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The Crisis Facing Indigenous Women and Children

A young Indigenous girl child from Paraguay, South America, freed from sexual slavery by police in Argentina.

The war against indigenous women and girls in the Americas

Native Latin America

Native Bolivia

Native Brazil

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Native Guatemala -

   Femicide and

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Native Mexico

   Acteal Massacre

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Haitian children are routinely enslaved in the Dominican Republic

Afro Latin America and the Caribbean

The Crisis Facing Latin American Women and Children

Introduction

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Crisis: U.S. Latinas

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   Sexual Slavery

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Latina Child Sex

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Worst Cases

Urgent Human Rights Issues in Mexico

Oaxaca

Striking Mexican

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   in Oaxaca

Atenco

Foto: Belinda Hernández

Mexican Police

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Lydia Cacho

Journalist / Activist

   Lydia Cacho is

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Indigenous and Latina Women & Children's Human Rights News from the Americas


 

Indigenous Women, Children at Risk

Within the United States

   This Section Last Updated June 08, 2009

Centuries of Abuses Continue Today
 
Indigenous women and children living in the United States have experienced sexual violence with impunity for hundreds of years.  Today they face a rate of rape that is 3.5 times higher than the U.S. national average.  In 82% of such rapes, the assailant is white American.
 

 Issues:

See also:

School Exploitation

Forced Sterilization

 

Latest News


Últimas Noticias

Latest News



Added: June 8, 2009

Navajo Nation

(The Navajo woman pictured is not a known victim related to this story.)

Sexual Assault Among Navajo Nation

Dear Editor, this letter is based on upon my experiences volunteering with San Juan Catholic Charities and assisting with homeless female sexually assaulted victims in San Juan County and McKinley County [New Mexico]...

Victims of sexual assault face many obstacles that hinder the process of healing and overcoming the trauma of being victimized. No wonder they have no faith in the justice system and feel that they are re-victimized by society...

...My investigation of sexual assault cases on the Navajo Reservation has led me to believe that we should re-educate our people. One suggestion is to have Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs include a lesson on the historical background of the multi-generational trauma that natives have endured at the hands of the majority culture. In addition, clients should reflect on their own family history and find proactive ways in dealing with their pain and suffering.

Another suggestion is to educate the public about the growing epidemic of violence against Native American women and make the public aware of the lack of funding that is widespread across the reservation, which leads to inadequate levels of services such as, shelters in need of repair, no counseling services for sexual assault victims, and low priority status on most sexual assault cases within the justice system.

Another suggestion is to address and educate men about historical context of sexual assault among Native American women. In addition, Indian health care providers, school officials, tribal law officials, chapter house officials, and service providers need to create curriculum that includes what it means to be a masculine in ways that honor women, reflect healthy traditional community values, and how sexual violence has been condoned in rural communities...

Naomipine

Letter to the Editor

Indian Country Today

May 27, 2009


Added July 30, 2008

Unites States

Native Women Receive Protection

The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, designed to lower sexual violence against American Indian and Alaskan Native women, was introduced July 23 by the Senate of Indian Affairs Committee. The bill would enable tribal police to enforce violations of federal laws on Indian lands and offer them greater access to criminal history information.

Amnesty International, which in a 2007 report found the rate of rape and other sexual violence for this population of women 2.5 times higher than that for other U.S. women, hailed the bill.

On July 17, the committee also held a hearing on the implementation of the Adam Walsh Act for tracking sex offenders, which the U.S. Congress passed in 2006 without tribal consultation. The law requires tribal governments to include all convictions for qualifying sex offenses in their registries and register offenders in the places where they live and work. Those that don’t comply will automatically cede jurisdiction to the state, reported the www.indianz.com July 11, 2008.

The majority of tribes that are now working to create their own tracking systems face a 2009 deadline. The National Congress of American Indians has said that tribes that opt to implement the Adam Walsh Act should have the same rights and access to criminal databases as U.S. states.

- Besa Luci

WomensNews

July 26, 2008

LibertadLatina note:

Native women and children in the United States have long been subjected to impunity.  Today it is criminal sexual assault that is the most glaring example of the second class status that indigenous people continue to hold in this country.

The statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice show that Native women in the U.S. have a 3.5 times higher rate of exposure to sexual assault than other groups of women (Amnesty International states the rate is 2.5 times higher).  During recent years, Native reservations, which are governed by tribal police departments and by U.S. federal law, have been virtually ignored.  Most rape cases that could have been pursued by federal prosecutors were never acted upon. 

As Congress had written the law, and as the President has enforced it through the U.S. Department of Justice, the typically white, non-resident rapists who stalk women on U.S. reservations can only receive a ONE YEAR jail sentence for rape.

It has also been especially troubling to the Native community that 5 of the 8 federal prosecutors who were fired by former U.S. Attorney General Gonzalez had focused their efforts on increasing the prosecution and conviction rates for rapists on Native reservations.

We at sincerely hope that the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008 repairs these errors in equal protection under the law as it applies to Native women and their undue exposure to gender violence.

- Chuck Goolsby

Afro Creek Catawba

LibertadLatina

July 30, 2008


Added July 26, 2007

Native America

Fired Nevada U.S. attorney had doubled prosecution rate in cases affecting Native Americans

After 11 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Reno, where most of the cases from federal crimes on Nevada's 27 Indian reservations were handled and where he had prosecuted many of them, Daniel Bogden became the U.S. attorney for Nevada and made American Indian issues a priority...

Then in late 2006, the Justice Department abruptly fired eight U.S. attorneys. Bogden was one of five among the eight who had taken a leadership role on DOJ's sub-committee on Native issues...

Arlan Melendez, vice president of the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada: ''When you see the Justice Department isn't really interested in Indian country, and then you see them fire U.S. attorneys who are taking an interest in Indian country, you formulate your opinions from that.''

- Indian Country Today

July 20, 2007


Added July 14, 2007

Native America

U.S. Justice Department turns its back on rape with impunity on Native reservations

U.S. Attorney firings targeted effective prosecutors of rape on the reservation

Impact of 2006 Adam Walsh Act on tribes also discussed

Crime-victim advocates from Indian country have focused attention on the pandemic of rape on Indian lands by whites and other perpetrators. One in three Indian women will be raped, and more than 70 percent of the rapists are not Indian.

At the National Congress of American Indians' mid-year conference in June [2007], Native women who have worked for decades to end sexual violence on Indian lands [discussed] the need for tribal follow-up on the Adam Walsh Act and other subjects.

The meeting was attended by Margaret Chiara, who was one of the eight U.S. Attorneys fired by the Bush administration. Of those eight, she was one of the five who served on the U.S. Attorneys' subcommittee for Native issues.

Chiara said her office had increased prosecutions of these kinds of violent crimes and others on the reservations in her western Michigan district by 85 percent by dedicating an attorney and one staff to prosecutions of these cases.

Paul Charlton, the fired U.S. Attorney from Arizona, said one of two reasons Justice told him he was being fired was because he'd called on the FBI to tape confessions.  Charlton later said an FBI policy against taping confessions harms the prosecution rates of Indian child molestations because molesters' confessions are often critical to these cases.

Majel-Dixon and other Native women leaders say that sexual predators target Indian lands because they know that their chances of getting investigated and prosecuted are slim. If these cases are prosecuted, it is most likely by a tribal court which, under federal law, can only impose a one-year sentence even for the most violent rape by a repeat offender. Native leaders say white rapists travel from reservation to reservation offending...

''The joke is the perpetrators have severe laws they face in the non-Indian world,'' Majel-Dixon said. ''But with the help of the attorneys general, the president and Congress, we ended up with a one-year imprisonment no matter what you did.''

- Indian Country Today

July 06, 2007


Added June 24, 2007

Native America

Indigenous women from across the Americas attended a May 2007 meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to spotlight the unique violence that targets indigenous women.

''It's in the border zones [between indigenous and outside communities] where everything that you can imagine happens,'' said Ana Maria Garcia Lacayo, of the Asociacion de Comunidades Indigenas [Association of Indigenous Communities] in Bolivia. ''There is trafficking in boys and girls. Women come out of the farm fields and return sick with venereal disease.''

Charon Asetoyer, Comanche, and director of the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center in Lake Andes, South Dakota... ''In the U.S. alone, there are over 550 federally recognized tribes [among others]... We have to think about [violence in] those borders… where [white]… truckers, ranchers, miners come on Friday night to hoot and holler. It is in those places where men come off the oil rigs, looking for companionship, and not in a good way.''

Garcia Lacayo said that some [nations] have public and church officials actively participating [in the exploitation] or looking the other way when it comes to indigenous women. Indigenous women, she said, are deemed exotic merchandise for some sexual predators. In the United States, where 85 percent of predators are non-Indian, rape of Native women… may be a crime for which law enforcement and court practices have given offenders little reason to expect to pay for it.

During a panel discussion at the United Nations on May 18, some Native women from the United States disclosed in quiet dignity that they were raped as children and raped and beaten as women.  ''I've been raped and beaten countless times,'' one woman said.  The pain of the beautiful women sent a chill through the institutional room.

The history of widespread violence against indigenous women is rooted in colonial cultures, said Peggy Bird, Kewa-Santo Domingo, who works in the Native Women's Advocacy Center.  ''Sometimes I look at my grand-daughter and wonder what happened to us,'' Bird said. But then she knows what happened. ''The Spanish traded over 500 women and children to get a bell for their church. They traded them into sexual slavery, but these things we don't talk about.''

Today, Garcia Lacayo said that indigenous girls in Bolivia and Argentina are ''stolen, forced to drink alcohol, imprisoned, beaten and made prostitutes so they can pay rent every day on the room where they are imprisoned.

