Thematic Note1 September 2026
Proposals for the Care of Children and Adolescents in Situations of Sexual Exploitation: Toward the Promotion of Comprehensive and Specialized Responses
The Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) constitutes a form of violence against children and adolescents and a serious violation of their human rights. It refers to their use in erotic-sexual activities in exchange for—or with the promise of—remuneration, in cash or in kind, for the victim themselves and/or for third parties (IIN-OAS, 2024i). It is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes that can take various forms—including erotic-sexual relations in exchange for remuneration, exploitation through pornography, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and forced marriages or de facto relationships—and unfold in various settings, including family and community contexts, residential spaces, the digital environment, and the context of travel and tourism (IIN-OAS, 2024). The dynamics of sexual exploitation of children have become increasingly complex and diverse, both in terms of the actors involved and the recruitment mechanisms, as well as the networks and environments in which it occurs. In particular, the expansion of the digital environment has created new scenarios and challenges for the detection and protection of victims. In response to these changes, States have strengthened their mechanisms for detection, reporting, and investigation, supported by international cooperation tools that facilitate information sharing and the coordination of transnational investigations (IIN-OAS, 2025; Interpol, 2026). These advances represent a fundamental step toward strengthening protection against sexual exploitation and abuse of children. However, an increased capacity to identify such situations must be accompanied by appropriate responses to be implemented following detection. The 2024 IIN Report to the OAS Secretary General on CSE warns that the care and social reintegration of children and adolescents who have been victims is one of the least developed areas among those reported by the States. Although the countries consulted report having some type of service or program, these are not necessarily specific, comprehensive, or specialized in this area (IIN-OAS, 2024). Recognizing a situation of CSE and subsequently failing to provide adequate and accessible services can exacerbate vulnerabilities and widen the gap between the formal recognition of Note prepared by Cecilia Romero, Consultant for the Inter-American Cooperation Program for the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Exploitation, Smuggling of and Trafficking in Children at the IIN-OAS. 1
rights and their effective exercise. Therefore, it is necessary to make progress in developing comprehensive, specialized, and person-centered care responses.
A Person-Centered Approach: Recognizing Uniqueness and Promoting Participation Situations of CSE require responses capable of recognizing the particularities of each child or adolescent and adapting intervention strategies to their resources and needs. This involves placing the person—their life story and the context in which their life unfolds—at the center. The person-centered approach has its roots in humanistic psychology, particularly in the work of Carl Rogers (1951), and was later incorporated into various fields of social and health intervention. The World Health Organization promotes a care approach that incorporates the perspectives of individuals, their families, and communities and responds to their needs in a comprehensive manner (WHO, 2016). In the context of protecting the child rights, this perspective involves recognizing them as rights-holders and acknowledging them beyond the harm caused by sexual exploitation. It entails recognizing the capacities, relationships, interests, and resources of children and adolescents, as well as those of their family and community environments, which can serve as sources of support and protective factors, alongside their progressive capacity to participate in decisions that affect them (ProtejeresEduco, 2021). In CSE, a person-centered approach requires recognizing the uniqueness of each situation. The same form of exploitation can involve different circumstances, impacts, risks, and needs. Age and stage of development, previous experiences of violence, family and community ties, living conditions, support networks, available resources, and the expectations of each child and adolescent must be taken into account when developing a response. From a systemic perspective, it is also important to consider the social conditions in which the child or adolescent is developing, as these may constitute risk or protective factors regarding CSE. These dimensions can interact in different ways in each situation and, therefore, must be taken into account when developing strategies for care and the restoration of rights. From this perspective, the child or adolescent is viewed in relation to their family and community ties and living conditions, identifying both the situations that require intervention and the available resources and support. Thus, the response may require interventions not only with the children and adolescents but also, when appropriate, with their family members (Protejeres-Educo, 2021). Recognizing individuality does not mean abandoning protocols, standards, or common criteria for action. On the contrary, these are necessary to ensure timely responses and reduce arbitrariness in intervention. However, they must serve as a framework for action that allows teams to apply specific knowledge and tools in a flexible and relevant manner.
