Published September 2021

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness that we lack a comprehensive understanding of how sexual exploitation affects boys. In 2019, ECPAT International began a Global Initiative to Explore the Sexual Exploitation of Boys to focus attention with dedicated research - including new primary data collection in ten countries - as well as advocacy and programming to put the sexual exploitation of boys firmly on the global agenda. [1] Data on the sexual exploitation of all children is generally lacking. When it does exist, it tends to focus on girls. In the rare cases that governments collect good data on sexual exploitation and abuse of children, samples are often limited to adolescent girls, or youth engaged in other service systems, such as child welfare or juvenile justice. [2] Yet, evidence suggests that boys may be as, or even more, vulnerable than girls in some contexts. [3] The sexual exploitation of boys continues to be relatively under-researched, sometimes unrecognised in legislation and policy, and broadly unaddressed in programming. [4]

The review included non-refereed or ‘grey’ literature, research published by non-government organisations and other organisations working with
vulnerable youth populations, and non-English language publications.6 Key findings from these two literature bases help define the ongoing research agenda on the topic of sexual exploitation of boys. (From the Executive summary). Find more information about the Global Boys Initiative on the website. Record #7320