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REPORT: CANADA A HAVEN FOR PEDOPHILES

OTTAWA, Nov 20 (LSN.ca) - An international report on child sexual abuse has singled out Canada as a haven for sexual predators of children. The report released today by the committee to End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking (ECPAT) is taking stock of Canada's commitments to fight child victimization made at the World Conference on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Sweden in 1996. The National Post reports that the 178-page report, titled "Looking Back, Thinking Forward," slams Canada for having one of the youngest ages of consent for sex at 14 whereas most countries are raising the age to 18. The report also cites the BC Court of Appeal decision to strike down the child pornography law.

"I'm very disappointed," with Canada's Liberal government's performance said Mark-Erik Hecht, an Ottawa-based lawyer who sits on ECPAT's board of directors, and a contributor to the report. "We're sending a very mixed message with our age of consent," Mr. Hecht said. "Canada has historically been a sender of sex tourists to other countries. The country has recently developed a reputation as a receiving country for sex tourists."

Debbie Mahaffy, whose daughter Leslie was tortured and murdered by sex killer Paul Bernardo, described the country's lack of co-ordinated action as "mind-boggling". "We don't seem to have a problem getting people's attention when it comes to protecting them from violence," said Ms. Mahaffy, who works for the Ontario government's Officer for Victims of Crime. "So why can't we enact the most basic mechanisms to protect our children from sexual exploitation?It's simply inadequate."

For more see the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001120/376274.html

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