SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

New Zealand’s secret world of child prostitution – uncomfortable and tragic truths

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One woman’s determined effort to tackle underage prostitution. She’s acting after research uncovered some uncomfortable truths about some New Zealand children. New research has uncovered some uncomfortable and tragic truths about Kiwi children: New Zealand has a secret world of child prostitution.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/-kids-selling-themselves-for-sex-from-12-nz-s-secret-world-of-child-prostitution-q00420.html

MOSTLY YOUNG GIRLS ….

“They had accepted that they were worthless, that they were inadequate and that is how they saw themselves,” Social worker Natalie Thorburn, whose Masters studies were discovering the problem, told TV One’s Seven Sharp

“Kids were selling themselves for sex from 12, but there was this one instance where this girl was being sold for sex at nine. [Read more…]

John Grisham – novelist – says sorry for child porn remarks

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Novelist John Grisham has apologised for saying in an interview with the British Newspaper – The Daily Telegraph, – that many men imprisoned for child pornography offenses in the US probably just had too much to drink and “pushed the wrong buttons.”

Ending Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) interim general manager Debbi Tohill said Grisham’s argument was incorrect.

“Mr Grisham is clearly not taking into account the effect that the use of sexual images of children has on the children who are used for these images.

“His argument is a sad indictment of this.

“Whilst the perpetrators of the physical crimes deserve harsh punishment, as long as demand continues for child sexual abuse images, we will continue to see our most vulnerable children abused and the people who access child pornography need to be held accountable.”

Full story: AP – 17/10/14 See: – http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/10629092/Grisham-says-sorry-for-child-porn-remarks

Note: ECPAT Child Alert Trust – also known as ECPAT NZ Inc. – was registered as a New Zealand Charity on 19/02/2010. Reg. No. CC43653. Its website is www.ecpat.org.nz

Kiwis bombard banned child-porn websites

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Millions of Kiwis are bombarding blacklisted child-sex-abuse sites to request access to illegal videos and photos.

Experts say New Zealanders seeking child pornography are increasingly demanding younger victims and more violent abuse.

“Some people confuse these images as being virtual, but they are real images, they are crime scenes,” said Alan Bell, national director of ECPAT, which is dedicated to ending the commercial sexual exploitation of kids. [Read more…]

Concerns over suppression in child sex tour case

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ECPAT, a charity registered with the Charities Commission, says public needs to be aware of jailed man’s identity, even though a Court Judge has granted him name suppression.

Challege Weekly reports …

ECPAT Child ALERT’s national director is concerned over the issues of name suppression for a child sex tour organiser, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the High Court last week.

Alan Bell also raised concerns over the fact that the 47-year old offender was charged in August 2010, over 18 months ago. “It is disturbing that this case took 18 months to bring to conclusion,” Mr Bell told Challenge Weekly. “During this time the accused was free and could hide behind name suppression. Criminal charges where the safety of children is concerned should be dealt with swifly and unless there is a child protection issue, the name should be released so that the public are aware,” he says.

Justice Edwin Wylie passed the sentence at Auckland’s High Court on February 14, stating that he hoped it would send a strong message. The man is the first person in New Zealand to be charged with organising and promoting child sex tours.

Mr Bell said the sentence was reasonable given that it was a difficult one for the judge to arrive at because there was no precedent. “He didn’t have any other cases of this nature to gauge whether this was more serious and less serious. He came out and gave a three-year sentence of a seven-year maximum. We feel thast’s reasonable in this case. There has to be provision for more serious cases that may occur in the future.” [Read more…]