Safety on the Internet open to young people aged 12-18 years was
launched by the National Centre of Legal Information of Belarus, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, and ‘Children – not for Abuse’ (ECPAT’s
affiliate in Belarus), with the motto ‘Say NO to Violence and Viruses in
the Net! Here’s to a Healthy Internet!’ The three best clips will be
awarded with special prizes, and will be also broadcast through various
media in Belarus.
‘Children – not for Abuse’ also organised a discussion on safety on the
Internet with students and social workers from schools in Dzerzhynsk.
 
In the Ukraine, a ‘Month of Safe Internet’ was implemented
in one of the campaign pilot schools. School students made collages,
wrote special articles in school newspapers, and carried out trainings.
The best and most active students received letters of gratitude and other
prizes. Vyacheslav Gryshenko and Jury Dron—young volunteers at one of
ECPAT’s partners in Ukraine, the School of Equal Opportunities, carried
out 23 trainings in many classes of their school.
  
CSEC training in Kazakhstan
On 4 March the youth centre ‘Youth Power’ from Kazakhstan, which is a
member of Kazakh network (ECPAT Affiliate group), organised an event for
children from poor families and their parents. While children watched the
movie ‘Shrek’, parents took part in training on the topic of Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) with a special attention given to
sexual violence in the Internet. Children prepared gifts for their
mothers and grandmothers in honour of International Women’s Day, by
designing special multi-coloured pictures on T-shirts.
 
Update on public awareness-raising activities on Gender
based Violence (GBV) in Ivory Coast
On 21 February 2012, a follow up meeting on GBV was organised with a
number of religious communities, state structures (Ministry of Justice,
law enforcement, health centre, social assistants) and NGO members,
including the ECPAT Affiliate group in Ivory Coast, SOS Sexual Violence.
The objectives of this platform were summarised in three main areas:
strengthening the coordination of interventions, strengthening the
framework of implementation of interventions for prevention, and
management of GBV and the strengthening of data collection and monitoring
and evaluation in terms of GBV in Yopougon, where a technical secretariat
was established. SOS Sexual Violence, leader in the field of GBV at the
intervention stage, has been asked to support the Technical Secretariat
in its operation. Scheduled for the end of March, the next meeting will
focus on the validation of the 2012 action plan.
Workshop on CRC Implementation in Thailand
On 29 February 2012, as a follow up to Geneva missions undertaken in
September 2011 to advocate for OPSC through submitting and discussing of
the Thailand alternative report to the UNCRC, Katesanee Chantrakul,
Project Coordinator, and Sayoomporn Kirinimite YPP youth member, both
from ECPAT Foundation, Thailand attended the Workshop on Mobilisation of
CRC Implementation According to UNCRC Concluding Observations. The
workshop was organised by the Ministry of Social Development and Human
Security in Bangkok and engaged over 100 government agencies, NGOs,
international organisations and youth representatives. Katesanee
addressed the importance of having national policy on combating child sex
tourism in place, promoting more involvement of private sector actors
from the travel industry as well as promoting the signing of Code of
Conduct within the travel and tourism business. She also emphasised the
urgent need for the enactment of anti child pornography law in Thailand.
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Thailand Team:
28 February 2012, Sayoomporn Kirinimitr, Youth motivator of YPP ECPAT
Foundation Thailand facilitated a youth consultation session for 38 youth
representatives from all over Thailand as part of the public hearing
workshop on Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the CRC to establish
a communications procedure. The hearing was organised by the Ministry of
Social Development and Human Security. The representatives agreed
unanimously that the Thai government should be encouraged to sign the
Optional Protocol, and that a united NGO position be established to
advocate effectively for the signing.
  
Ukraine Team:
Despite YPP-Ukraine’s funding coming to an end at the end of January
2012, the ECPAT YPP children and youth in Ukraine continued their work in
combating CSEC by implementing Peer Support Programmes and mass actions
in partner organisations. In February, they conducted many activities
around the European Day for Internet Safety; a number of YPP teams from
Kiev, Simferopol and Odessa conducted a survey among children and youth
on Internet safety and ran a number of training sessions.
  
Youth Day in Cameroon: an Opportunity to Raise Awareness of
CSEC
On 11 February, the 49th Cameroon youth festival was marked
by ASSEJA, the ECPAT Affiliate group in Cameroon. In its offices in
Yaoundé, Bertoua, Maroua and Bamenda, educational talks were held around
the theme of the festival ‘Youth participation and achievements for an
emerging Cameroon’. During the day, many young people joined processions,
throughout the country to raise awareness of CSEC and to spread messages
of struggle against CSEC through signs, T-shirts and leaflets. More than
10,000 people were reached.
  
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