Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

ILAB Press Release: Labor and Justice Department Join in Efffort Against Child Sexual Exploitation [08/22/1996]

For more information call: (202) 219-6373 X 164

Officials from the U.S. Departments of Labor, Justice, State and Defense will form a U.S. government delegation to Stockholm, Sweden next week to advance concerted international efforts to fight the sexual exploitation of children.

More than 100 countries will explore ways to counter child pornography, prostitution, sex tourism and other forms of sexual abuse at the five-day conference -- the World Congress on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children -- which begins on August 27.

Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich joined Attorney General Janet Reno in announcing the coordinated U.S. effort. The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is the government's lead agency on forced child labor, including prostitution outside the U. S.

Said Reich, "Child poverty, child slavery, the commercial sexual exploitation of children and the abuse of children at work are problems that must have the full attention and the interest of the entire world community. In responding to this invitation, Attorney General Reno has recognized the significant effort of ILAB in eradicating child labor around the world. I look forward to working with the Attorney General and the Justice Department in our continuing battle to end child exploitation."

"Child abuse and exploitation cannot be tolerated whether it occurs in this country or abroad," said Attorney General Reno. "This important conference will strengthen our ability to bring the exploiters of children to justice. Adults who prey on children will find no safe haven anywhere in the world."

The U.S. delegation, led by Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson head of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, will also have a public member. Acting Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs Andrew Samet will represent the Labor Department at the conference.

The Justice Department, through its Child Exploitation and obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country, is responsible for the investigation, enforcement and prosecution of federal statutes and the provisions of related victim services. These statutes covers sex crimes against children, including obscenity and pornography and transportation of individuals for criminal sexual activity, including youth prostitution.

Under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Department of Justice gained new tools to use against those who exploit children through sex tourism. Law enforcement at the local, state and federal level -- including FBI, INS, Customs and Postal Inspection Services, as well as prosecutors -- work together to identify, investigate and prosecute sexual predators and pornographers who exploit children for personal and pecuniary gain.

Also, through its missing and exploited children program, the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention works to reduce commercial exploitation of children through specialized training for state and local law enforcement. The Office for Victims of Crime, another Department of Justice component, provides a model services component to link law enforcement officials working on child pornography and juvenile prostitution with victim assistance providers.

The Labor Department's ILAB has a special unit on child labor. At the request of Congress, ILAB has researched the issue of child labor exploitation and has published a two- volume report, "By the Sweat and Toil of Children." The second volume documents all forms of exploitive labor including child slavery, child prostitution and trafficking of children for prostitution. ILAB, in conjunction with the State Department, also organized a seminar last year titled, "Forced Labor: The Prostitution of Children." The Labor Department recently published the proceedings of that seminar.

Panelists will include Terry R. Lord, acting chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and an American representative to the Interpol delegation, who will be on a panel on law reform and enforcement, and Marsha Liss, a CEOS trial attorney who will lead a workshop on monitoring the pedophile.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.