Almost 10,000 sign petition against sexual exploitation of children

Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition raised by The Body Shop in Malta as part of a global campaign against the sexual exploitation of children.

The Body Shop in Malta commended the government which has just become the eighth member state to sign and ratify the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.

Earlier this year, The Body Shop international launched a worldwide call for action by all governments to enact and enforce legislation that would put a stop to the lucrative and criminal activity that sees almost two million children and young people abused and abducted each year for criminal purposes. The late Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, had defined this as the 20th Century Slave Trade.

Simone Mizzi, director of The Body Shop in Malta thanked the 9,913 people who signed up to the local campaign. “This number of our customers represents 2.6 per cent of the local population, which is a staggering amount for our island and we are most pleased to see our government become one of the earliest member states to ratify the Barcelona Convention,” she said.

Mrs Mizzi said her company would now continue to urge the government to move to the next step and set up a sex offenders’ register. For this reason, a new petition is being raised in the four outlets of The Body Shop in Malta. “Such a register,” she said, “would be a great deterrent to curb sexual offences and we would also like to see legislation that would ensure just and harsher penalties for those who abuse young children and adolescents.”