Guatemala

Sexual harassment of domestic workers, especially indigenous workers, has been identified as a "widespread phenomenon" throughout Latin America.

..."The men of the house appropriated the bodies of these women, and this continues in the present day," according to Amanda Pop Bol, a psychologist and researcher.

[Note: This exploitation also targets Latina and especially indigenous Latina domestics across the United States.]

Spanish Police arrest 61 sex traffickers in Spain.

Bolivian and other Latin American and European women were given false job offers. Upon arrival in Spain they were forced into prostitution and denied any contact with their families. 

Remarks by U.S. HHS head Tommy G. Thompson on President George W. Bush's signing of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization (HR 2620).  This bill authorizes more than $200 million in spending over the next two years to combat the international trafficking of women and children.

Text of The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (HR 2620). 

A 32-year-old woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison for running a brothel where underage teenage girls smuggled from Mexico were forced to prostitute themselves.

The mass-murder of women and girls in Ciudad Juarez (Juarez City), Mexico: Activists ask the OAS (organization of American States) for assistance.

En El Dia Mundial del Migrante - Niños migrantes rumbo al norte: Morir en el intento o morir de hambre.  (Page no longer available.)

On International Migrants Day - Children migrate north… or they die trying.  (Page no longer available.)

- Casa Alianza

>> This link works: Children migrate north, or they die trying.

Chiapas, Mexico - Twenty five members of a notorious and violent criminal gang attacks a train full of undocumented Central American migrants in southern Mexico, murdering three and wounding four.

Juarez, Mexico - Suspect in the murders of three Juarez women extradited from the U.S. to Mexico.

Amnesty International increases efforts to focus attention on the mass- murder of women and girls in Juarez, Mexico.  Latin U.S. Congress members visit region.

December 11, 2003

Working Together to Stop the Prostitution of Children

Time:  1:30-3:00 pm EST

Location: Online

The prostitution of children and youth is a matter of growing concern in our Nation. J. Robert Flores, Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has described this problem as “underreported, underrecognized and undertreated” and as such has made ending the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth (CSEC) an OJJDP program priority.

This live, national satellite videoconference will examine challenges faced by law enforcement, judicial and victim assistance professionals and emphasize the importance of collaboration among public and private sector agencies, survivors of CSEC and other community based sectors. These include: law enforcement, courts, prosecution and child protective service agencies as well as schools, health and other service providers, elected leaders and legislator and the faith and business communities. The broadcast will explore effective prosecution strategies to help target perpetrators. It will also present strategies for protecting and supporting those victimized through CSEC, including mental health counseling, medical care, substance abuse treatment, safe housing, jobs training and education.

The broadcast will highlight the importance of both targeted personal safety awareness and education and broad prevention efforts that strengthen families and communities through education, community development, service learning, employment and mentoring strategies. It will feature practices that attempt to keep at-risk youth safe and free from harm; and community efforts that endeavor to break the cycles of violence and victimization by preventing and supporting runaway, thrown away, abused and neglected, and homeless children. The broadcast will underscore the fact that this issue must be addressed within the broad context of the abuse, neglect and exploitation of children.

For more information or to register, visit: http://www.trc.eku.edu/jj

Contact: Jenny McWilliams at 859-622-6671, ekujjtap@aol.com

December 10-12, 2003

Protecting Children from Sex Tourism Workshop

Location: Palexpo in Geneva , Switzerland

“Protecting Children from Sex Tourism Through the Internet” is a workshop organized by the International Federation Terre des Hommes on the occasion of the World Summit on the Information Society

The internet has added a new dimension to the problem of sexual exploitation of children in tourism, but it can also be used as a powerful tool to protect children from abuses.  The Terre des Hommes platform www.child-hood.com informs and mobilizes against child sex tourism.  It is addressed to all actors involved in tourism: travelers, travel industries, organizations and the media, with a "what can I do" section listing useful and easy to implement measures for the protection of children.

During the workshop, the Internet platform will be presented on-line and there will be a time for discussion. The workshop will be held in English. Participants will need a badge of the World Summit on the Information Society to get to Hall 4. Registration for a one day pass to the Exhibition Hall is also possible at the following website: http://www.ict-4d.org/Marketplace/en/Visitors/Registration/

For more information, contact:
International Federation Terre des Hommes
31 chemin Frank-Thomas, CH-1208 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 736 33 72; Fax: +41 22 736 15 10
Email: intl-rel@iftdh.org
Website: www.terredeshommes.org

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=3863&flag=event

ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

UNICEF Presents Annual Report on Children's Human Rights

Girls, education and development

The State of the World’s Children 2004 presents girls' education as one of the most crucial issues facing the international development community.

The report argues that the theories, policies and practices of development have been marked by gender discrimination and that the standard approach to development has focused on economic growth rather than human welfare. Through The State of the World's Children 2004, UNICEF calls on every nation engaged in development to make the education of all children - with an emphasis on girls - a major focus of investment. 

ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

Amnesty International held public events focusing on international women's human rights issues and especially the ongoing mass-murder of women and girls in Juarez City, Mexico.  

Events occurred in Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, Washington, DC and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Cuidad Juarez (Juarez City), Mexico - Shoddy investigation torments victim's families

More than 300 women have been killed in the past decade in Ciudad Juarez, an industrial sprawl bordering Texas, in a murder spree that has drawn international outrage and seen few convicted for the crimes.

...Of 100 of the murders that involve rape, just four men have been convicted, according to state police.  Serial killers, gangs or even well- connected prominent local men out for sport are thought to be behind the crimes.

Murder wave targets Guatemalan women, girls

A huge bundle of official papers sits on the desk of Sandra Zayas, a
criminal investigator in Guatemala City.

...These documents tell the story of a wave of brutal and sadistic murders which is terrifying Guatemala's female population.

Since 2001, more than 700 women and young girls have been killed in apparently motiveless attacks. So far this year more than 250 bodies have been found.... Despite making a number of arrests, police have been unable to stop the killings.

Colorado, USA - Article raises concerns about Asian & Mexican sex trafficking.

...One of the most abominable crimes of our day, the global sex trade in women and children, has a presence in Colorado.

...At least 50,000 women and children are sold and smuggled into the United States each year for sexual exploitation. Law enforce- ment officials say a growing number are young girls who, lured from Mexico with promises of good jobs, are forced to work as prostitutes.

Latin America's leading children's rights advocate  Bruce Harris to go on Trial in Guatemala in January 2004
 
Bruce Harris, the Regional Director for Latin American programs for Casa Alianza, will go on trial in Guatemala on January 22, 2004 for having exercised his right to freedom of expression when denouncing the corrupt multi-million dollar child adoption business in Guatemala. 
 
We at LibertadLatina.org support Bruce Harris and Casa Alianza 100%!  

We encourage our readers to contact Casa Alianza to learn how to support Bruce Harris.  

December 1, 2003

INTERNATIONAL AIDS Day, 2003

We ask everyone to pray for, remember and treat with compassion all who are victims of HIV/AIDS, and all of the thousands of enslaved and exploited persons who are put at risk of infection each day by their life condition.  We remember you!  

See our HIV/AIDS issues section. 

Also see Casa Alianza's page for International AIDS Day 2003: Street Children and AIDS: No child should have to die on the streets