The Common Law Section is proud to celebrate the publication of a groundbreaking new textbook by part-time professor Mark Hecht, entitled Profit Over Protection: Big Business, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, and the Law (LexisNexis Canada, 2025).
As the influence of multinational corporations (MNCs) continues to expand beyond the reach of national borders and legal regimes, the urgent need to address their role in global human rights violations – particularly in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) – has never been clearer. Based on Professor Hecht’s doctoral research, this new book offers a critical and timely examination of the international legal system’s failure to adequately address CSEC by MNCs, proposing a bold new path forward.
At the heart of Professor Hecht’s research is an exploration of a pressing gap in international human rights law: while the system was designed to hold state actors accountable, it largely ignores non-state actors, including powerful MNCs. These corporations, with their global mobility and influence, often escape regulatory oversight and legal responsibility, even when implicated in serious human rights violations.
With a specific focus on CSEC, Profit Over Protection investigates how children’s rights are systematically undermined through both the actions and inaction of MNCs. Despite international legal frameworks like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the rates of child exploitation linked to corporate activity continue to rise.
Combining detailed legal analysis with real-world urgency, the book surveys international, domestic, and civil regulatory responses to this crisis. Ultimately, it proposes a new international model to address corporate accountability and better protect the rights of children around the world.
Professor Mark Hecht is a lawyer, academic and human rights advocate. He is currently Manager, Legal Services and In-house Counsel to the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa and Senior Legal Counsel (pro bono) to Beyond Borders ECPAT Canada. He previously served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa and an Assistant Professor and Access to Justice Fellow at the University of Windsor. His primary research interest is international child law, specifically the role and involvement of the private sector in the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Click here to learn more about Profit Over Protection.
The Common Law Section congratulates Professor Hecht on this exceptional achievement!