Tonya Gonnella Frichner, Onondaga, said that she wanted to look closely at the sexual violence against indigenous women next year when she takes office as the newly elected North American representative to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

- Kara Briggs

Indian Country Today

June 14, 2007

LibertadLatina
notes:

The above article summary represents the views-of and the mission-of  Libertad-Latina... to end impunity now, especially in regard to the deliberate race-based targeting of Native women and children for sexual violence while society's moral leadership, in government, church and community, intentionally look the other way, following 500 years of colonial 'tradition.'

What madness is this?  Enough is enough!!

- Chuck Goolsby LibertadLatina

 June 24, 2007

See also:

Added May 28, 2007

Native Americas

Sexual violence against indigenous women is discussed at the United Nations

- Indian Country

May 18, 2007

Twelve-year-old virgin Mexican girls, for example, are sold to brothels in Spain for $25,000, but if a beautiful young Indigenous girl is being sold, that raises the price even more because she is [exotic].'

- Teresa Ulloa Latin American and Caribbean director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)

- La Crónica de Hoy

México

 Oct. 20, 2005

Indigenous  children & women are especially targeted due to their race for rape, kidnapping and sex trafficking with impunity by the thousands, throughout the Americas.  That has been a reality for 500 years throughout all of the Americas.

Nobody in state authority is going to put out any effort to search for, much-less rescue indigenous [or Afro-Latina] girls and women in crisis.  Society's racism accepts the actions of rapists and traffickers. 

Until we address the impact that  race and poverty have in this crisis, our efforts to stop the epidemic of sex trafficking and  exploitation will fail.

- Chuck Goolsby LibertadLatina

 Oct. 21, 2005

Defending 'Little Brown Maria' in the Brothel

 - Chuck Goolsby LibertadLatina

March 8, 2005

Racism and Sex Trafficking

 Patricia Hyne

2002

LibertadLatina:

Thousands of girls and boys were raped and tortured, and many were murdered, in Canada's aboriginal boarding schools, most of which shut down in the 1970's.


Added June 24, 2007

Native South Dakota

Lower Brule - A field hearing of the U.S. House Resources Committee was held here on June 1, 2007 to collect information from law enforce-ment, tribal leaders and from women's organiza-tions about violence against women, the result of an Amnesty International report on the subject that recently became public.

Georgia Little Shield, director of the Pretty Bird Woman House shelter on [the] Standing Rock [reservation]: ''Sixty-one women were sexually assaulted in one week on Standing Rock. When women go to the [off-reservation] city jail for help [by requesting to be locked-up], that is desperate.''

''We have been saying this for some time, but when Amnesty Inter-national publicized the report, people started to listen,'' said Cecelia Fire Thunder, former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and now a director at Cangleska, a battered women's shelter and program.

- Indian Country Today

June 18, 2007

See also:

Amnesty International Report:

Maze of Injustice - The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA

From the report:

In 2003 a Native American woman accepted a ride home from two white men who raped and beat her and then threw her off a bridge…The case went to trial in a state court but the jurors were unable to agree on whether the suspects were guilty. A juror who was asked why replied: "She was just another drunk Indian."

- Amnesty International

April 24, 2007

No más violencia sexual contra las mujeres indígenas en Estados Unidos

- Amnesty International

April 24, 2007


Added July 24, 2005

Native Women Leaders Call for Continued Funding and Stronger Options for Prosecuting Non-Indian Assailants in Indian Country as Part of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization


July 01, 2005

 Cherokee Feminist Author Andrea Smith Writes Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide, a Comprehensive Analysis of the  Ongoing 'Colonial' Sexual Violence Facing Indigenous Women. The Dynamics of U.S. Racism, Boarding School Sexual Violence, Rape, Domestic Violence and Strategies Solutions are Discussed.

(Description, Reviews, and an Audio Interview with the Author by Southend Press.)


NCAI spearheads effort to stop violence against women

Washington, DC - Native women are the most victimized group in the country. Indian women are raped and sexually assaulted more than double the number of times of women of other races. The violent crime rate for American Indian females during a 1992 to 1996 Department of Justice study was 98 per 1,000 compared to 40 per 1,000 among white females or 56 per 1,000 among black females.

Indian Country Today

Dec. 29, 2003

 
From: Five hundred years of Indigenous Resistance

Between 1965-71, an estimated 1 million women in Brazil had been sterilized [45]. In Puerto Rico, 34% of all women of child-bearing age had been sterilized by 1965 [46]. Between 1963-65, more than 40,000 women in Colombia had been sterilized [47]...


More about the forced sterilization of indigenous women and girls across the Americas.

About the deliberate sexual assault of indigenous and Latina girls in boarding, reservation and community schools across the Americas.

2000 - Kevin Gover, Assistant  Secretary-Indian Affairs Department of the Interior, apologizes for past BIA abuses against indigneous U.S. children [rampant rape, torture and cultural brainwashing in the boarding school system]. 

...This agency forbade the speaking of Indian languages, prohibited the conduct of traditional religious activities, outlawed traditional government, and made Indian people ashamed of who they were. Worst of all, the Bureau of Indian Affairs committed these acts against the children entrusted to its boarding schools, brutalizing them emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Even in this era of self -determination, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs is at long last serving as an advocate for Indian people in an atmosphere of mutual respect, the legacy of these misdeeds haunts us. The trauma of shame, fear and anger has passed from one generation to the next, and manifests itself in the rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic violence that plague Indian country.

Lakota (Sioux) sue Catholic Church for Boarding School Rape

...Sonny One Star says he learned not to cry or scream when he was beaten and sexually assaulted at his Roman Catholic boarding school on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation.

Four decades later, he says it is time for a different approach.

"Today, I'm ready for retaliation," said One Star, a leader on the reservation.

He and five other Sioux are suing the federal government for $25 billion on behalf of perhaps thousands of students allegedly abused at Indian boarding schools around the country. They hope to have the case certified as a class-action.

"The nuns and the priests -- the ones who are still living -- I just want to let them know I'm coming after them," said One Star, 46, who attended the St. Francis Mission school, one of the three Catholic schools named in the lawsuit. "It was fun for them back then, but I want to get justice. I want to get even."

October 10, 2002, V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, formally announced today the launch of its Indian Country Project and the appointment of Native American activist Suzanne Blue Star Boy as Director of the Project. V-Day has developed the Indian Country Project to prioritize raising consciousness, awareness and money around the issues facing Native American women in the United States and First Nations women in Canada at a time when violence against women and girls in Indian Country is at epidemic proportions. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rate of incidence (of rape or sexual assault) is 3.5 times higher than any other race in the United States. The rate* continues to rise while Indian women and girls remain invisible as an at risk population.

April 12, 2002

...Under the crime of rape, Natives were more likely to be victimized with 15.9 percent reporting incidents; mixed races, Whites, and African-Americans experienced incidents at 8.1, 7.7, and 7.4 percent respectively. Asian/Pacific islanders had a rate of 3.8 percent. When one pauses to think that statistically more than 1 in 6 Natives will report a rape in their lifetimes, the statistic becomes even more disturbing. 

...In cases of rape and/or sexual assault, the rate per 1000 is 7 among Natives, and 3 per 1000 among blacks and 2 per 1000 for Whites. In cases or rape against a Native woman, 82% of the time, the offender is white.

From: Violent victimization among Native Americans -Most crimes against Natives are perpetrated by Whites - Native American Press/Ojibwe News - April 12, 2002

    

 

PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE IN INDIAN COUNTRY

The average annual violent crime rate among American Indians is approximately 2.5 times higher than the national rate. Rates of violence in every age group are higher among American Indians than that of all races.
The average annual rate of rape and sexual assault among American Indians is 3.5 times higher than for all races.
At least 70% of the violent victimization experienced by American Indians is committed by persons not of the same race. - American Indians and Crime, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Justice Department

"Native advocates across the country are expressing a growing consensus that rape is a far too common experience for native women. It's equally clear that tribal, state and federal institutions that have a responsibility to respond have not prioritized the issue."
Karen Artichoker (Oglala) - Director, Sacred Circle

Sexual Assault in Indian Country - Confronting Sexual Violence - by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, a project of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, Funded by the U.S. Centers of Desease Control

     

  

The Rape of indigenous girls in U.S. boarding schools

While researching Native-American issues at the undergraduate library of the University of Maryland - College Park, I found an article regarding this 'code of silence' in the nation's largest Native-American newspaper, Wessaja, published by the Native-American Historical Society in San Francisco, Ca. This article mentioned the work of a well known Lakota (Sioux) psychiatrist, who had taken a team of Native-women to a boarding school for junior high school girls from far-away reservations. It was located in a 'White' town in the upper northwestern U.S. This doctor's team concluded that 80 of the 120 students had been raped by [white] town locals, who took advantage of the fact that Native-American victims of abuse, especially women and teen-aged girls, would not speak to law enforcement authorities regarding their victimization. Within this article the local Sheriff expressed the hope that some of the girls would come forward. None had at that time. The team of Native-women had been the key to bringing this story out.

From Charles M. Goolsby, Jr.'s 1994 report:The Sexual and Economic Exploitation of Latina immigrant Women and Girls in Montgomery County, MD - Chapter 4.

 


See also our Canadian section in regard to the rape of thousands of indigenous (first-nations) girls and boys in Canadian government and church run boarding schools.


The historical Context of this Issue

The Conquest and Internment of the Navajo Nation

...In 1863-64, General Carleton and his subordinate, Colonel Kit Carson, invaded the Navajo land, especially those concentrated in the Canyon de Chelly area. Crops were burned, innocents were murdered, women were raped and general chaos was rained upon these noble people simply because, like the Santee Sioux, they demanded from Lincoln what they had been promised; their land and to be left alone. General Carleton, believing there was gold to be found in the area, stated: "This war, will be pursued against you if it takes years until you cease to exist or move." Again, there was no protest of this policy from Lincoln, his Commander in Chief.

