The ECPAT network has expanded from 4 groups (all in Asia) prior to the World Congress in 1996 to 72 groups in 65 different countries by 2004. All of these groups are independent organisations or coalitions working against commercial sexual exploitation of children. As of September 2004, the distribution of ECPAT groups was as follows: Europe: 21 groups; Africa: 13 groups; East Asia and Pacific: 14 groups; South Asia: 8 groups; North America: 3 groups; Latin America: 11 groups; Middle East and North Africa 2 groups.

The ECPAT network as a whole is composed of the ECPAT groups, who gather every 3 years and form the International Assembly; the International Board, elected by the International Assembly; and the International Secretariat, at the origin of the movement, and the driving force behind it. Other informal entities, such as ECPAT Europe, a regional grouping of Western European members, and individuals (Regional Coordinators, Regional Representatives) play a significant role in the functioning of the movement.

The International Secretariat also links with international non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations (Interpol, World Tourism Organisation, Inter-americano Instituto del Niño, ASEM, and various United Nations agencies, especially UNICEF and ILO-IPEC) for exchange of skills, information, and advocacy purposes. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the NGO Group Focal Point Programme on child sexual exploitation, abuse and violence; one aspect of the understanding is that each organisation will share its work plan with the other. Linkages with all these organisations brings external pressures to bear on national governments to implement the Stockholm Declaration and Agenda for Action

The strength of the ECPAT movement is based on its activities at local, national and international levels. These activities empower the constituents of the movement in a number of ways. The work of the national and affiliate groups at local and national level validates the role of the International Secretariat. At the same time, the international activities carried out and/or promoted and/or assisted by the Secretariat give strength and credibility to the individual groups. The combination of the work of all the ECPAT actors give the movement an increasing status and authority in international circles. The ECPAT movement is indeed the main player in the fight against CSEC.

Within the ECPAT network, groups have different roles and focus depending on the particularities of the country/region they operate in, whether in terms of the situation of CSEC, economic power, or cultural context.

The Western European groups, as well as Australia and New-Zealand in the Pacific, understand that part of their role as ECPAT groups is the enhancement of the capacities of groups in the developing countries. They are therefore interested in developing bilateral and multilateral co-operation arrangements for the transfer of skills, and sharing lobbying tools. Their national activities focus mainly on combating child sex tourism as "sending" countries, trafficking of children for sexual purposes as "receiving" countries, and child pornography on the Internet.

In the Latin American region, the groups have started networking with each other to increase the pressure on governments to implement the Agenda for Action. This work has been supported by the ECPAT International Secretariat and the Inter-American Children's Institute, an organ of the Organization of American States. Trafficking of children for sexual purposes and child prostitution are the main focus of the activities of Latin American groups.

North America is faced with increasing levels of child prostitution, trafficking, and child pornography. ECPAT groups on the continent face significant challenges given the region's size and diversity. North American groups are working to fight child commercial sexual exploitation through public awareness raising of the issue and through political lobbying and legal reform campaigns. They are focusing on changing the region's role as a "receiver" of trafficked children and as a major "sender" of sex tourism exploiters. Local groups also face the challenge of fighting Internet child pornography, as the region is a major producer and distributor of these exploitative images. The ECPAT groups in this region are working to expand their coalitions and the ECPAT network, as well as to strengthen intra-regional cooperation.

In Africa, groups want to develop their skills to combat CSEC and to build a network. There are very active groups in some African countries, and some progress has been made on effective networking in East and West Africa. Activities include combating trafficking of children for sexual purposes and child prostitution.

In Asia, vigorous work against CSEC is being undertaken in some countries, but this is not being replicated enough in the rest of the region. Networking has been poor, even sometimes within countries, but some interesting initiatives are under way. Asia faces all the different aspects of CSEC at worrying levels. ECPAT groups are working on many aspects of CSEC in this region.

The task of ECPAT International is to identify interested groups and encourage and assist them with information and skills sharing both nationally and regionally to increase the effectiveness of those working to combat CSEC. We are constantly looking for new partners in all regions, but more specifically where ECPAT has little or no representation at all.