ECPAT UK has published a new report, ‘Off the Radar: Protecting children from British sex offenders who travel,’ which calls for a cross–government strategy to deal effectively with the investigation and prosecution of child sexual offences committed abroad. The report highlights the government’s inability to produce accurate numbers of how many British nationals have been prosecuted for sexual offences against children overseas. Similarly the government is unable to confirm how many individuals have been prosecuted in the UK under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for sexual crimes against children outside the UK.

Christine Beddoe, ECPAT UK Director, said “ECPAT UK is deeply concerned that despite improvements to legislation and some notable efforts on the part of individual police forces  the legacy of years of indifference to child sex tourism is placing British children at risk.  Data about British sex offenders abroad is patchy, rarely shared between authorities and it is uncertain how much ever gets onto the UK Criminal records data base. The Government simply don’t know how many British sex offenders have been prosecuted abroad and slip back into the UK undetected. Despite their ongoing risk to children and the fact that many of these individuals are known to authorities both in the UK and in the country in which the abuse took place, these individuals often fall off the radar.”

ECPAT UK is calling on the Home Secretary to immediately close the “3 day loophole” – the gap in law that allows registered sex offenders to travel abroad for up to 3 days without notifying offenders. There has been an increase in British sex offenders travelling to countries like Romania and Latvia, both easily accessible for a long weekend.

The report provides an overview of the current UK policy framework to deal with travelling sex offenders, the institutions that are particularly vulnerable as targets and the practical response to travelling sex offenders by UK agencies, including the police and the prosecution service. The report makes recommendations upon which the UK must act in order to prevent the sexual abuse of children both at home and abroad.

The report highlights the vulnerability of children in international schools and orphanages because of the lack of information sharing between jurisdictions, and the fact that international organisations are unable to access the criminal records checking procedures that would be expected as standard procedure by UK institutions. There is evidence to suggest that serious sex offenders who are known to authorities in the UK seek out teaching or volunteer jobs abroad where they feel they can abuse freely without detection.

13th February 2011

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Media contact: Christine Beddoe, Director ECPAT UK  Mobile 07906 341 889 or 020 7233 9887.

ECPAT UK has been working to end the sexual exploitation of children overseas by British nationals for almost 20 years and we have documented over 120 cases of Britons accused of such crimes during this period. In 2010, ECPAT UK was made aware of over a dozen cases committed in countries including India, Cambodia and Romania. 

ECPAT UK stands for End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes.

ECPAT UK is part of the international ECPAT network in over 70 countries.