The Navajo were forced to march over 300 miles to Bosque Redondo in eastern New Mexico. Over 200 Navajos died on this march and, eventually, over 2,000 perished before a treaty was signed in 1868. While at Bosque Redondo, the Navajo suffered the vilest conditions; bitter water, no firewood and impossible growing conditions for crops. The soldiers and the Mexican guards subjected the women to rape and humiliating treatment. Children born at this "concentration camp" were lucky to survive their first few months of life...

[Women and girls at this internment camp were required to trade sex with soldiers and guards in exchange for enough corn meal to feed their families on a given day.  This system resulted in a syphilis epidemic among both  exploited women and girls as well as among soldiers.]

From: http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/issues/lincoln.html


   

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LibertadLatina

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Updated: Nov. 15, 2011


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LibertadLatina
Key new special sections
About the crisis of forced prostitution of minor girls and young women in the largest center for organized sex trafficking in Mexico: Tlaxcala state.

The war against indigenous women and girls in the Americas

The crisis in the Dominican Republic

The crisis in Paraguay - including coverage of the important work of anti trafficking prosecutor Teresa Martínez and the unjust retaliatory impeachment that she is now facing



Latest News
Últimas Noticias


Added: Nov. 15, 2011

Greater Washington, DC USA

Gangs Enter New Territory With Sex Trafficking

Though most are known to deal with drugs and weapons, a new FBI threat assessment says street gangs have been moving into some different territory lately: human trafficking. The FBI says gang members increasingly are pushing women and children into prostitution.

The MS-13 gang got its start among immigrants from El Salvador in the 1980s. Since then, the gang has built operations in 42 states, mostly out West and in the Northeastern United States, where members typically deal in drugs and weapons.

But in Fairfax County, Virginia, one of the wealthiest places in the country, authorities have brought five cases in the past year that focus on gang members who have pushed women, sometimes very young women, into prostitution.

"We all know that human trafficking is an issue around the world," says Neil MacBride, the top federal prosecutor in the area. "We hear about child brothels in Thailand and brick kilns in India, but it's something that's in our own backyard, and in the last year we've seen street gangs starting to move into sex trafficking."

In Virginia, at least, the consequences can be severe. Over the past few weeks, one member of MS-13 nicknamed "Sniper" got sent to prison for the rest of his life. Another will spend 24 years behind bars for compelling two teenage girls to sell themselves for money.

Usually, investigators say, gang members charge between $30 and $50 a visit, and the girls are forced into prostitution 10 to 15 times a day.

It's easy money for MS-13 — thousands of dollars in a weekend, with virtually no costs. Except for alcohol and drugs to try to keep the girls off-kilter.

Often, the activity takes place at construction sites, in the parking lots of convenience stores and gas stations.

"Yeah, this last case we worked, the victim was 12 years old," says John Torres, who leads the Homeland Security Investigations unit at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Washington.

He says the girl, a runaway, approached MS-13 gang members at a Halloween party. She was looking for a place to stay. Within hours, she was forced to work as a prostitute.

"You have a gang that's taking advantage of people that are in a desperate situation, usually runaways or someone that's looking for help from the gang," Torres says.

Joshua Skule, who oversees the violent crime branch of the criminal division at the FBI's field office in Washington, lists some reasons for street gangs' move into sex trafficking.

"It is not like moving, or as risky as moving narcotics. It is not as risky as extorting business owners," he says. "And these victims really have no way out."

Skule says they're like modern indentured servants. The 12-year-old girl involved in one of the recent sex trafficking cases is safe now, authorities say. But she'll be dealing with the physical and emotional scars for many years.

"When someone leaves, there's a lot of shame and guilt associated with the time they were there," says Victoria Hougham, a social worker who helps victims and survivors of sex trafficking.

"They may have physical injuries which can impact, especially for young women, their sexual and reproductive health."

Hougham works with Polaris Project, a nonprofit that runs a 24-hour hot line that helps connect victims of human trafficking with police or social services. She says survivors of that kind of abuse do best when they reconnect with their families and get support from law enforcement.

Prosecutors in Virginia say they expect to bring more sex trafficking cases against gang members over the next several months.

Carrie Johnson

All Things Considered

National Public Radio

Nov. 14, 2011


Added: Nov. 14, 2011

Congressional anti trafficking leader Rosi Orozco eulogizes Interior Department leaders in the war against modern slavery

Mexico

Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior José Francisco Blake Mora and other officials recently died in a tragic helicopter accident.

Congressional deputy Rosi Orozco, president of the Special Commission to Combat Human Trafficking in the Chamber of Deputies

Comunicado

Con profunda tristeza me uno al dolor que embarga a las familias de cada uno de los pasajeros que viajaban junto con el Srio. de Gobernación José Francisco Blake Mora, en el trágico accidente sucedido el día de ayer; Felipe de Jesús Zamora Castro, subsecretario de Asuntos Jurídicos y Derechos Humanos [y otros]…, quienes sirviendo a su Nación, perdieron su vida.

Siempre estaremos agredecidos por el apoyo del Srio. José Francisco Blake quien en funciones subió el tema del delito de Trata de Personas al Consejo de Seguridad Nacional equiparando así este delito con el de secuestro. En todo momento fue un hombre dispuesto y determinado a luchar por tener un mejor país, una mejor Nación, un mejor México para nacionales y extranjeros.

Felipe de Jesús Zamora, gran aliado en la lucha contra la Trata de Personas, comprometido con la campaña de la ONU en contra de este crimen, portando todos los días en la solapa de su traje el símbolo del Corazón Azul, su pérdida para mí es irreparable.

Press Release

It is with deep sadness that I join with the pain felt by the families of each of the passengers who were traveling with Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior José Francisco Blake Mora during the tragic [helicopter] accident that happened yesterday..., including Felipe de Jesús Zamora Castro, Secretary of Legal Affairs and Human Rights at the Interior Department.

We will always be thankful for the support of Secretary Blake Mora, who raised the issue of human trafficking before the National Security Council, where he equated trafficking with crime of kidnapping [which is penalized much more severely under Mexican law]. The Secretary was at all times a man willing and determined to fight for a better country, a better nation, a better Mexico for nationals and foreigners.

[Another victim of the crash, Undersecretary of the Interior for Judicial Affairs and Human Rights] Felipe de Jesus Zamora was a great ally in the fight against trafficking in persons. He was committed to [Mexico’s collaboration with] the United Nations Blue Heart campaign against trafficking, wearing therir blue heart pin on his lapel each and every day. His loss is irreparable.

I join the pain of all Mexicans, who have lost brave servants of our nation. They defended the values which make Mexico great through their day-to-day hard work and determination. I sympathize with their beloved families, peers and colleagues.

 Attentively

Atentamente

Diputada Federal Rosi Orozco

Nov. 11, 2011


Added: Nov. 14, 2011

Mexico

Protest sign says "We need authorities who will indeed protect us - not rapists."

La CIDH admite el caso de 11 mujeres mexicanas que acusan tortura sexual

La Comisión Interamericana investigará una denuncia de violación de un grupo mujeres en un operativo policial en San Salvador Atenco en 2006

Según la documentación de organizaciones civiles, al menos 26 mujeres fueron violadas, de las cuales, 11 acudieron ante la CIDH (Cuartoscuro Archivo).

La Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) admitió investigar el caso de 11 mujeres mexicanas que aseguran que fueron víctimas de tortura sexual durante una represión policial en 2006 en San Salvador Atenco, en el Estado de México.

Durante el 143° periodo ordinario de sesiones, la CIDH emitió un informe para comenzar a investigar la petición 512-08 Mariana Selvas Gómez y otros vs. México, interpuesta en abril de 2008 bajo el cargo de dilación de justicia por la nula investigación en el caso.

“Ni la Fiscalía Especial de Delitos Violentos Contra las Mujeres y Trata de Personas (Fevimtra) ni la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado de México (PGJEM) han realizado una adecuada investigación y ningún policía, de los más de 2,500 agentes que intervinieron, ha sido sancionado”, acusa el Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez (Centro Prodh), que lleva el caso legal de las denunciantes.

La Comisión investigará ahora si el Estado mexicano cometió violaciones de derechos humanos y dará a conocer sus conclusiones en cuanto la parte acusadora y el gobierno mexicano sean notificados sobre las mismas.

La población de San Salvador de Atenco se movilizó en febrero y mayo de 2006 contra la expropiación de tierras en San Salvador Atenco para la construcción de un nuevo aeropuerto internacional en el centro del país. La protesta derivó en un enfrentamiento en el que participaron 2,500 policías de los tres órdenes de gobierno. Dos personas murieron y 207 fueron detenidas.

Organizaciones civiles como el Centro Prodh denuncian que durante el operativo del 3 y 4 de mayo de 2006, al menos 26 mujeres fueron víctimas de tortura sexual; de las cuáles, 11 presentaron una querella ante la CIDH.

Estas mujeres denunciaron que los agentes las detuvieron por participar en los disturbios y que en los vehículos donde eran trasladadas a un penal sufrieron violencia sexual, física y verbal.

Una de las denunciantes, Italia Méndez, escribió una carta en el quinto aniversario del operativo en Atenco: "La tortura sexual ejercida contra nosotras las mujeres en los operativos fue un hecho difícil de afrontar y denunciar, dimensionar tal violencia contra nuestros cuerpos nos resultaba desbordante, sin embargo, el mantenernos juntas y enfrentar al Estado de forma colectiva nos permitió afrontar y desmontar el discurso del poder en el cual nosotras debíamos sentir vergüenza y no podíamos hacer nada con lo ocurrido”.

En julio de 2010, la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) ordenó la liberación de 12 integrantes del Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra (FPDT), que estaban sentenciados a penas de entre 31 y 112 años de cárcel por el delito de secuestro equiparado tras haber participado en la protesta.

Un año antes, la Corte dictaminó que los policías que fueron parte del operativo cometieron graves violaciones a las garantías individuales. Hasta ahora, sólo uno ha sido consignado por actos libidinosos, pero no fue encarcelado.

