Following the first “Global Survivors’ Forum” organized by ECPAT International and which took place at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on November 18th 2016, the “Bill of Rights for Child Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” was published.
This Bill of Rights is the result of a collaboration involving children and young people (most of them victims of sexual abuse or exploitation), as well as several local ECPAT offices. The results of the project demonstrated that one of the major barriers to children accessing justice is a low level of awareness of their rights. The Bill of Rights was therefore developed to inform children about their right to effective access to justice and remedies.
In order to help professionals disseminate the tools, a Q&A has also been created.
Copyright ECPAT Belgique « Stop à l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale des enfants »
A summary of the Global Study of ECPAT International on sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism, to which ECPAT Belgium contributed, is now available in French.
This study shed a new light on the phenomenon of sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and debunked a few myths related to the offenders and victims, as well as on the places and circumstances in which the phenomenon may occur.
A child-friendly version is also available in French.
Copyright ECPAT Belgique « Stop à l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale des enfants »
In the framework of the ReACT project, ECPAT Belgium produced a video and a folder to inform unaccompanied foreign minors on their rights in Belgium (access to a guardian, to a doctor, residence permit, etc). These tools provide necessary information in a language that is simple, clear and concise. They were translated into 13 languages: French, English, Dutch, German, Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Pashto, Farsi, and Pidgin-English.
Copyright ECPAT Belgique « Stop à l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale des enfants »
On the 1st of March, ECPAT Belgium was invited to the Council of Europe to present its ReACT European report “Better support, better protection” to the 47 States Parties. This report includes numerous recommendations to help lawyers and guardians to better identify and take care of child victims of trafficking.
This session was also an opportunity to present the ReACT video and folder created for children in order to inform them about their rights.These tools were received very positively and were incorporated as a good practice in the recent report of the Council of Europe “Protecting children affected by the refugee crisis from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse“.
Copyright ECPAT Belgique « Stop à l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale des enfants »
In the framework of the ReACT project, ECPAT Belgium attended a training of trainers in Leiden (Netherlands) on child trafficking. This event gathered various professionals (guardians, lawyers, police officers, representatives of NGO’s, etc) from five countries (Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom). The purpose of such initiative was to reinforce the capacity of participants to better identify and protect children victims of trafficking, as well as exchange good practices and experiences.
Copyright ECPAT Belgique « Stop à l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale des enfants »
The team of ECPAT Belgium wishes you a happy new year!
Let’s make 2017 a great year for the rights of children.
Copyright ECPAT Belgique « Stop à l’exploitation sexuelle commerciale des enfants »
How are children (potential) victim of trafficking identified and protected in Belgium? What is the role of guardians and lawyers? After an in-depth desk-research, ECPAT Belgium interviewed around 20 field workers to try to answer these questions. The study concludes with recommendations for various stakeholders.
The study is based on a national research carried out in the framework of the EU-funded ReACT project (Reinforcing Assistance to Child victims of Trafficking), conducted in partnership with ECPAT France, ECPAT Germany ECPAT Netherlands and ECPAT UK.