ECPAT International and The Body Shop unveil innovative approach to measure progress on tackling trafficking of children & young people for sexual purposes
24 September 2009

An innovative new approach that will enable the public to call for accelerated action against the global issue of child trafficking for sexual purposes was announced at the fifth Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York by the international CEO of The Body Shop, Sophie Gasperment, and ECPAT International Executive Director, Carmen Madrinan. Building on the launch of the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People campaign in August 2009, the next phase of the campaign, an innovative “Progress Card System”, paints a global picture of how the world’s governments are taking action and assesses the progress of those governments in their efforts to tackle child sex trafficking in more than 40 countries worldwide, and represents a unique opportunity for long-term impact around the world. Read more...

Global update on the‘Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People’ campaign
24 September 2009

Belgium: On 3 September, to mark the beginning of the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign, the Soft Hands Kind Heart hand cream was presented to the Deputy Prime Ministers of Belgium and Minister of Health, Laurette Onckelinx and Joëlle Milquet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Employment, Equal Opportunity and the Politics of Migration and Asylum. Ms. Milquet, who is a mother of four children, was very interested in the campaign and asked many questions about the report. Mrs. Onckelinx, also a mother, stated her belief in ECPAT to defend the rights of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Mexico: On 9 September, The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign was launched at the Central Hall of the Plaza Commercial Antara, a popular shopping mall in Mexico City. The launch was attended by clients of The Body Shop, various media, international organisations and civil society. Melanie Fenton, CEO of TBS Mexico, highlighted the great interest of its founder, Ms. Anita Roddick in social justice, and her desire to specifically address the trafficking of children and youth for sexual exploitation. Norma Negrete, Coordinator of ECPAT Mexico, identified the existence of problems of commercial sexual exploitation which have increased because of globalisation. Pablo Hiriart, a Chilean journalist now living in Mexico and Mario Luis Fuente, the Executive Director of CEIDAS – one of the few organisations working on trafficking in Mexico – also spoke about examples and experiences of the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. For further information, contact ecpatmexico@hotmail.com.

Luxembourg: On 12 September, ECPAT Luxembourg and The Body Shop launched the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign at La Belle Etoile shopping centre. The launch was supported by the presenter and singer, Monica Semedo. The staff of The Body Shop and ECPAT Luxembourg offered free trials of the campaign hand cream which will raise funds for a project in Bangladesh that supports the reintegration and rehabilitation of children and young people exploited through the sex trade. During the launch, representatives from ECPAT Luxembourg and The Body Shop answered questions from the press and customers. Monica Semedo also explained why she supports this campaign. More than 150 Soft Hands Kind Hearts Hand Creams were sold on the first day of the campaign. Leaflets on the campaign will be distributed through The Body Shop and a report on child trafficking for sexual purposes in Bangladesh will be released soon. For further information, contact hbristow@ecpat.lu.

France: On 4 September, the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign was launched at The Body Shop’s Hôtel de Ville store in Paris. As part of the launch, campaign leaflets were handed out to passersby, an interactive corner was set up inside the store for discussions about the issue with ECPAT and The Body Shop representatives, and professional masseurs offered hand massages with the Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream. As a result, more than 90 hand massages were given, over 80 people joined the campaign cause on Facebook and 69 hand creams were sold at this location alone.

India: On 14 August, Stop Trafficking and Oppression of Children and Women (STOP) and The Body Shop organised a promotional event at the Miranda House Cafeteria (where STOP is also assisting CSEC survivors to run the cafeteria) at Delhi University. The purpose of the event was to raise the awareness amongst students of the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign. A counter was set up by The Body Shop and STOP where students were offered special discounts on some of The Body Shop products and learned about what the corporate sector is doing for this cause and how they can become a part of the national campaign. For further information, contact junitau@ecpat.net.

Denmark: Recently, the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign was launched in Denmark. As part of the launch, a young girl sat in The Body Shop store window, posing in a shopping trolley with a price tag of 300 Euros. The campaign has been very well received by the media - to date, there has been over 16 articles featured in national papers such as the Kristeligt Dagblad and Berlingske, with more expected in the near future. In addition, 682 Soft Hands Kind Hearts Hand Creams were sold on the first three days of the campaign.

