The Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material (SR), has committed to draft a report on reparation for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation.
In response to the SR’s Call for input, and building on experience with the World Bank, the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network at Columbia University and the Bank Information Center (BIC) sent a submission to encourage the SR to use her position to address what the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) should do to provide remedy to project-affected children.
Through their lending, MDBs have a responsibility, and in many cases a clear mandate, to include explicit measures that prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment (SEA/H), specifically child SEA/H. However, these institutions have historically fallen short in addressing and preventing SEA/H in their projects.
In this submission, CPC and BIC call on the SR to:
1) Address and recognize MDBs' responsibilities as duty bearers in their 2023 thematic report on reparation for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation;
2) Call on the Bank and other MDBs to close the gaps and address the challenges between policy and practice to prevent and respond to child SEA/H and also provide a survivor-centric reparation; and
3) Include concrete recommendations on ways that MDBs can enhance their efforts to provide reparations for child survivors of SEA/H.
For further information on CPC and BIC recommendations on how the SR should consider these three issues read our submission here.