This Page Last Updated On June 21, 2005

The below articles & reports define the scope of this ongoing crisis.

Ecuador

Guatemala - Ecuador

Added Sep. 5 2005

Pandillas Explotan a Migrantes Ecuatorianas.

A Gang Affiliated with Organized Crime Has Taken Over Migrant Trafficking from Traditional Coyotes, and Exploits Migrants from Ecuador Who are Desperate to Reach the U.S. 

According to Guatemalan Vice President Eduardo Stein, Gangs have Become a Serious Problem for Guatemala.  Their Trafficking Routes to Mexico Serve to Transport Arms, Drugs & Migrants. 

National Police Director  Erwin Sperissenand Noted that these Routes Also Allow  Gang Members to Escape from One Country to the Next.

Added Aug. 24 2005

Quito -El Plan para Frenar el Turismo Sexual se Afina.

South American Tourism Officials, Following Brazil's Lead, have Met in Ecuador to Fine-Tune Plans for Developing Strong Tourism Industries that Protect the Region's Children from Sex Tourists. Working Groups Will be Formed that Focus on Involving Each Nations' Tourism Industry in the Effort. 

Added Aug. 19 2005

Naufraga un Barco con Más de Cien Migrantes.

Esmeraldas - The Ecuadoran Navy has Rescued 9 Survivors of a Smugglers Boat that Sank at Sea, Killing at Least 104 Migrants.  Most of the Victims were Women.  The Travelers were Going to the U.S. 

Human Smugglers Typically Charge $3,000 Before a Trip and $7,000 Upon Arrival.

[LibertadLatina.org Note: Ecuador's Grave Economic Crisis is Forcing Millions of People to Migrate.  Many Migrants Agree to Enslavement to Pay their Way to Spain or the U.S.]

Added May 18, 2005

 Five Indigenous Ecuadorian Women, Part of a Group of 148 Enslaved Latin American Migrants Recently Rescued by Los Angeles Police, Speak to the Press in New York; Tell of Debt Bondage and Forced Migration.

  Ecuador—Women

...Although the law prohibits violence against women, including within marriage, it is a widespread practice.  The 1995 Law Against Violence Affecting Women and Children criminalized spousal abuse, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; created family courts; and reformed the Penal Code to give courts the power to separate an abusive spouse from the home.  Although nationwide statistics were not available, according to an NGO in Guayaquil, that city registered more than 32,000 official complaints of domestic violence between May 1998 and May 1999, almost double the previous period's figure. The NGO's report also said that one out of three women suffered from some form of domestic violence.

... Women may file complaints against a rapist or an abusive spouse or companion only if they produce a witness.

...Many rapes also are not reported due to the victims' reluctance to confront the perpetrators. The penalty for rape is a jail sentence of up to 16 years.

 ...In cases of statutory rape involving "amorous" sex with a minor, if the rapist marries the victim the charges against him, or anyone else who took part in the rape, cannot be pursued unless the marriage subsequently is annulled.

 ...Sexual harassment in the workplace is common.

 ...Discrimination against women is pervasive in society, particularly with respect to educational and economic opportunities for those in the lower economic strata. The increasingly active women's movement alleges that culture and tradition inhibit achievement of full equality for women.

...There are fewer women than men in the professions and skilled trades, and pay discrimination against women is common.  

  Ecuador—Children

 ...Several private organizations are very active in programs to assist street children, and UNICEF also runs a program in conjunction with the Central Bank. The children of the poor often experience severe hardships, especially in urban areas. Children as young as 5 or 6 years of age often sell newspapers or candy on the street to support themselves or to augment family income. Also, there are reports of prostitution by girls and boys under 18 years of age in urban areas, and there have been reports of cases in which children were forced into prostitution. In rural areas, young children often must leave school at an early age to help out on the family's plot of land.

...45 % of children under the age of 5 are malnourished.  

In Ecuador, "3 out of every 10 children have been sexually abused by the age of 16." - from "SEMILLAS PARA EL CAMBIO" (Seeds of Change), a publication of the Centro de Ayuda a Victimas de Violacion (Center for Victims of Rape) Department of Health, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1992.

From: UNICEF- More and More Girls Become the Victims of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

15 other children, aged 9 - 17, who were repatriated.

Nine Ecuadorean adults were arrested. A Venezuelan police officer who allegedly helped get the children into the country, and sexually abused several of them, is under investigation. The Equadoran and Venezuelan governments are involved in a cover-up. (Vladimir Villegas of the congressional Human Rights Commission, Estrella Gutierrez, "Child Traffic in Venezuela Tip of the Iceberg," IPS, 11 January 1998 & "Exploited children going home," Miami Herald, Associated Press, 22 January 1998)

As of 1997, 86% of the prostitutes in Venezuela are citizens, the other 14% being foreigners. This is a reversal of previous statistics that concluded the opposite. There were 350,000 prostitutes registered with the Health Ministry in 1995. 

(Patrick J. O'Donoghue, "More Venezuelan Women Are Becoming 'Sex Workers' Because of the Economic Crisis," VHeadline/VENews, December 6, 1997)