Pearl asked what Ecpat was. It is a lobby group based here in Bangkok. It is unclear where they get their money from, but I believe it is from Western governments. It seems the defining event in setting up the Bangkok HQ was the 1996 United Nations child protection conference in Stockholm.



From the Ecpat website:



ECPAT is a network of organisations and individuals working together to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation.



The ECPAT acronym stands for ' End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes'.



ECPAT has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and?Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).



-cut-



ECPAT International is a global network dedicated to eliminating the commercial sexual exploitation of children or CSEC. There are now 73 groups in 67 countries in the ECPAT network. The International Secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand.



ECPAT’s original name End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism was changed in 1996 to End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for sexual purposes, reflecting the organisation’s geographic expansion and broader mandate.



The ECPAT network is composed of the ECPAT groups who are its driving force. Every 3 years they meet as the International Assembly which is the highest decision making body of the organisation. The International Board, composed of 8 representatives from all continents, and an independent Chairperson, are elected at the Assembly and normally serve for three years. The International Secretariat is the administrative and co-ordinating unit of ECPAT International.



In 1996, the ECPAT network consisted of 17 groups. By 1999, the network had grown to 53 groups. Today, the distribution of ECPAT groups is as follows: Africa: 13 groups; Middle East & North Africa (MENA): 2 groups; Americas: 13 groups; East Asia: 11 groups; the Pacific: 3 groups; South Asia: 8 groups; Europe & the CIS: 23 groups.



ECPAT groups are very diverse. Some are large coalitions of NGOs, some are small groups composed of individuals. Some have extensive financial and personnel resources; others have only a few and function with volunteers on a part-time basis. Some groups function at national level, others at a grassroots local level. Some have activities covering a wide range of CSEC issues while others concentrate on one aspect only. Other informal entities, such as ECPAT Europe, a regional grouping of Western European members, and key individuals play a significant role in the functioning of the movement.

I think this originally was a self-inflicted mandate, though perhaps it originates in ECPAT's apparent foreunner The Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism, which is apparently part of the Protestant Church in Germany:

"Originally working from a Christian basis, ECPAT's leaders soon decided that to be effective the agency had to encompass all major religions, particularly Buddhism and Hinduism, Asia's principal faiths."

"Initially set up as a six-year project, ECPAT now has an international profile as an agency campaigning against child abuse, Internet pornography and the child sex trade."

On its budget: "ECPAT's headquarters in Bangkok, with a staff of 10, have a relatively small annual budget of $1 million, paid mainly by European governments and UNICEF, along with support from churches in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere. The Bangkok staff carry out research, monitor child prostitution and pornography, organize conferences and hold meetings with government officials, Interpol and other agencies. ECPAT national offices in other countries run their own programs and raise their own funding. About half of them have full-time staff, while other offices are run by volunteers or in cooperation with other agencies."

The biggest occupational group of convicted child abusers in some Western countries? Surprise, surprise: "church workers, including clergy." www.christianitytoday.com.../35.0.html

I wonder how many children they have actually saved?  

Edited by: cottmann at: 28/11/05 3:13 am

I do not profess to understand the operations and funding of ECPAT(Aust)<br>
Their website is here<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.ecpat.org/our-vision.php">www.ecpat.org/our-vision.php</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>
<br>
it.<br>
<br>



Last edited by asianad on Sat 28 Jan, 2006 9:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

I sense the same feeling asianad,but unfortanetely people that abuse children put a stigma on gay people.I dont support charities such as this nor unicef or world vision.

I prefer helping charities financially where i see some gain or change such as making a difference to a HIV poz child  or children with cancer etc.My heart alwys melts and i get a tear in my eye when i see kids with cancer or leukemia.But i just dont want to give money to a charity that takes 80 per cent of donations in admin fees ,so i prefer to help Pattaya based charities.

Groups like ECPAT are funded by the GOvt and their executive committee is made up of ex pollies and people who were important to find a job.They do nothing really but go after witch hunts with homophobia attached.

Why dont they go after those dirty men who rape small girls in third world countries rather than what they call gay males.Your right,theres a hell of a lot of asian brothels in australia,how can all these girls have work visas?

Where ECPAT? Wheres the immigration dept?

 

I understood it to be World Vision asianad

who is allegedly trying to find the Names off all those running Charites in Thailnd and advising the City Fathers on Aids Day and the way to advise the population.



May be Im wrong, but that is what i have been informed can any one who knows about these missionaries let us know they seem a very powerfull lobby group also in many countries with lots of money to spead the Word with.





www.worldvision.or.th/aboutus/mission.htm

 

Edited by: let me tell u  at: 29/11/05 7:40 am

Most expats I have talked to distrust ECPAT, World Vision and similar organisations. I think this is because we resent the moralising tone. It reminds us too much about the moralising back home.  



While all of us support working against child abuse, reading the ECPAT web sites leaves me wondering what they think of us Westerners who live in or visit Thailand. It would be good if they said "Go to Thailand, keep it legal, be nice and responsible and have fun". But they don't say that.



What do they think about gay people?

What do they think about relationships with an age gap?

What do they think about go-go bars and moneyboys?

What do they think about sex in general?



The answer is between the lines, and this is why I feel uncomfortable with them.