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 commercial sexual exploitation. Russia is among the top ten origin countries for trafficked persons, although a lack of strong data collection makes it difficult to obtain disaggregated figures of number of children who are victims. 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 significant problem. Read the Summary report here
Despite the fact that Russia has an active Child Rights Ombudsperson, most cooperation and coordination mechanisms remain informal rather than systematic. While the government has advanced some legislation related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, it has not yet ratified the OPSC (Optional Protocol to the Convention on the rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography), various other European treaties, and many current legal provisions do not meet international standards. In ECPAT International's Country Monitoring Report for Russia a number of key recommendations include the need to develop a centralised registry for child sex offenders and ratifying and implementing the OPSC.
To read more of ECPAT International's recommendations and the current status of action to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Russia – download the full report here.