Russia: The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign has launched in The Body Shop stores across Russia. The Body Shop Staff have been proactive in their support for the campaign by informing customers about the issue of child trafficking, the campaign and offering free trials of the Soft Hands Kind Hearts Hand Cream. The Body Shop in Russia will be meeting with STELLIT, ECPAT’s member in Russia, to plan further campaign activities for the upcoming months.

Portugal: Media promotions in Portugal have begun for the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign. Articles on the campaign have appeared in famous media outlets such as; Clash News Blog, Corpo de Mulher, Saúde e Bem Estar, Vogue, Noticias Magazine, Bebe de Hoje, Lux Women, Max Men, and Gente Jovem. It is estimated that the campaign will reach more than 70,000 people in Portugal.

United Arab Emirates: Recently, The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign launched in the United Arab Emirates. The Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream has been featured in numerous publications, such as Young Plus and Al Maraa Al Youm-Weekly. The media coverage surrounding the launch of the campaign has resulted in widespread public interest about the campaign and high demand for the Soft Hands Kind Heart hand cream. The success of the launch can be shown by the recent Dubai Festival, where the hand cream sold out in three days.

Austria: On 31 August, The Body Shop and ECPAT Austria launched the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign at the United Nations office in Vienna. UN.GIFT, facilitated the launch of the campaign and is a major supporter of the sale of the Soft Hands Kind Heart Campaign hand cream. To view the media release for the launch click here.

Singapore: Since the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign launch in Singapore in early August, the campaign has been well received by the media, the public and The Body Shop staff. 200 staff members have been trained on the issue of child trafficking, which has resulted in more than 1400 hours of training. The strong commitment of The Body Shop staff has contributed to the public purchasing the Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream, despite its higher price compared to previous campaign products and current economic hardships.

3 September 2009

The Netherlands: On 31 August, Dutch State Secretary for Justice Albayrak launched the three-year ECPAT Netherlands and The Body Shop ‘STOP Sexual Exploitation of Children and Young People’ Campaign, together with ECPAT Netherlands program manager Theo Noten and The Body Shop campaign manager for the Benelux region, Lisette Berendsen . The event took place in The Hague in the press centre of the Dutch parliament, with people present from the Government, civil society organisations and the travel industry.

State Secretary for Justice Albayrak said that the campaign had her full support, "Sexual exploitation of children and young people is unacceptable and requires a broad approach and commitment from all of us. The Dutch government will further intensify its efforts to combat of this problem. For this we also depend on cooperation with civil society, the private sector and Dutch citizens. That is why I am enthusiastic about this initiative." Theo Noten of ECPAT Netherlands said, "Sexual exploitation of children and young people is not easy to identify and to discuss. It exists all over the world, including in the Netherlands. When all of us are aware of that, and we all pay more attention to our children and young people, we can take action to prevent them getting into real trouble. Together we can make a difference". After the meeting Mrs Albayrak went to The Body Shop store near the Dutch parliament to buy the first Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream. Mrs Berendsen of The Body Shop said that of the proceeds of the sales of the Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream, 6.32 Euro (out of the 10 Euro purchase price) from each hand cream will go to ECPAT. In the Netherlands 50% of the funds raised will go the ECPAT Netherlands campaign against child sex tourism and 50% will be divided equally among ECPAT partners in Cambodia, the Gambia and Guatemala. For more information (in Dutch) see http://www.ecpat.nl/p/1/1699/mo45-mc52 and www.ecpat.nl/stop.

Taiwan: On 29 August, ECPAT Taiwan and The Body Shop held a Campaign launch event in Taipei. Attending the launch were three female city councilors from the Taipei metro city district and a legislator, along with well-known celebrities including famous singers, models and basketball stars who expressed their concerns on the child sex trafficking.

The launch was reported by Taiwan’s Central News Agency and a number of websites. Customers who buy the Soft Hands Kind Heart hand cream will also receive a cell phone strap made by the girls living in an ECPAT Taiwan Shelter. The Body Shop was established in Taiwan in 1988 and there are now 68 branches around the country.

Thailand: On 26 August, ECPAT International and The Body Shop launched the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign in Thailand. The launch was held at Central World the most popular shopping centre in Bangkok. The MC for the event was the famous Thai celebrity Khun Sawithri Rojanapluk and several Thai celebrities attended the event to show their support for the campaign. The Body Shop staff promoted and sold the Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream and set up tables for the public to decorate free exfoliating gloves.

