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ECPAT Outlines Campaign Against Child Sex Tourism

You can do something about child sex tourism.

For a long time, ECPAT has been engaging the travel and tourism industry in efforts to end the abhorrent practice of child sex tourism-traveling away from your home country or region to sexually exploit children.  While the legitimate travel industry is not promoting child sex tourism, their facilities are used by sex tourists to get to destinations where they can find vulnerable children.  This puts the industry in a position to help combat child sex tourism. 

For that reason ECPAT-Sweden developed a Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.  More than 500 companies around the world have signed the Code of Conduct.  In the U.S., one large travel company, Carlson Companies, has signed the Code of Conduct as have several small companies and one travel industry trade association. 
 
We estimate that 25% of the sex tourists abusing children around the world are Americans.  But few U.S. companies have signed the Code of Conduct.  We need to let these companies hear from all Americans that this is not acceptable.

Everyone has a role to play.  There are three things you can do: 

1) Send letters to the four large US hotel companies asking them to sign the Code of Conduct.  Attached are copies of four letters that we ask you to sign and send to the CEOs of these large companies.  If you prefer to have ECPAT-USA send these letters for you, send an email to the contact below with your name and address and ECPAT-USA will send these letters on your behalf.  

2) Patronize Code of Conduct companies when you travel, for leisure or business.  You might also want to let them know that the reason you are patronizing them is because they have signed the Code of Conduct.  Here's the list of companies that have signed:
http://www.ecpatusa.org/documents/Signatories_COC_Condensed_2006.doc. 

3) Encourage the company you work for to get involved.  If you work for a company that has an in-house travel department, ask them to adopt an ethical policy on child sex tourism, such as the one in the Code of Conduct, and to book company travel only with companies that have signed the Code of Conduct.  Some companies might be interested in training their personnel and taking other steps to follow the Code of Conduct.

Please write your letters today to support all children's right to be safe from sexual exploitation.  It is unacceptable for any child to spend one more day at the mercy of American sex tourists.  Please pass this on to anyone else who would be willing to write letters as well.  
 
Thank you for all the support you have shown for ECPAT-USA and our campaign to protect children the world over.   Visit ECPAT-USA for more information about child sex tourism.

*** To report suspected cases of child sex tourism, go to: www.cybertipline.com or contact:

Carol Smolenski
Executive Director
ECPAT-USA
157 Montague St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
+1.718.935.9192
csmolenski@ecpatusa.org

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