Resources and Research

The Global Study provides a comprehensive overview of the sexual exploitation of children through travel and tourism – but it is not limited to a single report. Below you can also find studies of the situation in different regions and countries. Independent experts have also conducted research or written reports on different aspects of the issue, with perspectives from the travel and tourism sector, law enforcement agencies, governments, civil society, academics and international organizations.

This website is also a repository to share reports and research from other studies, organisations and institutions across the world working to end the exploitation of children in travel and tourism. We invite you to share your news, resources and practical examples on how to protect children in travel and tourism. Let’s create a central repository together!

Global
- A Call for Restarting Travel & Tourism with Child Protection in Focus
  The COVID-19 crisis has and is still affecting economies and disrupting travel and tourism businesses worldwide. The situation is pushing many families further into poverty and making children more vu ...
- Declaration and Call for Action for the Protection of Children in Travel and Tourism – International Summit Bogota
  In June 2018, the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of the Capital District of Bogota (IDT), the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ...
- Down To Zero – Effective Ways to Engage the Private Sector
  Guidance for Civil Society Organisations Working on Child Protection This guidance was developed by the Down to Zero Alliance to support Civil Society Organisations in their engagement with the pri ...
- G Adventures – Child Wellbeing in the Travel Industry: Global Good Practice Guidelines
  The Child Welfare and the Travel Industry: Global Good Practice Guidelines have been developed by G Adventures, Friends International and Planeterra Foundation to provide a common understanding of chi ...
- Global Standard for Volunteering for Development
  This is the first standard of its kind, and will support organisations that work with volunteers to improve their practice and their impact. As part of Area 2: Safeguarding and Protection, the standar ...
- International Summit on Child Protection in Travel and Tourism – Report
  The International Summit on Child Protection in Travel and Tourism was organized by the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism - in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of the Capital ...
- Legal Checklist – Key Legal Interventions to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism
  Despite 20 years of efforts, the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT) has expanded across the globe and out-paced every attempt to respond at the international and national le ...
- The Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism 2016
  Despite 20 years of efforts, the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT) has expanded across the globe and out-paced every attempt to respond at the international and national le ...
- UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2018 – Session Report
  Co-organized by ECPAT International and the International Tourism Partnership, the session on ‘human rights due diligence in practice in the tourism sector’, was the first time the sector has gath ...
- Video – Speak Out: The Sexual Exploitation of Children by Tourists and Travellers
  The sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism has dramatically expanded across the globe. The huge growth in international and domestic travel has increased both the number of travelle ...
- Youth Friendly – The Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism 2016
  Have you ever taken a flight? Boarded a ship? Travelled by train or bus to another city? If you have, then you’re one of the millions of people who criss-cross our skies, sail our waters, and zip ba ...
Regional
- East Asia – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- Europe and Central Asia – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- Latin America – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- Middle East and North Africa – Regional Report
  As part of the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT) being conducted by ECPAT International and its partners, this report is produced to provide a geographi ...
- North America – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- Pacific – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- South Asia – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- Southeast Asia – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- Southeast Asia – Benevolent Harm: Orphanages, Voluntourism and Child Sexual Exploitation – Australian Institute of Criminology
  Institution-based sexual exploitation, including within orphanages, is on the rise in South- East Asia. While the drivers of this increase are complex, the growth in volunteer and orphanage tourism cr ...
- Sub-Saharan Africa – Regional Report
  This regional report has been prepared as a contribution to the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism conducted by ECPAT International in collaboration with numerou ...
- THE AMERICAS: First overview on child protection standards to make travel and tourism free from sexual exploitation
  Civil society organisations in the Americas have long been working with the travel and tourism sector to protect children from sexual exploitation. An essential tool is codes of conduct that guide all ...
