Trafficking Women in Latin America
Sex trafficking is a huge issue going on in our world today. In Latin America, many women/children are being exploited. According to one site, "Child prostitution is a growing industry in Latin America. After Thailand, Brazil is now considered to have the second highest level of child sex trafficking in the world. Guatemala City has become a centre of international sex trafficking, with girls smuggled in from all over Central America. Estimates of the number of Brazilian children living as prostitutes range from 250,000 to as high as2 million!"
Why are people being tricked into this way of life?
Well, many of these women are vulnerable and are running out of options. When being promised high paying jobs, they hesitantly agree. With false hope of a better future and lifestyle women are being taken advantage of . Traffickers prey on women who have fled their homes because of violence or have been displaced by armed conflict or natural disasters (like orphans of Hurricane Mitch). Not only that, but in Guatemala, young girls who had been raped play targets for traffickers. With such a strong, social stigma, they had no chance of being married. With that, they were manipulated into joining the sex trade, as if they had no better choices.
Sadly, this underground trafficking market is nonstop and out of control. Young girls are being coerced into a dangerous and deadly lifestyle.
I feel that this issue has been kept under the shadows, but is finally gaining recognition. With movies like "Human Trafficking," more people are becoming aware of the problem. This is a serious issue all over the world. It involves many aspects that relate to the treatment of women in developing countries. There seems to be harsh violence directed towards women. Take, Mayra Angelina Gutiérrez Hernández, a university lecturer and women's rights activist who has been missing since 2000. With the rise of sex trafficking and murder, it appears that Women need hope in Latin America.
Check out these sites:
This one is really great and has a lot of info on many subjects
Fight for Women
or
TRAFFICKING WOMEN
posted by Anonymous @ 3/02/2006 09:35:00 PM
1 Comments:
Surprisingly this is an issue in Minnesota as well. This story, The fight against modern-day slavery, was printed in today’s StarTribune. I was shocked to find that this is a growing problem in the twin cities.
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