La SCJN también deslindó responsabilidad al expresidente Vicente Fox y al exgobernador del Estado de México, Enrique Peña Nieto.

El exmandatario estatal dijo en 2008 que volvería a ordenar un operativo similar en caso de que fuera necesario restablecer el orden y la paz social. Sin embargo, un año después, reconoció que en el caso existe un “alto grado de impunidad” en cuanto a violaciones y abusos cometidos por los 2,500 policías que participaron, pero dijo que era “prácticamente imposible saber quién las cometió”.

Cinco años después de haber avalado el operativo, Enrique Peña Nieto es el político mexicano mejor posicionado en las encuestas para los comicios presidenciales de 2012.

International Commission will investigate the case of 11 Mexican women who charge sexual torture [at the hands of police]

The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR)  has decided to investigate rape complaints filed by a group of women in regard to a police operation that occurred in the city of San Salvador de Atenco in 2006.

According to documentation assembled by nongovernmental organizations, at least 26 women were raped at the time of the incident. Eleven of those victims have pursued the case that will be considered by the IACHR.

During its 143rd regular session, the Commission issued a report to begin investigating  petition 512-08 -  Mariana Selvas Gómez et al., Mexico, filed in April 2008 on allegations that justice was not served because officials failed to investigate the case.

"Neither the [federal] Special Prosecutor for Violent Crimes Against Women and Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA) nor the Attorney General of the State of Mexico (PGJEM) conducted an adequate investigation, and none of the more than 2,500 police officers involved [in the operation] has been penalized,” declared a spokesperson for the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (PRODH Center), which provides legal representation for the complainants.

The Commission will now investigate whether the Mexican government committed human rights violations and will publish its conclusions after the complainants and the Mexican government are notified about them.

The population of San Salvador Atenco had mobilized in February, and then in May of 2006 in protest against the expropriation of land within the city that was to be used for the construction of a new international airport. The protest led to a confrontation and a response by more than 2,500 federal, state and local police officers. Two people died and 207 were arrested.

Civil society organizations such as the PRODH Center reported that during the operation, which took place between May 3rd and 4th of 2006, at least 26 women were subjected to sexual torture. Eleven of those victims joined to bring the IACHR complaint.

The women reported that officers had arrested them for participating in the disturbances, and that they were sexually, physically and verbally assaulted on the buses that transported them to jail.

One of the complainants, Italia Méndez, wrote a letter on the fifth anniversary of the operation in Atenco and stated: "The sexual torture that was perpetrated against us as women was hard to face and denounce - such violence [against] our bodies was overwhelming. Nonetheless, by staying together and by confronting the state collectively, we were able to dismantle the discourse that was [publicized] by those in power, a discourse that said that we should feel ashamed and that we could not do anything about what had happened."

In July 2010, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) ordered the release of 12 members of the Peoples' Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT), who had been sentenced to between 31 and 112 years in prison for the crime of kidnapping after participating in the protest.

A year earlier, the Court ruled that the police officers who were part of the operation committed serious violations of individual rights. So far, only one officer has been prosecuted for lewd acts. He was not jailed.

The supreme court also exonerated [former] president Vicente Fox and the former governor of Mexico state, Enrique Peña Nieto in regard to the case.

Peña Nieto said in 2008 that he would have ordered a similar operation again in the event that it become necessary to restore order and social peace. A year later, Peña Nieto acknowledged that there was a "high degree of impunity" in regard to the violations and abuses committed by the 2,500 police officers involved, but said it was "practically impossible to know who committed those acts".

Five years after having [ordered and] supported the operation, Enrique Peña Nieto holds the top position in polls leading up to the 2012 presidential race.

Tania L. Montalvo

CNNMéxico

Nov. 09, 2011

See also:

Added: Nov. 14, 2011

Mexico

Raped, Beaten, Never Forgotten

When the women left their homes that May morning in 2006, they never imagined the horrific experience that lay ahead of them.

During a police operation in response to protests by a local peasant organization in San Salvador Atenco, more than 45 women were arrested without explanation. Dozens of them were subjected to physical, psychological and sexual violence by the police officers who arrested them.

In the case of one of the women, police officers pulled her hair, beat her, and forced her into a state police vehicle with her shirt pulled over her head. She was made to lie on top of other detainees, and during the journey to the prison, police officers sexually assaulted her repeatedly.

Once at the "Santiaguito" prison near Toluca in Mexico State, the prison doctors who examined many of the women failed to document all their physical injuries or to gather evidence of the sexual abuse they had suffered.

More than four years later, these brave survivors are still waiting for justice.

None of the officials responsible for their abuse have been held accountable. Federal authorities had conducted an investigation that resulted in a list of 34 names of police officers who were suspected of being responsible for the abuses, but the federal authorities concluded that these individuals should be prosecuted at the state level.

Almost no progress has been made in over a year. Now is the time to push for real justice and remind the federal government of Mexico that it has the ultimate responsibility to protect the human rights of its citizens, and not to let this impunity continue...

Amnesty International

2011

See Also:

LibertadLatina

Special Section

Atenco

Foto: Belinda Hernández

Mexican Police

   Rape and Assault

   47 Women at

   Street Protest


Added: Nov. 14, 2011

Mexico

Lydia Cacho

Detectan 17 casos de trata en la Riviera Maya

Ante los hechos de explotación sexual se realizará una marcha pacífica el próximo 12 de noviembre en la zona turística de Cancún

El Centro Integral de Atención a la Mujer Maltratada (CIAM-Cancún) documenta los casos de al menos 17 menores de edad, víctimas de una red de tratantes de personas en la Riviera Maya, quienes vivían originalmente en situación de calle y fueron captadas por tratantes que las "engancharon" en el turismo sexual, comerciándolas sexualmente para el consumo de turistas canadienses, italianos y norteamericanos, principalmente.

La organización, que brinda asesoría psicológica, emocional, jurídica y alberga a mujeres víctimas de violencia, conocieron de los casos como parte de la campaña "Yo no estoy en venta" que iniciaron en mayo pasado para prevenir y combatir el delito de la Trata de Personas en sus diversas modalidades, enfocada a adolescentes y jóvenes a quienes se dota de herramientas para detectar el fenómeno, reconocer los signos de alerta y, en su caso, denunciarlos a personas de su confianza.

Como parte de dicha campaña se realizará una marcha pacífica el próximo 12 de noviembre en la zona turística de Cancún para lanzar como mensaje al turismo y a la industria de que Cancún es paraíso, pero no para el turismo sexual y que la niñez en Quintana Roo, no está en venta, anunció este martes la presidenta del CIAM-Cancún, Lydia Cacho Ribeiro.

 La activista reveló datos preliminares sobre los casos detectados y el estudio que han conformado para dibujar el perfil de los tratantes de personas que operan en Cancún y en Playa del Carmen -municipios de Benito Juárez y Solidaridad- en donde estas mafias que explotan comercialmente a menores de edad son protegidas por cárteles de la droga, específicamente por Los Zetas y los "Pelones".

Del grupo de 17 víctimas halladas por CIAM, Cacho Ribeiro dijo que sus edades oscilan entre los 13 y 16 años, que provienen de diferentes entidades de la República Mexicana y que su común denominador estriba en que la violencia doméstica que sufrieron en el hogar las hizo huir y encontrar refugio en las calles…

"Esta modalidad de víctimas de Trata, que se encuentran en situación de calle está cobrando importancia en Cancún y Riviera Maya. Hemos sabido por testimonios de las propias víctimas que mantienen relaciones sexuales con policías, comerciantes, taxistas y chavos de calle a cambio de comida, protección, favores o drogas y no exclusivamente por dinero.

"Luego son captadas por sujetos a los que ubican como ‘valedores' que primero las protegen, con quienes entablan un vínculo emocional muy fuerte, y quienes terminan explotándolas sexualmente o entregándolas a tratantes profesionales", expresó.

Estos ‘valedores' operan particularmente en la famosa Quintana Avenida, localizada en Playa del Carmen y en playas aledañas a la zona. Y en Cancún, en el Parque de las Palapas y en la zona de bares de la avenida López Portillo.

 La agrupación ha dividido en tres al tipo de víctimas de Trata, detectados en Quintana Roo, durante la campaña "Yo no estoy en Venta":

Infantes y adolescentes que viven con sus familias y son explotadas en niveles socieconómicos altos, por amigos de la escuela y propietarios de bares; quienes se reportan como desaparecidos o que huyeron de sus casas y terminan dentro de una red local o internacional de Trata; y quienes son traídas al estado por tratantes que manejan las rutas de tráfico de migrantes indocumentados, principalmente de países como Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica y Paraguay.

Activists detect 17 cases of minor sex trafficking at Mexico’s Riviera Maya resort

Given the facts of sexual exploitation, a peaceful march is planned for November 12th in the resort city of Cancun

The Comprehensive Care Centre for Abused Women (CIAM-Cancún) has announced that it has documented the cases of at least 17 underage victims of sex trafficking networks in the Riviera Maya resort area. The victims were homeless children who had been entrapped by a network of traffickers who prostituted them for the consumption of sex tourists who are principally from Canada, Italy and the United States.

CIAM, which provides emotional, psychological, legal and housing assistance for women victims of violence, raised awareness of the 17 victims as part of its "I am not for sale" campaign. The effort began last May to prevent and combat the crime of human trafficking in its diverse forms. The campaign is aimed at teenagers and young adults who will be educated to detect the phenomenon, to recognize the warning signs and, where appropriate, report them to people they trust.

CIAM is organizing a peaceful march for November 12th in the resort city of Cancun to launch its message to the tourism industry that Cancun is a paradise, but not for sex tourism, and to declare that the children of the state of Quintana Roo are not for sale, announced CIAM-Cancún’s president, [journalist and activist] Lydia Cacho Ribeiro.

