Global Boys Initiative on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (ECPAT International)

The Global Boys Initiative

Why a Global Boys Initiative?

At the 2016 Global Survivors Forum organised by ECPAT International, male survivor-advocates of sexual exploitation explained that services for boys were extremely rare, and even where services may include boys, there is limited focus on addressing the specific characteristics, experiences and support required by boys. As responses to identify and meet the particular needs of boys are scarce, ECPAT International launched the Global Initiative to explore the sexual exploitation of boys.

About the Global Boys Initiative

The Global Boys Initiative sheds light on an angle of the sexual exploitation of children that has limited research and, coupled with nuanced regional and thematic analyses, allows us to conduct advocacy, inspire further research, and provide immediate practical guidance for improved response and prevention strategies to address the sexual exploitation of boys globally.

At ECPAT International, we advocate for changes at policy, normative, political, social, and operational levels. We believe that adopting a comprehensive approach is essential to ensuring that boys are better protected against sexual exploitation, and that survivors of this crime have access to the support services they need. 

Our research aims to influence the way policies and services are designed, to ensure that the distinct experiences of boys is not only taken into account, but that such policies and services are adapted in order to ensure that these distinctions are properly and efficiently addressed.

Each country report includes the results of a survey conducted with frontline social service providers about services available to boys subjected to sexual exploitation, analysis of how well the legal framework protects boys and girls from sexual exploitation and recommendations for immediate and future action.

Thailand            EN | TH               or read a summary    EN | TH
South Korea     EN | KO               or read a summary    EN | KO
Sri Lanka           EN                         or read a summary    EN
Hungary            EN | HU               or read a summary    EN | HU
Pakistan             EN                         or read a summary    EN
Belgium             EN                          or read a summary    EN
The Gambia      EN                          or read a summary    EN
Bolivia                EN                          or read a summary    EN

India                    (late 2022)
Morocco             (late 2022)

Visit ECPAT International to learn more about the Global Boys Initiative.