Therefore, an effective response in the area of rights protection should not result in the uniform application of a single model, but rather in the ability of services and their teams to tailor their approaches to each specific situation (Protejeres-Educo, 2021). The person-centered approach also involves recognizing that children and adolescents are not merely recipients of services or protective measures, but active participants in the processes that involve them. The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes their right to freely express their views on matters affecting them and to have those views duly taken into account in accordance with their age and maturity. Guaranteeing the right to participation, therefore, is not limited to listening: it requires creating conditions so that children and adolescents can understand the available actions and alternatives, express their opinions, concerns, and preferences, and ensure that these are effectively taken into account in decision-making during the care process (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2009). Promoting participation does not mean shifting to children and adolescents the responsibility for decisions and actions that belong to adults and institutions. On the contrary, it involves recognizing their evolving capacity to make decisions regarding the processes that concern them, and developing responses together with them—not merely for them.
A Comprehensive Response: Coordination and Collaboration for Each Situation Situations of sexual exploitation can affect various aspects of the lives of children and adolescents and require simultaneous or sequential responses in areas such as protection, physical and mental health, education, family and community ties, housing, and access to justice, among others. The response, therefore, cannot be limited to a single aspect of the situation nor organized exclusively around the investigation of the crime. It must be comprehensive and coordinated. This does not mean that a single service should address all identified needs. A comprehensive approach is built through the coordination of different actors, services, and resources, in accordance with the responsibilities and competencies applicable to each case. Comprehensive response models can take the form of intersectoral and dynamic mechanisms that recognize the distinct responsibilities of the various actors and promote their collaboration based on their strengths and complementary roles, thereby avoiding fragmented responses (Protejeres-Educo, 2021). For this coordination to be effective, it is necessary to move beyond institutional approaches based exclusively on referring cases between services. A comprehensive response also requires that the various interventions be linked and coordinated, with clearly defined responsibilities and monitoring mechanisms. To this end, it is essential to have clear and direct channels of communication, as well as action agreements and mechanisms that ensure
continuity in the processes among the various government and civil society institutions with responsibilities over these situations. The involvement of each institution is meaningful to the extent that it can be integrated into a common strategy and respond to the needs identified in each situation. The 2024 Report to the OAS Secretary General on CSE identifies various inter-institutional coordination mechanisms in the region’s member states—such as committees, roundtables, and working groups—as well as courses of action for situations involving CSE and human trafficking. However, it also notes that the existence of coordination forums does not always translate into protocols or collaboration agreements that enable the development of truly comprehensive and coordinated interventions (IIN-OAS, 2024). This underscores the importance of ensuring that coordination is supported by operational mechanisms that sustain it in practice. A holistic approach also implies that intervention must go beyond addressing the direct consequences of sexual exploitation on children and adolescents and seek their social reintegration, while also considering and addressing the social conditions in which they live— conditions that can either facilitate or hinder their effective access to rights. This entails addressing issues such as economic vulnerability, early dropout from school, mental health issues affecting the child or their family environment, domestic violence, and the absence of support networks, among others. These factors can interact in different ways in each situation and, therefore, must be taken into account when developing strategies for care and the restoration of rights.