As part of the campaign, popular Thai mobile phone network provider DTAC has become an official campaign partner. DTAC will send out SMS messages about the campaign and the hotline reporting number for reporting possible cases of abuse to all their post pay clients. These messages will reach millions of people across Thailand. Moreover, MTV is supporting the campaign by broadcasting (pro-bono) a video of Thai celebrities endorsing the ECPAT and The Body Shop campaign on MTV’s channel in Thailand. For further information, contact patchareeboons@ecpat.net.

Japan: On 21 August, ECPAT Stop Japan and The Body Shop launched the Stop Trafficking of Children & Young People campaign in Tokyo. To launch the campaign, three media events were held by Junko-san and Keiko-san from ECPAT Stop Japan at The Body Shop’s new store in Shinjuku. For further information, contact patchareeboons@ecpat.net.

Hong Kong: ECPAT International conducted a training session on combating child trafficking for sexual purposes for staff from The Body Shop Hong Kong. On 21 August, following the training session, a media event was held in Hong Kong to launch the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People campaign. Ms. Vivian Sun, the Head of Brand and Values at The Body Shop Hong Kong, opened the event by introducing the campaign. The Program Associate then gave a short presentation to the media on the issue of sex trafficking of children and young people and talked about the situation in Hong Kong.  The event ended with questions and answers from the media and one-on-one interviews.  The event attracted many members of the public and media, including the press, radio and TV. For further information, contact patchareeboons@ecpat.net.

Philippines: On 20 August, ECPAT Philippines and The Body Shop held a press launch for the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign at the Adarna Café in Quezon City, in Manila. Attended by Beauty and Wellness editors, the launch commenced with a brief introduction on the trafficking of children for sexual purposes by The Body Shop’s Ms. Pen Nepomuceno. Amihan Abueva (President of ECPAT Philippines) supported the presentation with a short talk on ECPAT’s ongoing contribution in the fight to suppress the trafficking of Filipino children for sexual purposes. To view the attached press release for the launch click here. For further information, contact kritsanap@ecpat.net.

Malaysia: On 20 August, The Body Shop, ECPAT, Tenaganita, Nur Salam and P.S. The Children launched the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign in Malaysia. The event was attended by representatives from different media outlets, including magazines targeted at young people. The participants also learnt more about global issues related to child trafficking for sexual purposes and specific cases in Malaysia, through sessions conducted by the three local NGOs and ECPAT. The campaign hand cream will be available in The Body Shop stores on 10 September. The stores will also conduct a survey on their customers and their understanding of the sex trafficking of children, as a way to initially engage customers with the cause. For further information, contact kritsanap@ecpat.net.

ECPAT and The Body Shop launch new global report on sex trafficking of children and young people
13 August 2009

ECPAT International and The Body Shop recently released a global report on the trafficking of children for sexual purposes around the world. The report - Their Protection is in Our Hands – The State of Global Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes - reiterates that the trafficking of children and young people for sexual purposes in many countries is increasing and governments need to do more to tackle the problems and protect children and young people. The report includes a call for accelerated action around key goals drawn from the World Congress III. A key note speaker at the launch was Ms Najat M'jid Maalla, UN-Special Rapporteur on the Sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, who said she will share the Report’s findings with the CRC and other UN Rapporteurs and expressed her commitment to continue to support the campaign. Khun Sudhitham. Chairperson of The Body Shop Thailand, reiterated his strong support for the Campaign especially amongst the private sector. The launch was attended by over 100 media and representatives of NGOs, UN agencies and government partners working to promote children’s rights, and has resulted in over 30 international and Thai media reports. A recorded version of the press conference can be viewed at www.ustream.tv/channel/ecpat-thebodyshop. Click here for the Full Report or Summary report. For the full press release, click here. For further information, contact carolinel@ecpat.net

Global update on the ‘Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People’ campaign

South Korea: The famous pop band 2PM will be ambassadors for the Campaign in Korea. In a TV advertisement promoting the Campaign, the band wore t-shirts with their hands and signatures painted on them, along with children having fun painting the campaign logo. The advertisement will be aired on Korean television for the next month. The Campaign launch saw long lines of customers at the Body Shop. One hundred gift sets consisting of the hand cream and a hand-printed T-shirt made by the band 2PM were offered at The Body Shop Kangnam store at the launch. To see the TV advertisement on YouTube, click here. For further information, contact ecpatkorea@yahoo.co.kr.

