ECPAT was set up in Bangkok in 1990 as a campaign to end the sexual exploitation of children in Asia by tourists from the global north, including the UK. This initial focus and desire for global attention on this issue led to the creation of the World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, which was held in Stockholm, Sweden, from the 27th – 31st August 1996. The Congress was co-organised by ECPAT, UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It concluded with the unanimous adoption of the Stockholm Declaration and the Agenda for Action to which 122 States committed themselves to.

At the Congress it was agreed that ECPAT should have a wider mandate encompassing children sexually exploited in pornography and trafficking all over the world. From a campaign focusing on children in Asia it had grown into a global movement. The ECPAT network now consists of over 122 member groups in 104 countries. The Secretariat of ECPAT International is located in Bangkok.

A second follow-up World Congress was held in Yokohama, Japan, in 2001. At this event, governments were asked to report on their achievements and reaffirm promises made at the Stockholm World Congress. The UK Government sent a delegation and reported on new laws and policies introduced since the Stockholm Congress and announced the development of a new National Plan of Action against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

How ECPAT UK began

ECPAT UK was established in 1994 as The Coalition Against Child Prostitution in Tourism with a mandate to campaign against child sexual exploitation in tourism and lobby for laws and policies to protect children and prosecute British nationals who sexually abuse children abroad. In 1997, as a result of these campaigns the UK Government introduced new legislation to prosecute UK nationals for abusing children abroad. The ‘Coalition’ became the UK national representative of the international ECPAT network in 1997 and in July 2004 became a UK registered charity. 

While ECPAT UK remains committed to protecting children everywhere from sexual exploitation, our work has evolved to focus more broadly on all forms of child exploitation - including labour exploitation, domestic servitude and exploitation for criminal activity. Reflecting growing recognition of the impact of language and terminology, ECPAT UK stopped using the term 'child prostitution' to acknowledge that no child can consent to their own exploitation. Our organisational name now reflects this change, with ECPAT standing for 'Every Child Protected Against Trafficking'.