Children are most likely to experience sexual exploitation or abuse at the hands of a family member or someone known to them. There is also evidence, however, of a transnational market for the sexual services of children. The general pattern is that "tourists" from developed countries, including Australia, seek out the sexual services of children in developing countries. Children in these countries may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation due to poverty, social dislocation, family breakdown, and prior experiences of sexual victimization and/or homelessness. In some cases, children may actively seek out customers for their sexual services as means of economic survival. These circumstances do not change the fact that sexual activity with children is universally condemned as an abuse of human rights and is a crime in many countries. The Australian Crimes (Child Sex Tourism) Amendment Act of 1994 has been enacted to protect the human rights of children overseas. The law stipulates that children should be protected from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. The law makes it an offense to engage in sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years of age, to induce a child to engage in sexual intercourse with a third person, and to participate in sexual conduct such as indecency involving a child under 16 years of age while outside Australia. The law also contains provisions on the prosecution of child sex tourism offenses. The author concludes that it is not clear whether the law has had any real deterrent effect on Australians determined to have sex with children overseas. In addition, she notes practical limitations associated with conducting prosecutions under the law and points out that the ultimate barrier to the success of the law is the low level of sexual offense reporting by child victims. 15 references