Switzerland, Germany and Austria have launched a campaign to fight child sex tourism across borders.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) and Ecpat Switzerland, the institute of Child Protection Switzerland which works to prevent child prostitution, on Tuesday presented the “Campaign to Protect Children and Youth against Sexual Exploitation in Tourism” in Bern.

At the centre of the campaign are a widely distributed video spot and new opportunities to report information online in cases of suspicion. For this purpose, Switzerland has developed the world’s first online registration form of its kind (see link).

In a statement, Seco said the aim was to promote awareness about child sex tourism in the three countries by using targeted measures.

“We are expressing the political and economic will, beyond borders, for all children and youth in the world to be able to live with dignity,” said Eric Scheidegger, deputy director of Seco,

“Our commitment must be effective in the long term. I call upon all actors in the Swiss tourism sector to join us in order to support our campaign.”

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