Specialization as a Prerequisite for an Appropriate Response The complexity of situations involving the child sexual exploitation requires specialized responses capable of understanding the particularities of this phenomenon and tailoring interventions accordingly. The various forms and contexts in which it can occur, the dynamics of exploitation, and the effects it can have on children and adolescents require specific knowledge for their identification, assessment, and care. Specialization entails having technical teams or practitioners with specific knowledge, tools to guide interventions (including identification, assessment, and care), and institutional conditions that allow for the maintenance and updating of these capabilities. In this regard, specialized care models must integrate technical and methodological resources that enable a response tailored to the specific characteristics of CSE (Protejeres-Educo, 2021). Among these areas of knowledge, specific training on experiences of violence (particularly sexual violence and child sexual exploitation) and their effects on the various dimensions of development is particularly relevant. Teams working with children and adolescents in
situations of sexual exploitation must be able to recognize potential manifestations associated with trauma, understand their implications for intervention, and avoid practices that could revictimize them and/or cause further harm. This does not mean reducing cases of sexual exploitation to their psychological effects, but rather having tools that allow for an understanding of how experiences of violence can influence care processes and the relationship with service providers (IIN-OAS, 2026). Likewise, specialization requires understanding and integrating the perspective of children and adolescents into services and their provision, whether or not these services specialize in sexual exploitation and/or trafficking, and whether or not they are exclusively for children. This involves adapting care strategies to the specific needs and rights of children and adolescents. Specialization should not be understood as the occasional conduct of training sessions, but rather as continuous and planned professional development. This aspect still poses a challenge for protection systems. As indicated in the 2024 Report to the OAS Secretary General, States have developed various training initiatives aimed at actors involved in the prevention, identification, investigation, and response to situations of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and adolescents, although these initiatives vary in scope and implementation. Furthermore, the report identifies the need to continue strengthening the capacities of those involved in the responses provided by States (IIN-OAS, 2024). Specialized training must reach the various actors involved in the response, albeit with content and competencies tailored to their respective roles and responsibilities. Having a common understanding of CSE and the principles that should guide intervention can also foster coordination among the different actors (IIN-OAS, 2024). Therefore, moving toward specialized responses requires moving beyond isolated awarenessraising or training initiatives and developing ongoing processes for training, professional development, and capacity building. This must be accompanied by tools and protocols for action, as well as opportunities for supervision and reflection on practices. Specialization is thus reflected both in the teams’ competencies and in the institutional conditions that enable these competencies to be incorporated and sustained in day-to-day care (Protejeres-Educo, 2021). Caring for those involved is also an important consideration. Sustained work addressing situations of sexual violence and exploitation can place significant emotional demands on teams. Having spaces for supervision, reflection, and support helps create the conditions necessary to sustain specialized, high-quality interventions.
From Principles to the Organization of Care: Recommendations for States The elements discussed above help identify certain conditions that protection systems should consider to strengthen care for children and adolescents in situations of sexual exploitation: ✓ Promote person-centered care models. Develop models that are sufficiently flexible to adapt the strategies, timing, and intensity of interventions to the characteristics of each situation. This involves recognizing children and adolescents as rights-holders, taking into account their needs, capacities, resources, relationships, and contexts, and creating conditions for their effective participation in decisions that affect their protection and the restoration of their rights. From this perspective, the response must also be conceived as a dynamic process, in which actions are adjusted based on the course of the work. ✓ Ensure comprehensive responses aimed at restoring the exercise of rights and facilitating social reintegration. Ensure that care strategies address the various dimensions that may be compromised in each situation, including physical and mental health, education, social protection, family and community ties, access to justice, and other conditions necessary for the effective exercise of rights. This entails considering not only the direct impacts of sexual exploitation but also the individual, family, and social conditions that may affect the protection and restoration of rights, mobilizing the relevant resources—both personal and institutional—according to each situation. ✓ Strengthen intersectoral coordination for case management. In line with the above, it is necessary to establish operational mechanisms that enable the coordination of protection services, physical and mental health services, education, justice, and other relevant resources, in accordance with the needs identified in each situation. This requires clear and well-known courses of action, defined responsibilities, channels of communication, and referral and follow-up mechanisms that allow for the integration of different interventions into a common strategy. ✓ Promote specialized responses. Promote institutional services and teams with specialized training, technical tools, and methodologies appropriate to the specific characteristics of CSE and its potential impacts on the development of children and adolescents. This specialization encompasses two complementary dimensions: specific knowledge about CSE and its effects, and the incorporation of a child- and adolescent-centered perspective into care strategies. This capacity must be present among the various institutional actors involved, without relying
exclusively on external specialized services, and must be sustained through ongoing training and professional development. Ultimately, a person-centered approach, a holistic approach, and specialization are not isolated characteristics of services, but rather intervention criteria that shape comprehensive care and must be reflected in their design, organization, the capabilities of the teams, and the coordination mechanisms that underpin the State’s responses for the comprehensive protection of the rights of children and adolescents in situation of sexual exploitation.
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