Enforcement agencies crack down on child abusers – home and abroad!
1. World Congress Follow Up meeting:
Almost two years after the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it is timely to review progress on action taken to improve the protection of children from sexual exploitation.
On 25 and 26 October 2010, UN experts, State and civil society representatives including NGOs, youth representatives, law enforcement, private sector and academia participated in a meeting in Bangkok to review progress of the implementation of the Rio Declaration and Call for Action, two years on from the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children.
The meeting identified the need to accelerate action by -
1. Increase the quality of data on CSEC and bring greater involvement of the academic sector
2. Build greater synergy between initiatives to strengthen child protection systems and initiatives focused on prevention and protection against specific violations
3. Promote collaborations at regional level and follow up the Rio Call in work with specific countries
Further information available on here.
2. The Step Out Starts ...
On the 15th November Kate and Tim take their first steps toward raising awareness of an issue that has touched their hearts. Follow them on their 82 day journey as they walk across the country from Bluff to Cape Reinga. Take your own steps by walking part of the way with them, supporting them when they arrive in your town or making a donation on our website.
3. Operation Flicker exposes huge child pornography ring:
A four-year international investigation into hundreds of child pornography websites has identified 30,000 customers in 132 countries, led to hundreds of American convictions, and landed members of the ring running the sites in Eastern European jails.The agents revealed the workings of what they call the most significant commercial child porn investigation in the Internet's history, in which multiple authorities from the United States, Canada, England, Italy, Belarus, Ukraine, Australia, and other countries, plus Interpol and Europol banded together to close down 230 websites, dismantling what is believed to be the most sophisticated commercial child porn operation to date. The material peddled on those sites was vile, according to descriptions in search warrants. Some pornographic images show toddlers. Mick Moran, an Interpol detective based in Lyon, France, who focuses on online child exploitation, described the business structure behind the sites as a franchise model, comparing it to a fast-food chain. Indeed, the ring got paid well - making somewhere between $5 million and $8 million from early 2006 until late 2007.
4. The Body Shop / ECPAT Campaign:
The three year campaign between The Body Shop and Ecpat continues to draw attention around the world to the issue of child sex trafficking. To date over 3.5 million people have signed up to prevent this modern day scourge where children are traded as commodities. If you have not already done so visit your nearest The Body Shop and sign up!
For more details visit here.
5. 57 abusers down, hundreds to go for the police child protectors
The first Wellington Police District's team focused solely on child abuse cases has netted 57 arrests in its first six months.
Convictions include that of former school Principal Richard Joel, 62, who was jailed for nearly five years in June for a series of indecent assaults on boys aged between seven and 12.
Police Commissioner Howard Broad praised the team's work during a visit this month but said the number of arrests was a reminder of the scale of the problem."It's upsetting to me that we've apprehended 57 abusers in the Wellington district in six months. This gives an indication of the size and scale of the problem we are dealing with."
Cases ranged from willful neglect to sexual and physical abuse and with victims aged from newborn to 16. For more details visit here.