This responds to Training Staff to Spot Child-Sex Trafficking

While we always appreciate coverage of our work, I would just like to clear up one point in your article in HRE about the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.

It is the ECPAT-USA position that "hundreds of thousands of children are at risk for sexual exploitation in the U.S." I contended this most completely in a recent blog post on our website [which discusses the fact that the numbers are both controversial and "dated," and notes that attempts are being made to determine a current number]: http://ecpatusa.org/2011/07/the-numbers-game/

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is a terrible abuse of children and it happens throughout the U.S. There is a role for the private sector, for government and private citizens to take steps towards protecting children. The Code of Conduct is just one step. We hope all companies do the right thing by making sure their employees know what to do.

Carol Smolenski

Executive Director

ECPAT-USA