ECPAT FRANCE launched a communications campaign with Air France, a committed partner of ECPAT for the past 15 years. Consisting of video, print and radio ads, and Internet banners, the campaign aims to raise awareness of child sex tourism, child pornography, and the prostitution of minors, highlighting laws that punish those who sexually exploit children. The campaign is being broadcast on television, radio, through print media, and on the web.

Ads are distributed through Air France agencies, airplanes, and buses, complimented by the circulation of leaflets and posters in partnership with ECPAT’s professional tourism partners. Unlike previous campaigns which focused on the repression aspects of the crime, this campaign raises awareness on the chain of exploitation that leads to the abuse of children in prostitution or pornography, highlighting the responsibility of the client/exploiter throughout the exploitative process. The videos are available here . For further information, please contact ecpat-france@wanadoo.fr

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the protection of minors from commercial sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. More specifically, the project aims to make it more difficult for travellers to sexually exploit minors in tourist destinations.

The activities implemented include the promotion of international cooperation and connections with activities regarding the Code of Conduct in tourist-sending and tourist-receiving countries. Other activities include strengthening local NGOs in selected destinations, improving their support towards informing relevant parties about the Code, and monitoring its implementation with general awareness-raising by these and other stakeholders.

The ECPAT programme for combating CST has been involved – on account of its expertise and geographical proximity – in the awareness-raising initiatives that are planned in the three Asian countries participating in the project. The first round of capacity-building and awareness-raising seminars is planned for September 2009.

ECPAT International’s anti-CST programme is directly involved in a three-year project initiated by ECPAT groups in Europe (ECPAT A, ECPAT D, ECPAT NL, ECPAT I, and the Tartu Child Support Centre) in collaboration with partners in six tourist-destination countries (Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, India, Kenya, the Philippines, and South Africa).

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the protection of minors from commercial sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. More specifically, the project aims to make it more difficult for European perpetrators to abuse minors in developing countries and to put pressure on them to refrain from this severe infringement of human rights.

The specific objective of the project is to increase the awareness, capacity and motivation to take action for the protection of minors from commercial sexual exploitation of children in tourism among European actors involved in tourism from the public and private sectors, media, and individuals.

One of the expected outcomes of the project is the publication (in hard copy) of the new ECPAT tool kit that was released – in electronic format – in view of World Congress III towards the end of 2008 and that, through the activities envisaged by the project, and additional feedback from practitioners using its modules, should be duly integrated and amended by the end of the project timeline.

ECPAT International has continued to provide its support to the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. Since early 2007 the Code has undertaken a process of restructuring its governing bodies to better face its successful growth and to support a fast-increasing number of Code signatories.

Since October 2008 the ECPAT Programme Officer for Combating Child-Sex Tourism has served the Code in the capacity of Acting Chair of the Executive Committee, following the resignation of the Chairperson in charge at the time. Thanks to excellent collaboration with Code members from both the industry and NGO fold, good progress has been achieved over the past half year towards a substantial change of the internal regulations.

For more information please visit The Code