Cacho Ribeiro discussed preliminary data in regard to the cases detected as well as deails about a study that CIAM has developed to determine the profile of the human traffickers that are operating in Cancun and Playa del Carmen - where the gangs who engage in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) are protected by the drug cartels, and specifically Los Zetas and the "Pelones."

According to Cacho Ribeiro, the ages of the 17 victims found by CIAM are between 13 and 16. They come from across Mexico. Their common denominator is that they all suffered domestic violence at home that drove them onto the streets.

"This type of victims of trafficking, who may be found to be living on the streets, is becoming increasingly important in Cancun and Riviera Maya. We have testimony from the victims who have declared that the have sex with policemen, shopkeepers, taxi drivers and street kids in exchange for food, protection, favors or drugs. It is not always an exchange of money that is involved.

"Later, they are captured by subjects who pose as benefactors, who protect them, and with whom they have a strong emotional bond, These subjects end up exploiting the victim sexually, or they hand  the girl over to professional traffickers,” said Cacho Ribeiro.

These 'protectors' are especially active in the famous Avenida Quintana in Playa del Carmen, and along the beaches surrounding the area. In Cancun, they operate in the Parque de las Palapas and in the bars along the Avenida Lopez Portillo.

CIAM has categorized three types of victims of who have been detected in Quintana Roo state during the I am not for Sale campaign: 1) children and adolescents who are living with their families, who are exploited by school friends and bar owners; 2) youth who are reported as missing or who fled their homes and end up in a local or international [sex] trafficking network; and 3) victims who are brought into the state by traffickers who operate human smuggling routes that transport undocumented migrants who are principally from the nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Paraguay.

Adriana Varillas

El Universal

Nov. 08, 2011


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Latin America

The Rise of Femicide and Women in Drug Trafficking

While men have predominantly run drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), women have participated in them since the 1920s. Their role may have appeared miniscule compared to that of their male counterparts, but they have played key roles such as drug mules and bosses…

Indirect Effects of Drug Trafficking

Government crackdowns on drug cartels not only affect women directly, impacting those who may be working as bosses or mules, but also indirectly through a resulting increase [in] prostitution and sex trafficking. These industries present an alternative when governments place heightened scrutiny on DTOs. According to the International Organization for Migration, sex trafficking alone can produce USD 16 billion a year in revenue in Latin America. With such high profits, they are obvious choices to mobilize in the midst of increased government control…

Femicide Emerges

The rise [in] the number of women in prisons and the surge in their crime rates are symptoms of a prominent issue in Latin America, known as femicide. Femicide refers to the mass killings of women, and reflects the excessive masculinity that is associated with the drug industry… [Drug crime is just one of many causes of femicide in the region.]  Drug trafficking seems to heighten the attitude that women are… disposable... Although femicide remains an issue for all of Latin America, it has a greater presence in parts of Central America. For example, the [number] of murdered women has tripled in four years, from 2005-2009, in many Mexican states from 3.7 to 11.1 per 100,000…  María Virginia Díaz Méndez, of the Center of Women’s Studies in Honduras, states that, “Honduras comes in second to Guatemala for the highest femicide rate”. Despite growing [rates of] femicide throughout the region, it appears as though there are little to no consequences for committing such crimes…

Andrea Mares

Council on Hemispheric Affairs

October 28, 2011

See also:

Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Latin America

Sex Trafficking Now A $16 Billion Business In Latin America

The trafficking of women and girls for purposes of sexual exploitation has become a $16-billion-a-year business in Latin America, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.

That amount "is almost half of what is calculated is generated worldwide" by sex trafficking, said IOM's director for the Southern Cone, Eugenio Ambrosi, in an interview published Wednesday in the Buenos Aires daily Pagina/12.

Prostitution, he said, "is vying for second place with weapons trafficking as the illegal business that moves the most money after drug trafficking."

Ambrosi lamented the fact that trafficking in women has "the advantage ... (that) the logistical and investment (costs) are much lower" than in other illicit businesses, and he added that "there's a connection" between drug trafficking and people trafficking.

"Sometimes the victims ... are recruited to traffic drugs," he said.

"There's a very well organized network, with the capacity to recruit and use women everywhere to satisfy the requirements of the market," said Ambrosi, adding that "something has to be done to go after the customers…"

WUNRN

Dec. 02, 2008


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Remarks by Mexican anti-trafficking leader Teresa Ulloa during her acceptance of the 2011 Gleitsman International Activist Award at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School

Mexico / Massachusetts, USA

Programme from the 2011 Gleitsman International Activist Award ceremony

Palabras De Teresa Ulloa al aceptar El Premio Gleitsman 2011 al Activismo Social Internacional

Buenas noches, quiero agradecer a los miembros del Jurado y al Centro para el Liderazgo Público de la Escuela Kennedy de la Universidad de Harvard por otorgarme el Premio Gleitsman 2011 al Activismo Social Internacional. También quiero agradecer a cada una de las que me nominaron, Corey, Norma, Dorchen y Jan, todas ellas compañeras en nuestra lucha y en la CATW-Internacional, por confiar en mí y por todo el trabajo que esta nominación les representó.

Soy madre de una joven de 21 años, que ha sido mi motivación y mayor impulse para que haya dedicado mi trabajo a contribuir a poner fin a todas las formas de violencia contra las mujeres, incluyendo la sobre-sexualización y la explotación sexual comercial de mujeres y niñas. Yo sueño con que mi trabajo contribuya para desarraigar la normalización y la aceptación cultural de la violencia contra las mujeres para crear un mejor mundo para todas ellas en todo el mundo.

He dedicado mi vida a luchar por los derechos humanos, especialmente a luchar contra la violencia hacia las mujeres y las niñas, y, desde hace veinte años, a combatir la trata de mujeres, niñas y niños para la explotación sexual. Durante 40 años, he trabajado para empoderar y defender a las mujeres para que logren el acceso a sus derechos y he representado a innumerables víctimas de violencia sexual.

A menudo, he trabajado con un alto riesgo personal y el de mi familia, para erradicar la trata a lo largo de América Latina y el Caribe, especialmente en México, donde los cárteles de las drogas ahora son los actores principales de este delito.

En mi trabajo, he incluído un enfoque holístico para crear las condiciones legales, políticas y sociales que permitan erradicar la trata de personas. Uso mi conocimiento y experiencia para diseñar y poner en práctica campañas y modelos de capacitación innovadores para la prevención, la protección y asistencia de las víctimas, y para la persecución de los tratantes y explotadores, para capacitar a los agentes institucionales encargados de hacer respetar las leyes y para educar a los jóvenes, entre otros.

Inspirada por nuestras Compañeras de CATW-AP, diseñé un modelo dirigido a hombres jóvenes para reducir la demanda de sexo de paga. Este modelo es el primero en su tipo para educar a hombres jóvenes y niños sobre la construcción de la masculinidad tradicional y las consecuencias de la demanda en el sexo de paga, que además promueve una concepción alternativa de la sexualidad masculina basada en la igualdad de derechos humanos. Este modelo se ha aplicado en México, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Perú, Panamá, Chile, Colombia y la República Dominicana.

Hoy, contamos con una red de cerca de 400 organizaciones en 25 países en la Región de Latinoamérica y el Caribe, donde el avance del crimen organizado y la trata de personas es alarmante y la corrupción de las instituciones gubernamentales y los responsables de hacer respetar la Ley es una constante. Cientos de mujeres, niñas y niños se reportan como desaparecidos y vivimos continuamente con miedo. A través de nuestro trabajo hemos rescatado más de 899 mujeres, niñas y niños de la trata interna e internacional con propósitos de explotación sexual, a través del Sistema Alerta Roja que fundamos y operamos hace cinco años.

Sin embargo, todavia enfrentamos muchos retos inmensos, que pueden resumirse en:

La guerra y toda la violencia que ella involucra contra las mujeres y las niñas, en las actividades militares y paramilitares: violación, violencia sexual, desplazamiento, muerte, hambre, el abuso de poder al humillar a las madres, esposas, hijas y hermanas de los derrotados, los abusos sexuales y la prostitución que promueven e imponen los grupos armados, tanto los regulares como los irregulares. Queremos la paz sobre los intereses económicos y políticos. Queremos el imperio de la ley y de los derechos humanos.

La discriminación de género, esa discriminación que mata a miles de niñas aún antes de que hayan nacido, o aún cuando ya nacieron son condenadas a la falta de oportunidades, a la violencia de género, a la explotación, a la mala nutrición, a la marginación, a la desigualdad, y a prácticas tradicionales perjudiciales para sus cuerpos y a su dignidad humana, como el pago de las novias.

La pobreza y la extrema pobreza. La feminización de la pobreza se ha convertido en testigo de la injusticia para un poco más de la mitad de la población mundial. Urgimos su abolición.

La violencia de género, esa violencia que se ejerce contra las mujeres y las niñas en los ámbitos públicos y privados, en todas partes. Las muejres y las niñas son violadas cada día en sus hogares, donde deberían tener garantizados sus derechos a la vida, la su integridad personal y a su seguridad. Las mujeres y las niñas son asesinadas cada día en medio de la más absoluta impunidad. La seguridad colectiva nunca será posible si no se puede garantizar la seguridad y la integridad de las mujeres y las niñas.

Tenemos el derecho de ser una prioridad en la agenda internacional de cooperación, en los esfuerzos para el desarrollo, y en la lucha contra la pobreza, en los desastres naturals, en la educación, en la salud, en la protección de nuestros derechos humanos, pero también en los temas de seguridad nacional, en la guerra y en la paz, en los esfuerzos contra el terrorismo, y en la lucha contra el crimen organizado...

El Transcrito Completo

See also: English translation

Teresa Ulloa speaks at the 2011 Gleitsman Award for International Social Activism

Good evening. I want to thank the members of the jury and the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School at Harvard University for having awarded me the 2011 Gleitsman Award for International Social Activism. I also want to thank those who nominated me, [Coalition Against Trafficking (CATW) in Women Executive Director] Norma [Ramos], Corey, Dorchen and Jan, as well as all of the sisters who are all partners in our struggle at the International CATW, for trusting me and for all the work that this nomination represents for them.

