Humanitarian 
& Migration

When crisis strikes—whether through conflict, displacement, disasters, or epidemics—children’s lives are upended. Families are uprooted, protection systems weaken, access to services may be disrupted, and safeguards and support systems are challenged, increasing children’s exposure to risks of sexual exploitation. These conditions expose children to heightened risks of sexual exploitation: some are forced into harmful survival strategies, while children on the move face risks during their journey. 

Prevention and response services are often hampered by fragmented responses and fail to properly recognise the specific risks of sexual exploitation, or to provide the support and responses that are adequately tailored to children’s diverse experiences shaped by gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and other aspects of identity affect children’s experiences and risks. 

Our Approach 

ECPAT works to ensure that preventing and responding to child sexual exploitation is integrated into humanitarian and migration response at every stage. We combine evidence, partnerships, and the perspectives of children and young survivors to reshape how protection systems function, so children in crisis are no longer invisible, unheard, or unprotected. 

Our work is grounded in a simple principle: actions must be informed by children’s lived realities and accountable to their rights. 

What We’re Doing 

Building Evidence and Understanding 

Together with local partners on the ground, we support global efforts to uncover, understand, and address sexual exploitation of children in humanitarian and migration contexts. Our research across Ethiopia, Kenya, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and in the context of the Venezuelan displacement crisis has exposed deep systemic failures: protection mechanisms that collapse in crisis settings, children forced into sexually exploitative situations to survive, and safeguarding gaps by humanitarian actors and community members. 

We also look at what’s working. In Palestine, France, and Colombia, we document how local organisations have developed tailored approaches to support and care for boys amid occupation, migration, and forced displacement. 

Working with Children and Survivors 

We work alongside children on the move and young survivors in places like Greece and Latin America to document their experiences and co-develop recommendations for more informed policies and practices. This collaborative work helps us understand the unique risks facing girls and boys, the intersecting vulnerabilities they navigate, and how these risks shift as they move and stay in new destinations. 

Their insights guide how we advocate and what changes we push for—towards stonger humanitarian responses to prevent and address sexual exploitation of children, ensuring all actors embed child sexual exploitation into crisis planning and protection systems, safer services, and more accountable systems. 

Integrating Sexual Exploitation of Children into Humanitarian Action and Responses 

We actively influence global policy debates, including contributing to the UN Special Rapporteur’s 2025 report on children in peacekeeping and humanitarian contexts. We also advocate within global coordination bodies, such as the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action—to prioritise sexual violence against children. 

What You Can Do 

Humanitarian crises are increasing and lasting longer. Without intentional and informed action, children will continue to fall through the cracks. 

• Child protection professionals: Learn more about child sexual exploitation in humanitarian contexts. 
• Governments, donors, and humanitarian actors: Systematically integrate the prevention of sexual exploitation of children into humanitarian planning, funding, and coordination.