ECPAT

ECPAT is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the sexual exploitation of children involved in prostitution, child, early and forced marriages, and the sexual exploitation of children in the travel and tourism industry. The ECPAT International network consists of 122 member organisations in 104 countries. Its secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand, providing technical support to member groups, coordinating research, and managing international advocacy campaigns.

ECPAT is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the sexual exploitation of children involved in prostitution, child, early and forced marriages, and the sexual exploitation of children in the travel and tourism industry. The ECPAT International network consists of 122 member organisations in 104 countries. Its secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand, providing technical support to member groups, coordinating research, and managing international advocacy campaigns. ==History== In 1990, researchers and activists helped to establish ECPAT (an acronym for End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism) as a three-year campaign to end "sex tourism," with an initial focus on Asia. As the terms "child prostitution" and "sex tourism" are no longer used in the sector, today the organisation goes by its initials ECPAT. Anti-Slavery International was one of the original supporters, and helped to set up a branch in the UK. In 1996, in partnership with UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Rights of the Child (now known as Child Rights Connect ), ECPAT International co-organised a global world congress against the sexual exploitation of children in Stockholm, Sweden. The congress was hosted by the Government of Sweden, which also played a major role in attracting support and participation from other governments. As a result, ECPAT grew from a regional campaign into a global non-governmental organisation. Between 2009 and 2012, ECPAT, in partnership with The Body Shop, helped run the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign, which called on governments to safeguard the rights of children and adolescents to protect them from trafficking for sexual purposes. More than 7 million petition signatures were collected from 50 countries worldwide and presented to government officials around the world and to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It has been recognised as one of the largest human rights petitions ever presented to the UN. ==Network membership== The ECPAT network currently consists of 104 member organisations in 93 countries. These include independent civil society organisations, grassroots NGOs and coalitions of NGOs focused on a range of child rights violations. ==Protecting children online== ECPAT International works with law enforcement partners, such as INTERPOL, to prevent the online sexual exploitation of children. It engages with other child rights organisations, for example, through the Internet Governance Forum, and is a member of the Virtual Global Taskforce and the European Financial Coalition against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Online. ECPAT is also part of the International Telecommunication Union´s Child Online Protection initiative. ECPAT has signed agreements with the International Association of Internet Hotlines, the Internet Watch Foundation and Child Helpline International. ECPAT advocates for the ratification of international and regional legal instruments such as the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote convention). ==Awards== The 1998 Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for Human Rights The 2012 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award The 2012 Gold Standard Award for NGO engagement for the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children campaign The 2013 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize The 2017 INTERPOL Crimes Against Children Award ==References== ==External links== Beyond Borders, representative NGO of ECPAT

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