Legal Action
Beyond Borders takes action in a variety of ways with respect to the legal process and legislation itself including:
- Monitoring of court cases across Canada involving child sexual exploitation
- Intervention at the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court of Canada
- Appearances before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding new legislation to protect children from sexual exploitation
- Legal commentary to media on all issues involving child sexual exploitation
- Provision of legal information to law students and others writing on child sexual exploitation with respect to how Canada protects children from sexual exploitation
- Application in cases across Canada for Beyond Borders to make Victim Impact Statements for anonymous children in sexual abuse images
- Provision of online fact sheets, written by law students, on all legal issues involving child sexual exploitation
- Presentations at conferences and events on emerging legal issues regarding global child sexual exploitation
- Provision of website space for law students to post papers concerning child sexual exploitation
- Advice to ECPAT International on all legal issues regarding child sexual exploitation in Canada
Success Stories
Foreign Jurisdiction Legislation
We successfully lobbied to broaden the law to combat child sex tourism so that all Canadians who sexually abuse children or engage in child pornography in foreign jurisdictions can be held accountable in Canada under Canadian law (called the “Prober Amendment”).
Age of Consent
Along with others, Beyond Borders successfully advocated for the age of sexual consent to be raised from 14 to 16 to better protect children from sexual predators.
Legal Action
Successful Court of Appeal in BC and Supreme Court interventions to have Canada’s child pornography legislation declared constitutional (R v Sharp)
First successful victim impact statement in r v Jordan given by Beyond Borders on behalf of anonymous children sexual abused in child abuse imagery. Three other court interventions across Canada failed.
Canadian Media Awards
The Beyond Borders Media Awards is a program to honour journalists who cover the issue of child sexual exploitation, raising awareness among the public and government leaders.
Code of Conduct
Obtained the first Canadian signatory to the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children in Travel and Tourism. Quebec travel agency, Incursion Voyages signed the code in 2007
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) signed the Code of Conduct in 2008.
Cybertip.ca
We are a founding partner with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in the creation of Cybertip.ca, Canada’s tipline for reporting online child sexual exploitation.
National Sex Offender Registry
Beyond Borders worked to establish a national registry for sexual offenders who now cannot move anonymously across Canada without informing law enforcement of their whereabouts.
We are currently advocating that the public be allowed limited access to the proposed registry to permit Canadians to know of dangerous and high-risk offenders living in their neighbourhoods.
Internet Luring
Beyond Borders has successfully lobbied for new Internet luring legislation in Canada. We currently monitor cases falling under this new law.
Mandatory Reporting
Was part of the lobbying effort to enact mandatory reporting legislation in Manitoba. All members of the public must now report suspected child abuse imagery (child pornography).
Child Models Legislation
Beyond Borders lobbied successfully for the introduction of legislation to protect child and youth in the modeling industry from potential sexual exploitation.
