Ending the Silence on Child Sexual Exploitation

How can we ensure that the voices of girls and young women, particularly those from socially excluded and exploited groups, are heard and included in decision-making processes?

In Africa and around the world, girls and young women from socially excluded and exploited groups face numerous challenges when it comes to participating in decision-making processes.   In this episode, we're focusing on the progress being made in Kenya by our member organization, Kenya Alliance ACR, as well as members of parliament and survivors.  

Join us as we explore the importance of centering the voices of girls and young women in decision-making processes and work together to create a better, more equitable future for all. 

ABOUT SHE LEADS

She Leads is a joint programme of Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children - ECPAT the Netherlands (DCI-ECPAT), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), and Terre des Hommes the Netherlands (TdH). Equal Measures 2030 is a technical partner.

The geographic focus of the programme is East Africa (Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya), West Africa (Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia) and the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan). In addition to programming in these countries, a considerable part of the programming will be done at regional level, targeting regional institutions and other stakeholders operating at regional level.

How can we ensure that the voices of girls and young women, particularly those from socially excluded and exploited groups, are heard and included in decision-making processes?

ABOUT SHE LEADS

She Leads is a joint programme of Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children - ECPAT the Netherlands (DCI-ECPAT), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), and Terre des Hommes the Netherlands (TdH). Equal Measures 2030 is a technical partner.

The geographic focus of the programme is East Africa (Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya), West Africa (Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia) and the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan). In addition to programming in these countries, a considerable part of the programming will be done at regional level, targeting regional institutions and other stakeholders operating at regional level.

We’ve all heard of people, even friends or acquaintances who have gone off for a few weeks to build a school, or taught English in far-flung places, very often with the good intentions to bring a positive change.

This form of volunteer work is more commonly known as voluntourism—the merging of travel and voluntary work, as part of the products offered by the travel market. Despite the good intentions of travellers to bring about positive change to communities, it is often not well channelled. Besides overall concerns about the impact that such short-term trips by unskilled volunteers have on the welfare of children and the entire communities, some forms of voluntourism and “social trips” pose additional risks to the safety and protection of children.

In this episode of Ending The Silence we delve into the world of voluntourism, why it is harmful to children, and how it increases the risk of child sexual exploitation and abuse? Together with ECPAT member organisations from Sri Lanka and Indonesia, we examine the impacts and risks of unregulated tourism on children, and share what needs to be done to protect children as part of responsible and sustainable tourism development.

Want to learn more?

Read our artile: "How voluntourism may facilitate the sexual exploitation of children. What can be done to protect children?"

Learn more about The Code's Voluntourism Policy

Find out how you can make responsible travel choices while volunteering with children

Changing laws and policies isn’t always enough. To really protect children, actions must follow, and in ways that are tailored to the local situation and needs. The ECPAT research team tells us why, with examples from our forthcoming country overviews on Peru, India and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We talk about how child marriage, domestic trafficking and legal duties for the travel sector are examples of how law reform and action must go hand in hand.

We know that norms about gender and masculinity play a key role in the sexual exploitation of boys all around the world. What's expected of “being a man” can vary between different countries. The ECPAT Boys Study examines gender norms, among other factors, as we explore the sexual exploitation of boys in 10 countries around the world. In this episode, ECPAT’s research team and ECPAT member organisations Hintalovon Hungary and ECPAT South Korea give us behind-the-scenes insights on the research and share what we know so far.

Lear more about this project at Global Boys Initiative - ECPAT

And follow the campaign #ECPATBoysStudy via Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin

New research from ECPAT International shines a light on boys engaging in their own sexual exploitation by selling sex in Thailand. The report reveals a big knowledge gap amongst frontline welfare service providers, problematic beliefs and attitudes about male and gender diverse child victims, systematic victim-blaming, and an urgent need to adjust support services to fit boy survivors’ needs.

In 2020, ECPAT carefully talked with 20 young people of ‘diverse SOGIE’ who are exchanging sex, to learn what their life is like. In this group, 11 young people identified their gender as male; six called themselves ‘ladyboys’; two identified as trans women, and one as ‘gender of the alternative.’ They were between 15–24 years old, and the majority migrated to cities from rural provinces in Thailand. The majority had been exchanging sex for over a year and around half started doing so while still children. The team at ECPAT also wanted to understand welfare service providers’ attitudes to working with boys and talked to 65 frontline workers in Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Pattaya. This is what we found.

You can read more here or follow the campaign on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa have long struggled with protecting girls from sexual exploitation. Offenders take advantage of legal loopholes and weak child protection systems to commit their crimes and get away with it. The need for change was urgent, and ECPAT took on the mission of making a change. In this episode, we'll walk you through how we did it.

Thanks to our partners in the Girls Advocacy Alliance; Plan International Netherlands, Terres des Hommes Netherlands, Defence for children-ECPAT Netherlands, and to our regional partners ASEAN, SAIEVAC, AIPA and ACERWC.

In episode 13, youth activists Jana from North Macedonia, and Miatta and Isaac from Liberia helped us understand how UN's Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women can help protect girls and women from sexual exploitation. In this episode, we'll hear more from them about how they are working for girls' rights in their own communities. 

With support from Girls Advocacy Alliance - an initiative of Plan International Netherlands, Terre des Hommes Netherlands and Defence for Children - ECPAT Netherlands, in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, La Strada International, International Women's Rights Action Watch, Defence for Children International-Liberia (ECPAT Liberia). Podcast edit: Magdalena Mair.

Corinne Dettmeijer from the Netherlands is nominated to be one of the new experts of the United Nation’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, and in this episode, she helps us understand how we can join forces to protect girls and women worldwide. Youth activists Jana from North Macedonia, and Miatta and Isaac from Liberia will also ask Corinne a bunch of questions about her work and the way ahead.

With support from Girls Advocacy Alliance - an initiative of Plan International Netherlands, Terre des Hommes Netherlands and Defence for Children - ECPAT Netherlands, in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, La Strada International, International Women's Rights Action Watch, Defence for Children International-Liberia (ECPAT Liberia). Podcast edit: Magdalena Mair 

Today, we're telling you what we know about the sexual exploitation of children in Albania. For example, Roma children are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, children exploited in prostitution are not fully protected by the law and the government's strategies and plans to protect children have little funding and therefore can't be implemented. www.ecpat.org/albania