It’s time to think about child protection.
While many now consider sustainable travel to be just as important as flight prices and sightseeing options, when polled (just as these young travellers in Germany were), there are still a significant number of people that have yet to factor in child protection. When choosing the destination of their next trip—think of the children’s rights.
Sexual exploitation can happen to children from all socioeconomic groups, educational levels, ethnic and cultural groups, and in every geographic region. However, children living in countries where poverty, political instability, and underdevelopment are an issue are especially vulnerable.
In these situations, families may be forced to make difficult decisions about to ensure their survival. Too often, it is the children who are at the receiving end and face the full brunt of the life-altering consequences, such as being withdrawn from school to work or being forced into child marriage. These decisions only increase theirs and their offsprings’ vulnerability to trafficking and sexual exploitation. It is a cycle of inequality that we must ensure gets broken.
Our research shows that online sexual exploitation is a growing issue. Both foreign and domestic child sex offender target the countries with more ‘lenient’ legal and policy frameworks to groom children and seek offline contact to directly abuse and exploit them.
To make this dream a reality, everyone’s help and support counts. We need your support.
Your donation will allow ECPAT to continue the vital research to better understand and address child sexual exploitation and its various forms.
As a conscientious traveller, here are three ways you can take action:
