The 2024 Internation Conference on Violence against Men and Boys and Yale School of Public Health VITAE invite you to attend a pre-conference presentation on research findings and case studies on global sexual exploitation and abuse of boys from the Global Boys Initiative of ECPAT International. Learn more about the 2024 International Conference on Violence against Men and Boys at giantslayer.us/vamb24.

ECPAT International is a global network of organizations working to end the sexual exploitation of children in all of its forms. The Global Boys Initiative (GBI) was launched by ECPAT International to shed light and support the development of solutions to end the sexual exploitation and abuse of boys.

The GBI embarked on a global literature review and a 10-country research project to shed light on key issues on protection and assistance to boys at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. Key findings included that gender norms affect the perception of vulnerability of boys and impact help-seeking behaviors; frontline workers are not equipped in working with boys at risk; Laws, policies and lack of services complicate referrals or access to reparation or justice for abused and exploited boys.

The GBI then started to focus on the passage from theory to practice and conducted a series of 8 case studies on practices and approaches to support boy survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation in Colombia, Bolivia, Namibia, Morocco, United Kingdom, Thailand, Cambodia and South Korea. Key findings included: the importance of deconstructing the pressure deriving from ideas of masculinity; Creating spaces that ensure physical, psychological and emotional safety with boys; Adopting peer support groups and conduct group activities to reduce the sense of stigma and isolation.

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