United Kingdom: On 13 August, ECPAT UK and The Body Shop UK launched the new campaign at a press conference at Kings Cross St. Pancras railway station in London. Christine Beddoe, Director of ECPAT UK, spoke about child trafficking in the UK and presented findings from The Body Shop UK consumer survey, which found that over a third of all Britons thought that children were only trafficked to other countries – not to the UK. Jan Buckingham, Director of Global Values at The Body Shop, provided information on the company’s long history of campaigning, the reasons why The Body Shop is partnering with ECPAT UK in this new campaign and introduced the campaign product ‘Soft Hands Kind Heart’ Hand Cream. Detective Inspector Gordon Valentine from the Metropolitan Police Paladin Team provided information from the policing perspective and spoke about how the campaign will raise awareness of the issue and help stop child trafficking. A short DVD, made by the ECPAT UK Youth Group, was shown stating what young people want this campaign to achieve and what the UK Government need to do to ensure child victims of trafficking are protected and supported. The event resulted in key media coverage. For the ECPAT UK press release, please click here. For more information, contact info@ecpat.org.uk.

Sweden: On 13 August, ECPAT Sweden and The Body Shop launched the Campaign in Stockholm, Sweden. The in-store launch attracted media from both print and radio, and interviews have been arranged with the Executive Director of ECPAT International, and the Chairperson and Secretary General of ECPAT Sweden. As part of the launch, two girls from the ECPAT Sweden youth group sat in the store window of The Body Shop’s flagship store on Drottninggatan holding signs that read ‘Not for Sale.’ The Chairperson of ECPAT Sweden, Mr Thomas Bodström, distributed campaign material and offered hand massages with the campaign hand cream to customers. For further information, contact helena.klingvall@ecpat.se.

New Zealand: On 3 August, the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People Campaign was launched in New Zealand by Child Alert, the ECPAT Member for New Zealand, and The Body Shop. In conjunction with the Campaign launch, a new Internet ECPAT Child Alert Hotline was launched for reporting sites containing child pornography. The Hotline provides a browser plug-in through a quick, safe download that features the ECPAT Child Alert icon. If a suspect website is viewed, the computer user simply clicks on the Child ALERT icon and the screen will disappear. At the launch, children in masks and others distributed brochures and CDs containing the Hotline software. The Hotline CDs will also be offered at no cost to the public through The Body Shop stores or can be downloaded through the Child ALERT website www.childalert.org.nz. To view an article on the launch, click here. For the press release, click here.

Canada: On 30 July, The Body Shop in partnership with Beyond Borders and Somaly Mam Foundation held a Campaign launch rally at the Metropolitan United Church in Toronto, Canada. The key note speakers for the event were Rosalind Prober from Beyond Borders, Somaly Mam and Christophe Mura from the Body Shop Canada. The event resulted in key media coverage. For further information, contact rprober@beyondborders.org.

Singapore: On 5 August, with approximately 30 guests and representatives from the media in attendance, the Campaign was launched in Singapore with an interactive questionnaire activity on child trafficking. ECPAT's Programme Associate conducted the activity,  introduced video clips from ECPAT France and the MTV EXIT campaign, and conducted a brief presentation on the issue.  Ms Josephine Chow from The Body Shop gave a brief presentation on how The Body Shop is partnering with ECPAT on this campaign.  Afterward, guests were invited to show their support for the campaign by putting campaign stickers on the board and asking the speakers questions. To view an article related to the launch, click here. For further information, contact patchareeboons@ecpat.net.

USA: The Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign was recently launched in New York.  The key note speakers at the launch were Shelley Simmons from The Body Shop, who spoke about why the beauty retailer chose to support this campaign, Carol Smolenski from ECPAT USA, who focused on American children who are trafficked for sexual exploitation and what an unrecognised problem it is, and Somaly Mam who discussed the importance of her work at the Somaly Mam Foundation. Accompanying the campaign launch was an outdoor rally for The Body Shop staff members.  About 70 people attended the rally from The Body Shop stores all over the Northeast (from as far away as Virginia—a 5-hour drive). The purpose of the rally was to encourage The Body Shop staff members to talk about the campaign to customers in their stores. For further information, contact csmolenski@ecpatusa.org