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[/profileleft]Most people would agree there are few things more despicable, horrifying and shocking than a world containing individuals who would travel to pay for sex with a minor. This has been a growing problem for years now, and in response governments across the world as well as advocacy groups and children’s rights lawyers have worked tirelessly to curb the tide of child sex tourism.
While these efforts have been noble, it seems at this point they have not brought about an end to this scourge on all of humanity. Unfortunately, it appears the opposite is happening according to a study that was just released.
About the Troubling Study
The study at issue here was initiated by ECPAT International, a group that works to bring about the end of child pornography, child prostitution and human trafficking of children for sexual purposes. A link to a download of the work can be found here. The researchers who conducted the study focused on an effort to lower the number of children who are exploited in this manner that has been going on for 20 years across the world. The researchers found that:
- During the past 20 years international travel arrivals have more than doubled.
- Increased technology capabilities have also increased the ability to engage in child sexual exploitation.
- The most vulnerable children are those who are minorities in their country, street children or LGBT.
- The conviction rate for child sexual exploitation offenders is alarmingly low across the world.
While many people would think of certain parts of the world as more likely to be the places where sexual exploitation of children takes place, the study revealed that no place is immune from this problem and no child is assured of being spared from this type of irreparable harm. What’s perhaps most troubling is that a majority of countries – even those that are considered most developed – do not have very reliable data available with regards to child sexual exploitation arrests or convictions.
What Can and Should Be Done?
The study goes on to put forth several different recommendations in order to step up efforts on this serious problem, including:
- Ratifying the UN World Tourism Organization’s Code of Ethics into an international convention
- Creating sound, safe and dependable reporting systems in every country for children who are exploited
- Working with online service providers to deal better with the growth of sexual exploitation over the Internet
- Creating a worldwide sharing protocol for different law enforcement agencies
- Expanding support service for children who survive sexual exploitation
The bottom line, sadly, appears to be that there is still a lot to be done when it comes to the sexual exploitation of children around the world. As international travel continues to rise and the speed, security and accessibility of the Internet and mobile technologies continue to grow this is a situation that could continue to get worse.
Gomez Trial Attorneys – Children’s Rights Lawyers
All of the children’s rights lawyers at Gomez Trial Attorneys work relentlessly to protect the legal rights of young people so that they can avoid this type of unspeakable harm.
We will always work to fight against those who perpetrate this type of crime and we will always make sure to bring as much attention to this sickening problem as we can. These types of studies are difficult to read and to think about, but we owe it to our children to understand the risks that they face so that we can help them avoid them.
If you know of anyone who has been harmed in this manner, contact the child sexual abuse lawyers at the firm as soon as possible.
