By Chia Yan Min

AT least 1.8 million children are exploited in the global sex trade each year, according to the International Labour Organisation.

In a bid to raise both awareness and funds to combat this issue, health and beauty retailer The Body Shop has partnered ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) International to set in motion a new initiative.

The three-year global campaign, STOP or Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People, was launched here on Wednesday.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.