The Department of Justice has issued a new report on the commercial exploitation of children. The report, entitled Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: What Do We Know and What Do We Do About It?, outlines the commercial exploitation of children overseas and here at home.

"This report emphasizes the need for more people to be involved in combating the commercial exploitation of children," said Richard Whidden, NLC Executive Director. "When NCMEC receives a marked increase in tips and we repeatedly hear from NLC PROTECTS seminar attendees that tens of thousands of new child pornography images are uploaded to the Internet each month, this is a challenge that our society must address.  Moreover, facing this challenge must be a top priority across the country."

The report outlines several steps for a course of action, including to:

■ Keep pace with new technologies, such as those that create “virtual” images of children in pornographic situations.

■ Educate potential victims about the tactics used by recruiters.

■ Educate the public about the great harm caused by child sexual exploitation crimes.

■ Improve parental supervision of vulnerable children.

■ Enhance the role of women and children in societies where they are treated as sex objects.

The National Law Center for Children and Families has served in this effort to combat sexual exploitation by providing training and resources for law enforcement and prosecutors and looks forward to providing additional service in the upcoming year.

A copy of the report can be found here.