I am the mother of a 21-year-old young woman, who has been the greatest motivation causing me to dedicate my work to helping to put an end to all forms of violence against women, including the over-sexualization and commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls. I dream that my work contributes to uprooting the standardization and cultural acceptance of violence against women, resulting in a better world for all women across the world.

I have dedicated my life to fighting for human rights, especially to combat violence against women and girls, and, for twenty y ears, to combating the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. For 40 years I have worked to empower and advocate for women to allow them access to their rights. I have represented innumerable victims of sexual violence.

Often, I have worked at high personal risk to myself and my family to eradicate trafficking throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and especially in Mexico, where drug cartels are now the main actors in this crime.

I have included a holistic approach in my work to create the legal, political and social conditions that will allow for the eradication of human trafficking. Use my knowledge and experience to design and implement campaigns and innovative training models for prevention, protection and assistance for victims, for the prosecution of traffickers and exploiters, to train the institutional actors responsible for enforcing the laws and to educate young people, among other [activities].

Inspired by our sisters at the CATW, I designed a model aimed at young men to reduce the demand for paid sex. This model is the first of its kind to educate young men and boys [that addresses] the construction of traditional masculinity and the impact of demand on paid sex. [The approach] promotes an alternative conception of male sexuality based on and equality of [gender related] human rights. This model has been applied in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru, Panama, Chile, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Today, we have a network of nearly 400 organizations working in 25 countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean, where the growth of organized crime and human trafficking is alarming and where the corruption of government institutions and those responsible for enforcing Law is a constant factor. Hundreds of women and children are reported as missing and we live in state of continuously fear. Through the Red Alert system that started  five years ago, we have rescued more than 899 women and children victims of domestic and international trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation.

Nonetheless, we still face many enormous challenges, when can be summariezed as follows:

* Wars and all of the violence that they create against women and girls, in activities of military and paramilitary groups: rape, sexual violence, displacement, death, hunger, abuse of power used to humiliate the mothers, wives, daughters and sisters of the defeated, and the sexual abuse and prostitution that is imposed by both regular and irregular armed groups. We want peace to prevail over economic and political interests. We want the rule of law and human rights.

* Gender discrimination, which kills thousands of girls even before they are born, or that which, after they are born condemns them to a lack of opportunities, gender violence, exploitation, poor nutrition, marginalization, inequality, and traditional practices that are harmful to their bodies and to their human dignity, such as payments for brides.

* Poverty and extreme poverty. The feminization of poverty has borne witness to the injustices faced by a little over half the world’s population. We urge its abolition.

* Gender-based violence - violence perpetrated against women and girls in public and private spaces, everywhere. Women and girls are raped ev ery day in their own homes, where they should be guaranteed their rights to life, personal integrity and security. Women and girls are murdered every day in an environment of the most absolute impunity. Collective security will never be possible if we can not guarantee the security and integrity of women and girls.

We have the right to be a priority on the international agenda for cooperation, in development efforts, and in the fight against poverty, in [relief efforts in regard to] natural disasters, in education, in healthcare, in the protection of our human rights, as well as in regard to national security issues, in war and peace, in the efforts against terrorism and in combating organized crime...

Full Transcript

Teresa Ulloa at Harvard University

Posted by Fundacion CEDAI-Centro de Asistencia Integral

Nov. 01, 2011


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Pop star Ricky Martin calls for the end of child trafficking

El Mundo / The World

Ricky Martin

Opinión: Detengan el flagelo de la trata infantil, pide Ricky Martin

Mi compromiso con la causa de detener la explotación infantil nació por una experiencia que me hizo poner los pies en la tierra. En 2002, fui testigo de los horrores de la trata de personas cuando rescatamos a tres niñas temblorosas que vivían en las calles pobres de India. Prevenir que estas niñas fueran víctimas de este horrendo crimen fue un despertar personal.

Agradezco a la iniciativa Héroes de CNN por permitir que Ricky Martin Foundation comparta con otras personas y las involucre en nuestro compromiso por terminar con la explotación de los niños por medio de la trata de personas y la esclavitud en el mundo moderno.

Eso fue hace más de una década. Desde entonces, supe que mi fundación debería arrojar una luz sobre este tema tabú. La educación ha sido nuestro pilar desde el principio. En 2003, lanzamos People for Children, nuestro proyecto principal, para proporcionar educación y soluciones a los esfuerzos internacionales para eliminar la trata infantil.

Este mercado sin escrúpulos —que consiste en 27 millones de víctimas en todo el mundo, de acuerdo con el Informe de la Trata de Personas de 2011— genera hasta 32,000 millones de dólares al año, una cantidad que rivaliza con el tráfico de armas y el narcotráfico. De estos 27 millones, la Unicef estima que cada año 1.2 millones son niños que son víctimas de la trata de personas para trabajar como de mano de obra forzada, en la industria del comercio sexual, en la prostitución y en otras formas de esclavitud.

Las estadísticas son impactantes. Muchos las cuestionan porque los crímenes se ocultan. Pero las cifras no importan: prevenir la trata de uno o de 200 niños le da validez a nuestra misión.

Nadie debe ser explotado o privado de su libertad...

Stop the scourge of child trafficking

My commitment to the cause of stopping the exploitation of children was born from a humbling experience. In 2002, I witnessed the horrors of human trafficking as we rescued three trembling girls living on the impoverished streets of India. Preventing these girls from falling prey to this horrendous crime was a personal awakening.

I thank CNN's Heroes initiative for allowing the Ricky Martin Foundation to share and engage others in our commitment to end the exploitation of children by human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

That was more than a decade ago. Since then, I knew my foundation must shed a light on this taboo subject. Education has been our pillar from the outset. In 2004, we launched People for Children, our principal project, to provide education and solutions for international efforts to eliminate child trafficking.

This unscrupulous market -- which consists of 27 million victims worldwide, according to the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report -- generates up to $32 billion annually, an amount rivaling that of the trafficking of arms and drugs. Of the 27 million, UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million are children who are trafficked every year to work as forced labor, in the commercial sex industry, in prostitution and in other forms of slavery.

The statistics are staggering. Many contest them because the crimes are hidden. But numbers don't matter: Preventing one or 200 children from traffickers validates our mission.

No one should be exploited and deprived of his or her freedom...

Ricky Martin

Special to CNN

Nov. 03, 2011


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Bolivia

Bolivian Legislative  Deputy Marianela Paco

Proponen penas duras por trata de niños

El proyecto de Ley contra la Trata y Tráfico de Personas planteará la pena máxima (30 años de prisión) para castigar la trata de niños, niñas y adolescentes, informó la diputada Marianela Paco (MAS).

 “Hay que establecer sanciones más duras contra el delito de la trata de niños, niñas y adolescentes con la pena máxima, es decir, 30 años de prisión”, afirmó.

 El proyecto integral, que es analizado en la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Asamblea Legislativa, señala que el delito de trata “será sancionado con 15 a 20 años de prisión para el o la persona que por cualquier medio (engaño, coacción, amenaza o uso de la fuerza) favorezca la trata de personas dentro o fuera del país”.

 El documento define el delito de trata de personas como la “captación, transporte, traslado, acogida o rapto de una persona con fines de explotación laboral, sexual o la extracción de órganos”. En tanto, el tráfico de personas será penado con una privación de libertad de cuatro a ocho años.

Paco dijo que se espera que el proyecto de ley sea tratado por la Asamblea Legislativa hasta la conclusión del periodo de sesiones de esta gestión, para que el 2012 se cuente con un instrumento legal que establezca sanciones y penalidades de privación de libertad para quienes incurran en este tipo de delitos.

Legislators propose harsh penalties for child trafficking

According to Deputy Marianela Paco, a legislator of the MAS party in Bloivia’s Legislative Assembly, a measure currently under consideration - the Law against Trafficking in Persons - will raise the maximum penalty for trafficking in children and adolescents to 30 years in prison.

Deputy Paco, "We need to establish stronger sanctions against the crime of trafficking in children and adolescents with the maximum penalty, that is, 30 years in prison."

The bill, which is being discussed by the Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly, calls for the crime of trafficking "be sentenced by from 15 to 20 years in prison for a person who by any means (deception, coercion, threat or use of force) traffics in people either inside or outside of Bolivia."

The proposed law also defines the crime of human trafficking as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or kidnapping of a person for labor or sexual exploitation, of for the removal of organs…"

Deputy Paco said that she hopes the bill will be addressed by the Legislature during the current session, so , that in 2012 we will have an instrument that establishes legal sanctions and penalties of imprisonment for those who engage in this type of crime.

Rolando Flores - La Paz

FMBolivia

Nov. 05, 2011


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Mexico

Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez

PGR designa nuevo responsable de la SIEDO

Mexico, D.F.- La titular de la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR), Marisela Morales Ibáñez, designó a José Cuitláhuac Martínez como subprocurador de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada (SIEDO).

Apenas en mayo pasado se había designado a Patricia Bugarin como titular de la SIEDO.

…Angélica Herrera Rivero en la Fiscalía Especial para los Delitos de Violencia Contra las Mujeres y Trata de Personas (Fevimtra).

Los servidores públicos tienen la encomienda de respaldar el trabajo del gobierno de la República para garantizar a la sociedad una procuración de justicia sólida y procedimientos penales efectivos y expeditos…

La nueva titular de Fevimtra, Angélica Herrera, ocupaba la titularidad de la Unidad Especializada en Investigación de Tráfico de Menores, Indocumentados y Órganos.

En su trayectoria profesional se ha desempeñado en la Fiscalía Especializada para la Atención de Delitos Electorales y en la SIEDO.

