This report details the environment in which the Sexual Exploitation of Children continues in Europe as well as providing some recommendations for government, nongovernment and private sector responses in the prevention and combating of this crime.
"More children than ever are at risk of being sexually exploited by travellers and tourists and no country is immune. Since the early 1990s when evidence came to light that European nationals were sexually abusing and exploiting children in developing countries, sharp increases in travel and tourism have multiplied the opportunities and venues available to travelling child sex offenders worldwide.
Europe welcomed over half of the world’s international tourists in 2014 with 588 million visitors, and is still the number one tourism destination in the world, especially for everincreasing number of Chinese travellers which reached 109 million worldwide in 2014 compared to just 10 million in 2000.
The explosion of the internet and mobile technology has afforded perpetrators anonymity and hidden pathways to groom children and seduce them via social media and internet games. Likewise, new travel and tourism services like home-stays, voluntourism and the shareconomy have increased this anonymity and heightened children’s vulnerability.
However, progress has been made since the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm in 1996. Twenty years later, world leaders from nearly every country in the world have approved global targets to end the sexual exploitation of children in the Sustainable Development Goals, which replace the Millennium Development Goals from 2016 onwards. The world has recognised that we cannot allow children to fall victim to this devastating experience, which has life-long consequences on their mental and physical well-being.
This report provides an updated picture of the environment in which SECTT persists in Europe and proposes a set of recommendations to improve government, nongovernment and private sector responses to prevent and combat this crime. As such, it will assist in the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals related to children’s right to live free from sexual exploitation."
This extract was taken from the original publication. To consult the full text on the ECPAT website, please follow the link below.