Country
- Belgium – Fighting impunity of transnational child sex offenders. What is the impact of the Belgian extraterritorial legislation?
  In 2016, ECPAT Belgium published a study called: « Fighting impunity of transnational child sex offenders. What is the impact of the Belgian extraterritorial legislation? ». Since 1995, Belgium h ...
- Bolivia – UNICEF – Commercial sexual exploitation of children in mining and extractive industry zones in territories of the departments of La Paz, Oruro and Potosí
  In Mapiri, Santa Rosa and Mayaya, 80% of the escorts in bars are teenagers. In Potosí, in 7 out of the 17 brothels, researches identified adolescents. The research aims to influence changes based on ...
- Brazil – Country-Specific Report
  In Brazil, modern-day slavery and child labour are rampant. Many have raised concerns as to the effects of mega sports events on the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in a country alre ...
- China – Country-Specific Report
  Today nearly one in ten tourists in the world is Chinese. All forecasts suggest that the growing trend will continue over the next few years and “will surely continue to change the map of world tour ...
- Colombia – Building protective environments for children
  The document “Construyendo entornos protectores de la niñez como estrategia de prevención de la explotación sexual commercial” was prepared by Fundación Renacer - ECPAT Colombia to share their ...
- Colombia – Country-Specific Report
  The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in travel and tourism is a reality that affects Colombian children living in different locations, beyond the cities and sites that are nationally ...
- Costa Rica – Guidelines for tourism companies about how to react in case of witnessing suspicious situations of commercial sexual exploitation of children – Paniamor & the Costa Rican Tourism Foundation Institute
  Tourism businesses should have a policy of zero tolerance towards any form of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and are committed to ensuring compliance with the rights of minors. T ...
- Georgia – Country-Specific Report
  The Public Health Foundation of Georgia (PHF) conducted a qualitative research on commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in Georgia, which contributed to the Global Study on the Sexual Expl ...
- Ghana – Country-Specific Report
  Child sex tourism (CST) or sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT) is a growing threat to children in many countries all over the world, particularly those who receive significan ...
- Greece – Country-Specific Report
  Despite the centrality of tourism to Greece’s economy, there is a scarcity of data and lack of understanding of the scale of SECTT. With a projection of up to 35 million tourist arrivals annually, u ...
- India – Country-Specific Report
  India is home to the biggest child population in the world. The country has an approximate of 440 million children, thus constituting more than 40% of the total population. With more than one-third of ...
- Indonesia – Country-Specific Report
  Indonesia is one of the world’s major tourism destinations. The high tourism rate in Indonesia is influenced by easy access to its nationwide tourist attractions, high volume of flights and cheap ac ...
- Kenya – Country-Specific Report
  ECPAT and ANPPCAN Regional Office carried out research on the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism in Kenya in 2015. The purpose of the research was to strengthen the evidence-base an ...
- Mexico – UNICEF – Children and the Hotel Industry in Mexico
  This report Children and the Hotel Industry in Mexico by UNICEF spotlights the immense potential of the hotel industry to positively affect children’s rights. Key findings and areas of recommendati ...
- Mexico – A responsible and sustainable tourism industry – prevention of commercial sexual exploitation of children – ECPAT Mexico
  This publication by ECPAT Mexico provides general guidance to the travel and tourism industry on the problem of sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and ways of developing responsible ...
- Nepal – The Freedom Fund – Minors in Kathmandu’s Entertainment Sector
  This report, Minors in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector: What’s driving demand? seeks to understand the profiles of those who use the services of children. After conducting in-depth interv ...
- Norway – Country Specific Report
  As a contribution to the Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism, ECPAT Norway joined parliamentarians, representatives from the Police Directorate, the travel and touris ...
- Panama – country overview
  Country Overview Report on Panama shows increasing child sexual abuse and exploitation reports since 2013, with a 68% increase between 2017 and 2018. Perhaps counter-intuitively, this increase is enco ...
- Russia – Country-Specific Report
  This study was aimed at forming the basis for further activities aimed at protection of Russian children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism and at prevention of cases of sexual exploitatio ...
- South Africa – Country-Specific Report
  Some African countries are considered emerging tourism destinations for child sexual offenders. It is difficult to obtain statistics or figures on the scale and scope of such violations due to the lac ...