Attorney General names new leadership to organized crime and gender violence / human trafficking units

Mexico City - Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez has named José Cuitláhuac Martinez Assistant Attorney General for Specialized Investigations into Organized Crime (SIEDO). Cuitláhuac Martinez replaces Patricia Bugarin, who had been been appointed to the post in May of 2011.

…Angelica Herrera Rivero was named to take over the office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes of Violence Against Women and Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA).

Public servants have the task of supporting the work of the government of the Republic to ensure that society is provided with strong law enforcement and effective and expeditious criminal procedures …

The new head of FEVIMTRA, Angelica Herrera, previously served as the head of the Special Unit for Investigations into Child Trafficking, [crimes against the] Undocumented and Organ trafficking.

Herrera had also worked in the past ain the office of the Special Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes, and within SIEDO.

Miguel Cabildo

Proceso

Mexico

Nov. 01, 2011


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Mexico, The United States

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Anthony Wayne (right) hosts anti trafficking NGO roundtable in Mexico City

EU otorga a México 1.5 mdd para combatir trata

U.S. Government provides $1.5 million for Mexican anti-trafficking NGOs

La embajada de Estados Unidos en México anunció que este mes serán entregados 1.5 millones de dólares en fondos, para apoyar a las organizaciones mexicanas de la sociedad civil que trabajan contra la trata de personas.

La representación diplomática informó que estos recursos económicos se sumarán a los cinco millones de dólares que su gobierno ha otorgado desde 2009 para ese mismo propósito.

En un encuentro con organizaciones no gubernamentales, el embajador Anthony Wayne señaló que si bien los gobiernos de ambos lados de la frontera están comprometidos con el combate a la trata de personas, estos no pueden terminar con el problema sin la ayuda de la sociedad.

Al participar en una mesa redonda sobre el tema, el diplomático estadounidense afirmó que la trata de personas es un problema global, que afecta a la gente en ambos lados de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos.

"Los gobiernos de ambos países están comprometidos a cooperar estrechamente para reducir este comercio criminal; sin embargo, los gobiernos no pueden terminarlo solos. Ese es el motivo por el cual reuniones como ésta son vitales", declaró según un comunicado de la representación diplomática.

Destacó que para ser eficaces en ese propósito se debe aprovechar la experiencia y capacidades de actores apasionados, como son las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, al tiempo que reiteró el compromiso del gobierno para cooperar en el combate a este problema.

"Mi embajada espera continuar nuestra cooperación efectiva con estos grupos, al igual que con el gobierno de México, hasta que podamos declarar que hemos ganado esta pelea", recalcó.

La embajada de Estados Unidos en México recordó que en el combate a la trata de personas, "emplean una estrategia integral de todo el gobierno, con énfasis en prevención y en atrapar y proceder legalmente contra los criminales, y más importante, en protección a las víctimas de este crimen".

Indicó que para mantener esta estrategia, el embajador Wayne ha ordenado a todas las agencias y oficinas de la representación diplomática a cooperar con la meta de terminar con la trata de personas.

Además del apoyo a los grupos de la sociedad civil, la embajada ofrece capacitación para actores gubernamentales y no gubernamentales, trae expertos de Estados Unidos, al tiempo que coopera estrechamente en esfuerzos de justicia para combatir y prevenir la trata, concluyó.

El Universal

Mexico

Nov. 03, 2011

See also:

Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Mexico, The United States

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Anthony Wayne (center left) meets with anti trafficking NGO leaders

U.S. Embassy Hosts Roundtable on Prevention of Human Trafficking with Mexican NGOs

Mexico City, November 3, 2011—The U.S. Embassy in Mexico today held a roundtable discussion with Mexican non-governmental organizations who are leading the fight against human trafficking, including: Casa Alianza, Fundacion Infantía, Colectivo Nacional en Contra de la Trata, Red Nacional de Refugios, and Centro de Estudios e Investigación en Desarollo y Asistencia Social (CEIDAS).  Ambassador Anthony Wayne chaired the discussion, which covered public awareness, victim protection, care for child victims of trafficking, combating sexual tourism, preventative education programs and training, and other topics.

“Human trafficking is a global problem, one that affects people on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The governments of both countries are committed to cooperating closely to curb this criminal trade, however, governments alone cannot wipe it out.  That is why meetings like this one are so vital.” said Ambassador Wayne. “In order to be effective, this campaign must leverage the expertise and capabilities of passionate and committed actors from civil society, such as these organizations gathered here today.  I was very interested to hear the perspectives of these key NGOs on both the problem and the actions being taken to combat it. My embassy looks forward to continuing our effective cooperation with these groups, as well as with the Mexican government, until we can declare this fight won.”

In addition to the $5 million dollars in support the U.S. has provided since 2009 to Mexican civil society organizations working against human trafficking, another $1.2 million in U.S. funds to combat trafficking in persons in Mexico is being delivered this month.  In combating human trafficking, the United States employs a whole-of-government approach, with an emphasis on prevention, finding and prosecuting perpetrators, and most importantly, protecting the victims of this crime. In keeping with this approach, Ambassador Wayne has directed all agencies and offices at the embassy to cooperate, with the goal of ending human trafficking in mind. In addition to supporting civil society groups, the embassy provides training for both governmental and non-governmental actors, brings experts from the United States to engage with their Mexican counterparts, and engages in close law enforcement cooperation to combat and prevent this traffic.

U.S. Embassy in Mexico

Nov. 03, 2011


Added: Nov. 06, 2011

Texas, USA / Mexico

Hostage house 'full of garbage'

Austin - The possibility of more suspects -- some even posing as victims -- is fueling a human trafficking investigation for Austin police. Earlier this week they busted a ring at an east Austin home on Johnny Morris Road, where at least eight confirmed victims from Mexico and Latin America were imprisoned.

So far, police have arrested one man, Fernando Salazar, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. However, they say more charges, including kidnapping and human trafficking could be ahead.

"Just sad that people could be treated this way,” said Melanie Wassell, as she entered the home's kitchen and was hit with the stench of soured food. "Well the house, it's full of garbage. Food just everywhere."

Wassell works for the man who owns the house and a string of other rental properties. Now she and her crew are must make sure what smugglers left behind gets cleaned up.

Police said the captives were here for days, some of them maybe even weeks, including a 15-year-old. When he was unable to pay, they threatened to keep him at the house to cook and clean for them.

"Dirty clothes,” Wassell pointed out, walking into one of the tiny bedrooms. “The hygiene, it's just, it's awful what you see in here, that anybody was made to live in these kind of conditions."

Held at gun-point, the other immigrants faced returning to the Mexican border, where their captors would kill them if there families could not come up with the money.

One man left what appears to be a loved one's number on the wall, while cell phones remained scattered around the darkened rooms where they slept on only mattresses.

Wassell said she hates to think what would have happened if one of those family members hadn't tipped off police.

"It's a horrible thing that people could do that to other people,” she said.

The owner of the home said the man police arrested is not the person who rented the home two months ago. The renter passed a criminal background check, and now the owner is trying to figure out how this happened.

KXAN

Oct. 20, 2011


Added: Nov. 03, 2011

Historic caravan of mothers of missing migrants crosses Mexico

Mexico / Central America

Members of the Mesoamerican Mothers Movement show pictures of their disappeared loved ones during the installation of an alter at the site of the 2010 Tamaulipas massacre of 72 migrants. The event occured during the group's Fall 2011 awareness raising caravan across Mexico.

From: Caravana de madres de inmigrantes centroamericanos desaparecidos llega a México

TeleSur

Nov. 03, 2011

During an earlier march through southern Mexico, Salvadoran mothers gather to pray and leave offerings and crosses for their family members who were abused, kidnapped and murdered in the 'mugging and rape gauntlet' at Mexico's southern border region known as 'La Arrocera' - the Rice Cooker.

Madres de inmigrantes desaparecidos en México crean equipo de “investigadoras”

Madres de inmigrantes desaparecidos en tránsito por nuestro país crearon un equipo especial dedicado a labores ministeriales, encaminado a obtener información sobre el paradero de las víctimas.

La idea es desarrollar labores que hasta ahora han sido olvidadas en la Procuraduría General de la República o en las Procuradurías estatales.

Las “investigadoras” forman parte de las mamás que integran el Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano (MMM), el cual realiza desde el 30 de octubre y hasta el 13 de noviembre una caravana de búsqueda de los hijos por la ruta del Golfo de México, con paso por los estados de Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Ciudad de México, Veracruz, Oaxaca y Chiapas.

La mayoría de ellas provienen de países como Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador y Estados Unidos.

De acuerdo con el plan de trabajo divulgado por el Movimiento, las actividades de investigación consistirán, además del intercambio de información con los migrantes que se encuentran en ruta, “en pesquisas y seguimiento de pistas para encontrar a los familiares…,  saber si viven o murieron o están privados de su libertad o en situación de trata de personas”.

Y en “visitas a hospitales, prostíbulos, reclusorios, albergues de indigentes y/o minusválidos y a cualquier lugar público en donde pudiera hallarse algún dato”.

Esta labor es respaldada por organizaciones como Hermanos en el Camino, Casa Belem del Migrante, Instituto Tamaulipeco para los Migrantes, Pastoral Social Caritas, Casa de los Amigos, Cencos y Red Migrante, y por instituciones como la CNDH y Amnistía Internacional.

Además de las indagatorias alternas, las madres tienen programados plantones y exposiciones en las plazas públicas de lugares emblemáticos del flujo migratorio, la implementación de un correo comunitario para informar a otras familias sobre sus migrantes, así como ceremonias en las vías del tren y en tumbas sin nombre en cementerios.

Uno de los eventos más importantes será el de hoy en San Fernando, Tamaulipas, lugar de la masacre de 73 indocumentados el 23 de agosto de 2010.

“La idea es hacer un ritual en memoria de los asesinados, para evidenciar el trato ilegal, inhumano y criminal que México dispensa a los migrantes en tránsito, y denunciar y exigir cambios al gobierno mexicano, que se ha conducido con complicidad, impunidad y se ha negado a la reparación del daño de los afectados”, señala el MMM.

