Welcome to the United Nations
End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, Inc. (ECPAT-USA)
In 2015 member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Vowing to take bold and transformative steps, this agenda emphasizes that no one will be left behind.
This year the HLPF is reviewing in depth progress made in realizing SDG4-“Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” In many parts of the world, the challenge is to provide opportunities for children or adults to access education at all because education is a game changer which can open up life-changing possibilities for improving health, employment, gender equality and more. In other settings, major educational challenges are providing inclusive and safe education for groups that face marginalization and discrimination.
For thirty years, ECPAT-USA has been creating awareness of the issue of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and advocating for measures that strengthen prevention and protection from child trafficking; hence the “p” in quality and equitable education.
ECPAT-USA has developed educational curricula and outreach to inform and build resilience against trafficking of children. We empower youth in our Youth Education programs to acquire knowledge and awareness that makes them less vulnerable to trafficking. We also educate adults through our Community Education programs to support students and schools. During COVID, we also developed guidelines for students, teachers and parents to protect children from on-line predators.
In this Side Event, we will provide examples of successful, grass roots initiatives to protect children that can be replicated by other schools and communities.