- Turkey – Country-Specific Report
  Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is one of the most heinous forms of child rights violations in in the world including in Turkey. While, in Turkey, national and local reports and stud ...
- Ukraine – Country-Specific Report
  How did Ukraine appear in the list of countries where commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is common? It is difficult to answer, because the problem is hidden and its reasons are comprehe ...
- United Kingdom – Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Investigation
  A landmark Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) investigation revealed systemic and procedural failures to prevent UK nationals from sexually exploiting children abroad. The report incl ...
- USA – Stamping Out Exploitation in Travel: Measuring Progress in the Fight to Eliminate SECTT
  ECPAT-USA’s Stamping Out Exploitation in Travel report presents key findings and themes from a study of 70 companies in the US travel industry on their initiatives to fight the sexual exploitation o ...
- USA – Unpacking Human Trafficking in the Hospitality Industry
  Unpacking Human Trafficking is a summary of the laws in the United States relating to the display of human trafficking awareness posters in lodging facilities, the requirement that employees be traine ...
- Zambia – Country-Specific Report
  The sexual exploitation of children by local and international tourists is a growing concern and needs urgent attention, particularly from governments in developing countries. Tourism is a growing ind ...
Independent Contributions
- Academia
  - ‘Say nothing, see nothing, hear nothing’. Ending the Silence On All Forms of Violence Against Children
    This report gathers presentations and contributions from the 14th International Congress on violence against children organized by FAPMI-ECPAT España in Barcelona, November 2018. The conference outli ...
  - A Fourth Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Establishing a New Standard for Corporate Violations of International Child Law
    Hecht, Mark Erik Significant gaps exist in the effectiveness of attempts to address human rights violations of the private sector through domestic law, international law, and civil regulation, leavin ...
  - Child Sex Tourism in Samoa
    Christiansen, Lurlene This paper provides a snapshot of child sex tourism in a Samoan tourist setting, based on research conducted in 2009 that focused on the scope, risk factors and underlying cau ...
  - Incomes and Education, Keys to Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation in Thailand
    Sharron, Derek Kent; Manzanares, Julia At its core, to continue to combat child prostitution, Thailand as a nation must develop greater respect for its women. Young girls must be taught they are able ...
  - Travelling Sex Offenders
    Sullivan, Joe – Mentor Forensics The term Travelling Child Sex Offender (TCSO) has become a widely used alternative to the inadequate concept of the ‘sex tourist’ and describes individuals who ...
  - Use of Smartphone Applications by Travelling Sex Offenders
    Kai, J. Jonas, Guadamuz, Thomas Travelling child sex offenders (TCSOs) are not a homogenous group. They can be disaggregated by purpose of travel and degree of intention, this is necessary in identif ...
  - ‘Upstream’ Training to Raise Awareness and Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children in the International Tourism, Hospitality & Events Industry
    Nolan, Ray – Sheffield Hallam University The scale, scope and complexity of business structures, seasonal influences and vulnerability to negative publicity inherent in the international tourism se ...
- Civil Society
  - A Multi-Stakeholder Initiative to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism
    The Code The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism (The Code) was officially launched by ECPAT in Sweden in 1998. Since then it has become a tr ...
  - Access to Justice for Child Victims of Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism
    ECPAT International A lack of data exists pertaining to the unique challenges and barriers that child victims of sexual exploitation, including sexual exploitation in travel and tourism, face when ac ...
  - Assessment of Legal Frameworks that Address Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism
    ECPAT International This report assess current international, regional and domestic legal responses to combat Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT). The report also aims to hi ...
  - Child Sexual Exploitation: What Do Mega Sporting Events Have to Do with It?
    Terre Des Hommes In 2013, the Brunel University published a groundbreaking research on sexual exploitation and the FIFA World Cup. The key message conveyed was that although Mega Sporting Events may ...
  - Commentary on the Global Study
    Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children Several of the key findings of the Global Study on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism merit comment. This is particularly tr ...
  - Comparison of European low-threshold reporting mechanisms
    Comparison of European low-threshold reporting mechanisms to gather good practices and needs is part of the “ALERT ACTORS REPORT: A protective environment for children to live free from sexual explo ...
  - Corporate Social Responsibility and Liability of the Travel and Tourism Industry in Cases of Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism
    ECPAT International It is necessary for States to have adequate legal and institutional frameworks to protect children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. Companies that fail to protect c ...
  - Developments in the UK’s Response to Child Sex Trafficking
    ECPAT UK This report presents a brief overview of the scale of child sexual exploitation and child trafficking in the UK, and describes existing and new national responses to child protection and an ...
  - Effective Ways of Working with the Private Sector – Background Paper and Guidance
    This paper was prepared by the Down to Zero Alliance (DtZ) with the objective of clarifying and strengthening ECPAT and DtZ’s position on working with the travel and tourism industry and providing ...
  - From Volunteering to Volun-tourism: Challenges for the Management of a Growing Travel Trend
    Bread for the World – Tourism Watch Projects in which volunteers directly work with children in schools, play schools, youth clubs or even orphanages are the most popular form of volun-tourism, als ...
  - How to Measure the Prevalence of Child Sex Trafficking
    International Justice Mission Over the last ten years, International Justice Mission (IJM) has developed several unique methodologies to measure the prevalence of child sex trafficking in our project ...
  - Human Rights Impact Assessment Thailand&Myanmar
    A value-chain-focused human rights impact assessment conducted by the Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism. The report summarizes the key findings of the value-chain-focused human rights impact assessme ...
  - International Task Force on Child Protection
    International Coalition of Schools The international task force on child protection is a coalition of a diverse range of stakeholders with child-related work that seeks to gather diverse perspectives ...
  - International Volunteering and Child Sexual Abuse
    Better Volunteering Better Care 'Orphanage volunteering' or 'orphanage tourism' has become a popular activity among tourists, faith-based organisations, education providers and young people on gap ye ...
  - Law Enforcement as the Entry Point to Access to Justice
    International Bureau for Children’s Rights Laws that protect children from sexual exploitation are in place in most countries, their proper enforcement and implementation, however, are often proble ...
  - Quality standards for reporting lines for child sexual exploitation in travel and tourism
    The ECPAT network has published a new study outlining quality standards for reporting lines for child sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. Since 2014, the platform www.dontlookaway.report has b ...
  - Research Report: Reluctance to report sexual exploitation of children related to travel and tourism
    The research report was produced by Defence for Children – ECPAT the Netherlands, with joint data collection from Universiteit Leiden, ECPAT Austria, ECPAT Belgium, ECPAT France and ECPAT Germany. T ...
  - Sexual Exploitation of Children by Travelling Workers in the Solomon Islands
    Save the Children This is the first report to look into the sexual exploitation of children by travelling workers in the Solomon Islands. Broadly, the purpose of the report was to better understand t ...
  - The Power of Public-Private Partnerships in Eradicating Child Sexual Exploitation
    ECPAT International Child sexual exploitation is morphing and becoming more difficult and insidious. It also illustrates a larger phenomenon. As technology evolves, so does its use for child exploita ...
  - The Recovery and Reintegration of Children
    International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Aricle 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the right to recovery and reintegration of children from sexual exp ...
  - The Right to Privacy of Travelling Child Sex Offenders versus the Right of Children to Protection
    ECPAT International Children especially, those who have been victims of sexual abuse or exploitation by travelling sex offenders deserve protection at international, regional and domestic levels. At ...
  - Travelling Child Sex Offenders in Cambodia
    Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) In 2003, Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) was established in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as an international NGO. Initially, APLE assisted the police with investigations about s ...
  - U.S. Legal Remedies for Minor Victims of Sexual Exploitation
    Combatting the crime of sexual exploitation of children is a holistic process which requires not only preventing or prosecuting offenders, but supporting child victims. This document, produced by the ...
  - Voluntourism and Child Trafficking into Orphanages
    Forget Me Not Australia Volunteering in orphanages has become a popular activity for people travelling to developing nations as a way for westerners to ‘give back’ whilst seeing the world. Howeve ...
- Governments
  - A Guide to Megan’s Laws: Prevention of Domestic and International Sexual Exploitation of Children
    Smith, Chris – Member of Congress of the United States of America The International Labor Organization estimates that 1.8 million children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation around the w ...
  - Costa Rica: A Sustainable Tourist Destination Committed to Protect Children
