Uruguay against child sexual exploitation

For the past 19 years, each 23rd of September has marked the International Day against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Women and Children. It has only been in the recent past that the world has taken notice of the need to combat this grave violation of human rights.

In order to continue raising awareness, youth participants in the "Uruguay against child sexual exploitation" campaign participated in a national seminar regarding the prevention of child sexual exploitation in tourism.  Michael, one of the youth participants, shared that the adolescent volunteer group decided to raise their voices by intervening with an original song. "After having experiences with flash mobs, we decided to use the same concept to draw attention in during the seminar, but instead of a dance we decided to sing", shared Michael.

At a break between conference speakers, two teens stood up and began to play guitar and percussion. The audience was confused and curious about the interuption. One by one, the teen participants stood and joined their voices to the chorus, which challenges everyone to stand against child sexual exploitation.

The intervention was a powerful display of hope and the possibilty of change. The young people, mostly under 20, have been raised in a world with growing awareness about the issue of exploitation and have chosen to add their voices to the chorus, so that their children will no longer have to face this issue.

Thank you for adding your voice to the chorus by supporting this youth iniciative!

Links:

• Song flashmob
• Original song, "Stand against trafficking!"

Teen volunteers in the "Uruguay against child sexual exploitation" campaign presented their experience carrying out the campaign in the CONCAUSA project carried out by America Solidaria in partnership with the ECLAC (Economic Comission for Latin America and the Carribean) and UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). The video shares about how the campaign iniciative seeks to help prevent and eradicate chile sexual exploitation, while seeking to promote the right to a life free of violence for all children and adolescents. We invite you to watch the video.

CONCAUSA seeks to highlight and learn from innovative social projects that young people in the Americas are developing in their communities, appropriating the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The projects selected will participate in an international meeting at the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago de Chile, during November 2018.

In the words of Florencia, "To face the sexual exploitation and abuse networks that affect the lives of thousands of children and adolescents, we have the challenge of building other networks as a society; building bridges and relationships that strengthen the communities of the children and adolescents who live in them. Networks with diverse members that transcend different areas- in the public and private sector, on the local and national level, in the media, in formal educational institutions and with diverse youth groups. In this sense, our project is directly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)."

In the coming weeks, the volunteers will share workshops and activities aimed at enhancing and developing the skills of new youth volunteers.

Links:

• CONCAUSA Video