Body Shop campaign to STOP sex trafficking of young hearts – Part 1
Last updated 01/10/2009 16:46:46
Body Shop campaign to STOP sex trafficking of young hearts
If there is a way to heal the lost young hearts of our world then The Body Shop's ‘Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream' must be it.
The natural and ethical cosmetics company has launched a new three-year international campaign with ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) to stop sex trafficking of children and young people
1.8 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade though this figure is thought to be much higher due to the underground dealings of the traffickers, according to International Labour Organisation 2002 findings.
Initially, through raising funds and awareness, the campaign, ‘STOP Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People!' will support immediate relief for affected children and young people. Next year, the focus will push for long-term change to strengthen legislation and action and action to offer those affected great protection.
The Body Shop and ECPAT have identified three campaign goals that will press on governments around the world to take specific action, these goals are: prevention, legal framework and care.
According to a report on the campaign, these objectives are linked to the global commitments agreed by 137 governments at the World Congress III against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Brazil in November 2008 and to other international instruments to protect children.
The campaigned has introduced a Progress Card System which presents how the world's governments are taking action and assesses their progress in their efforts to tackle child sex trafficking in 41 countries. The cards measure and monitor state progress taking action to protect the young victims of sex trafficking.
Body Shop ceo Sophie Gasperment said, "The Progress Cards System ...takes us to that next step closer to effecting measurable and essential change - we want to take action that could really have a tangible and positive impact in the countries where we have stores".
Both organisations believe the launch of these ground-breaking cards will dramatically accelerate progress to end child sex trafficking over the course of the next three years.
Key Progress Card findings for 2009:
- Only 10% of countries reviewed have special police units established across the country to investigate child trafficking cases with appropriate specialized training;
- 60% of the assistance and care services offered to children in countries reviewed are not comprehensive or specialized for child victims of trafficking;
- 1 in 3 countries do not have help lines to provide specialized assistance to vulnerable children or child victims of trafficking;
- 1 in 3 countries do not have specialized shelters to accommodate child victims of trafficking;
- Only 2% of nations are reported to offer comprehensive and specialized counselling services to specifically address the particular needs of child victims of trafficking for sexual purposes, whilst 29% do not offer any type of services to accompany the psychological healing of child victims.
Carmen Madrinan, executive director of ECPAT International added, "The first findings from the Progress Card project reveal a truly challenging situation. By reaching out to the public with this information, we aim to elicit broad interest in child protection and enable wide public participation and support to accelerate change in partnership with the private sector, civil society and with government in the lead."
Next summer the next stages of the campaign will see a global overview report on the cards system being transformed into comprehensive progress cards for both organisations' market to use to inform their ongoing advocacy campaign activities. Following this the call for change will be launched to consumers and media led by progress cards, which will be updated regularly until the campaign closes in August 2012.
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