    Ministry of Tourism of Costa Rica Costa Rica, a small territory located in the heart of the American continent, has become a tangible example of tourism synonymous with progress, well-being, socioeco ...
  - Government’s Responsibilities as Countries of Demand, Supply and/or Victimisation
    National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence Against Children, The Netherlands In this paper, the Dutch government places the fight against sexual exploitation of children i ...
- International Organisations
  - A Brief Analysis of the Domestic Legal Frameworks in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam
    UNODC The UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific recently undertook legislative reviews in the above four countries to examine the extent to which domestic legislation met key inter ...
  - Submission of the SRSG
    UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children – Marta Santos Pais The United Nations Study on Violence against Children addressed a number of different aspects of ...
  - Tackling the Demand for the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism
    UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography – Maud de Boer-Buquicchio Over time, the unique profile of a travelling child sex offender has become increas ...
  - The Changing Face of Tourism
    UNWTO Tourism’s sustained growth represents an enormous potential to spur economic development, social progress and intracultural exchange between people across the globe. However, with growth come ...
- Law Enforcement
  - Angelwatch
    Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI developed Operation Angel Watch to proactively identify individuals travelling to foreign countries who have been convicted of a sexual c ...
  - Australian Travelling Child Sex Offenders
    Australian Federal Police Transnational child sexual exploitation is under-reported within many overseas jurisdictions. Cultural barriers and poor levels of community awareness, combined with relianc ...
  - Case Study
    National Crime Agency Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, West Mercia Police A case study depicting a situation whereby a foreigner enters the country, establishing him/herself and start ...
  - Connecting Police and NGOs for the Safety of Children
    INTERPOL Child exploitation tends to be a local crime to be dealt with on a national level and INTERPOL can assist through networking, capacity building and sharing best practices. There are however ...
  - Europol Approach to Transnational Child Sexual Exploitation
    Europol Europol's cyber-crime centre (EC3) is mandated to investigate and prevent cybercrime that causes serious harm to its victims, including online child sexual exploitation. Within EC3 a dedicate ...
  - Increased Attention to Transnational Child Sex Offenders
    National Police of the Netherlands The Dutch government, including the National Police of the Netherlands and the Public Prosecutors Office, recognises the importance of strong international collabor ...
- Travel and Tourism Businesses
  - Carlson’s Leadership in the Prevention of Human Trafficking
    Carlson The hospitality industry has a critical role to play in protecting the most vulnerable minors and women from trafficking as well as putting strong safeguards in place to prevent these crimes ...
  - Combatting the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism: A historic commitment from the Accor Hotels Group
    Accor Hotels Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT) is a crucial issue for an international hotel group such as AccorHotels. With over 170 million customers staying in its 3,80 ...
  - Leading the Private Sector in Combatting SECTT
    Kuoni Group During the last nine years, Kuoni has taken a leading role by engaging with different stakeholders in building awareness regarding the vulnerability of children to sexual exploitation due ...
  - Volunteer Tourism and Child Protection
    Calabash Tours Calabash Tours and its NGO partner Calabash Trust are a social enterprise based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa engaging in volunteer tourism as a way of developing poor communities in ...
Thematic Notes
- Engaging the Private Sector in Child Protection in Travel and Tourism
  Partnerships between civil society organizations and the private sector have the potential to bring global attention and aid in the fight to eliminate the sexual exploitation of children in travel and ...
- SECTT & Terminology
  The sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT) has been referred to as ‘child sex tourism’, however this term does not convey its criminal nature. SECTT is not another form of t ...
- Sexual Exploitation of Children & Voluntourism
  Volunteering is a valuable way to contribute to society that can bring positive benefits to both the community and the volunteer. But despite the best of intentions, certain forms of voluntourism, inc ...
- Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism & Online
  Travelling child sex offenders are increasingly using fast-developing technologies to commit their crimes. This thematic note looks at how SECTT (sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism) ...

Resources and Research

Global

Regional

Country

Independent Contributions

Academia

Civil Society

Governments

International Organisations

Law Enforcement

Travel and Tourism Businesses

Thematic Notes