Caravan of mothers of migrants missing in Mexico creates team of investigators

A group of mothers of Central American migrants who have disappeared in Mexico have created a specialized team that is dedicated to investigating the fates of their victimized loved ones.

The group’s goal is to take on the responsibility of investigating cases that the office of the Attorney General of the Republic has simply forgotten about.

The "investigators" are mothers from the Mesoamerican Migrants Movement (MMM), which started a caravan across Mexico on October 30th that will continue through November 13th of 2011. The caravan is following the Gulf coast migration route in search of their children. The caravan will cross the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Tabasco, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro and Tamaulipas, and will also enter Mexico City.

The majority of the marchers are from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and the United States.

According to a work plan released by the group, research activities will include exchanges of information with migrants who are in transit, as well as the development and pursuit of leads with the aim of recovering family members who may be either dead, or alive and enslaved in a human trafficking situation.

The group added that they will be carrying out search activities in hospitals, brothels, jails and prisons, migrant shelters and at any other public environment where they can discover the facts.

This work is supported by organizations such as the Brothers on the Road migrant shelter, the Bethlehem Migrant House shelter, the Tamaulipas Institute for Migrants, Pastoral Social Charities, Casa de los Amigos, the Migrant Census and Network, Friendship House, and by institutions like Mexico’s [national] Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International.

In addition to their investigative work, the mothers are planning to present workshops and information expositions in public squares and at prominent landmarks along common migration routes. The caravan will also institute a community mail system to allow migrants to keep family members informed about their wellbeing, and will hold ceremonies along rail lines [where migrants are often victimized] and at unnamed graves located in cemeteries along the route.

One of the caravan’s most important events will take place today in the city of San Fernando, in Tamaulipas state, where the massacre of 73 undocumented migrants took place on August 23, 2010.

The Mesoamerican Migrant Movement declared that, "The idea is to perform a ritual in memory of those who were murdered, and to bear witness to the inhuman and criminal treatment that Mexico dispenses to migrants who transit through its territory. We will also denounce and demands changes from the Mexican Government, which has to date has behaved with impunity as an accomplice [to this crisis], and that denies reparations to those who were victimized as well.

Daniel Blancas Madrigal

La Crónica de Hoy

Nov. 02, 2011


Added: Nov. 03, 2011

Mexico / California, USA

An underage girl stands waiting for the next john in the Coahuila red light district of the city of Tijuana, in Baja California state.

From a YouTube video.

Riverside Girl Trapped in Tijuana Child Sex Trade

The sex trade in Tijuana is closely linked to the region’s violent drug cartels – sex trafficking of children is thought to be the third-highest revenue generator for the cartels after the drug trade and gun smuggling

The illegal sex trade is a growing export from the U.S. to Mexico, according to the State Human Rights Commission of Baja, California. The commercial sexual exploitation of children rakes in an estimated $32 million a year, much of that from Americans seeking illegal sex across the border, according to the commission.

Child prostitution in Tijuana is not a new problem. What may be less known is that among the boys and girls being sexually exploited across the border are youngsters from the United States.

I met one of these children – a teenage girl from Riverside-- on an undercover reporting trip to “La Zona Norte” in the red light district along Tijuana’s Coahuila Street, known as a hub of sex tourism.

Under the neon lights along Coahuila Street I quickly discovered Americans among both the exploited and the exploiters.

One man I met, who described himself as a pimp, told me he grew up in Merced [California].

He wasn’t shy and was quick to tell me that “everything is available here,” even children.

The price for sex with a young girl -- $40.

“It’s cheap bud,” he said. “Sex is really cheap here.”

The illegal sex trade is a growing export from the U.S. to Mexico, according to the State Human Rights Commission of Baja, California. The commercial sexual exploitation of children rakes in an estimated $32 million a year, much of that from Americans seeking illegal sex across the border, according to the commission.

“We know that this problem is not a local one,” said Francisco Cota, a spokesman with the commission. “It’s a regional problem. It’s a bi-national problem. If there is a demand here in Mexico. There’s going to be demand in LA.”

I paid the fee and the pimp introduced me to a girl who went by the name Najeri. She told me she was 16 and from Riverside.

I explained to her that I was a reporter working on a story about the child sex trade, and she immediately told me, “It wasn’t something I decided to do.”

She showed me the room where she’s forced to have sex, a tiny stall barely big enough for a shoddy bed.

“It can be very…very scary,” she said. “A lot of the times those guys are Americans.”

Najeri told me that as a child left largely on her own she started “hanging out with the wrong crowd” and was flattered the attention and companionship of men in the group. By the time she learned their true intentions it was too late.

The sex trade in Tijuana is closely linked to the region’s violent drug cartels – sex trafficking of children is thought to be the third-highest revenue generator for the cartels after the drug trade and gun smuggling, according to the commission.

Both boys and girls are among the children being sexually exploited, according to the commission, an assertion Najeri said is true. The main client base for the boys is American, she told me.

They are “coming here and paying with the American dollars, so it’s just like gold to them,” she said. “There are a lot of guys coming from the states that live in Vegas, live in Hollywood, live in Los Angeles,” she said.

Najeri is afraid to run away. Her pimp, she said, has told her what happens to the bodies of runaways.

“The morgue comes by the hospital and incinerates it before anybody can be alerted that an American died,” she said. “That struck fear in my heart.”

She continued: “I don’t have the power or the ability to do that,” she said.

Then she told me: “There’s been times when I have been wishing that somebody like you or some people come down, inquiring about it

At that moment I had the impulse to walk out and take Najeri with me. But I knew from talking with human rights advocates and with Najeri herself that doing so would put her life—and possibly mine-- at risk.

Going to the police could make matters worse, as many police offers are in cahoots with the drug cartels, Cota said.

“Corruption is a huge problem in Mexico,” Cota said. “It's one of the main reasons why this problem is growing."

Willful ignorance among the general population is fueling the growth of the sex trade, Cota said.

“Not a lot of people know about it,” Cota said. “They either ignore it or they just really don't want to know about it. They just think this happens in Bangkok."

A state office was recently established to combat child sex slavery. The first step is overcoming the culture of fear that makes it difficult to even openly acknowledge the problem, said Araceli Legosa-Parra a spokeswoman with the office.

“We want to put out the information,” she said. “Most of the information is not put out there because of fear.”

Antonio Castelan

NBC-LA

 Nov. 02, 2011

See also:

Mexico

Added: May. 25, 2011

Congressional deputy Rosi Orozco, president of the Special Commission to Combat Human Trafficking in the Chamber of Deputies

Pide diputada Orozco cerrar callejón Coahuila como sucedió con Manzanares en D.F.

Tijuana sigue siendo un paraíso para la trata de personas, y aunque afortunadamente ya empiezan a realizarse operativos, se pide lo mismo que en el Distrito Federal, cerrar el Callejón Coahuila, como ocurrió con el Manzanares, manifestó la diputada federal, Rosi Orozco, presidenta de la Comisión Especial Contra la Trata de Personas…

Deputy Orozco calls for the shutting down of Tijuana's La Coahuila red light district

The city of Tijuana continues to be a paradise for human trafficking, and although it is fortunate that anti-trafficking raids have begun, Congressional Deputy Rosi Orozco (National Action Party - PAN / Mexico City) has called for shutting down the Coahuila red light prostitution tolerance zone here…

Uni Radio Informa

May 24, 2011

See also:

LibertadLatina Note

Young women in prostitution in the La Coahuila red light district.

From a YouTube video

More about La Coahuila

Tijuana's La Coahuila red light district is an extremely large prostitution zone, with at least 3,000 registered adult prostitutes and several thousand additional unregistered adults and children working in prostitution. During an April, 2007 visit to the area with another anti-trafficking activist, I counted an estimated 1,000 women and girls in prostitution standing on the street in an area that was approximately 10 blocks by 3 blocks in size.

I observed that U.S. men seeking women and youth in prostitution simply take a trolley ride from San Diego, California, or park in a lot on the U.S. side of the border, and then cross into Mexico without having to show identification to the Mexican border agents. They proceed to either walk the 10 blocks to La Coahuila or take one of the dozens of cabs that wait to route them to their business partners (the brothel owners).

I met the two women pictured above during my 2007 visit to the area.

On the left is an indigenous young woman from Chiapas state in southern Mexico. She was apparently addicted to drugs.

The young lady on the right, who is an Afro-Mexican woman from Acapulco, told me that she had been jilted by her boyfriend, and was left with two young children to care for. She told me that she could not cross the U.S. border carrying her children, so she decided to ‘work’ in La Coahuila.

Although I explained in detail the dangers of HIV/AIDS and other risks to this young lady, she told me that she was doing the work that she wanted to do, and that she would be back to work each and every day. She insisted that she didn’t have a pimp, which I doubt is the case.

End impunity now!

Chuck Goolsby

LibertadLatina

May 25, 2011

See also:

Mexico

En desventaja, niños mexicanos indocumentados

Many of the 80,000 Mexican children who cross from Mexico into the U.S. alone, as undocumented immigrants, are fleeing abuse at home, or are escaping from child prostitution rings...

[According to attorney Christopher Nugent, of the law firm Holland and Knight,] ...Thousands of Mexican and Central American children flee northward into the U.S. each year to escape child prostitution...

...Nugent... emphasized that Tijuana [on the U.S. border with San Diego County] has also become a zone controlled by powerful child prostitution networks.

Many children [in prostitution] from Tijuana are trying to flee to San Diego.

Georgina Olson
Excélsior

July 3, 2008

See also:

Teresa Ulloa: Tijuana is one huge brothel

Added: Nov. 21, 2010

Mexico

Trata de niñas: servicio para los ricos del norte

Tijuana, un inmenso burdel: Teresa Ulloa