Trafficking activities involving women and
children for purposes of sexual exploitation reaches and affects every
nation in the world. The United Nations estimates that as many as two
million women and children worldwide have been trafficked and forced
into sexual servitude. This problem is fueled by a multitude of factors
including poverty, the marginalization of women and children, and
political instability. The relative ease of migration in all forms has
also contributed to the proliferation of trafficking activity, which
represents a significant portion of the irregular immigration business
and which is often controlled by organized crime networks. Sexual
slavery, especially involving young women and children, is rapidly
becoming the most profitable criminal activity after drug trafficking.
An increased commitment of governments to combat
transnational crime, including trafficking of persons, has generated a
need for reliable data upon which effective and responsive policy can be
based. At the 2001 Summit of the Americas, the OAS promised to
"take effective measures against trafficking in human beings"
and specifically called for the development of national reports in order
to combat trafficking in persons.
IHRLI/OAS is investigating the shape, structure, context
and circumstances of trafficking of women and children for sexual
exploitation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The spectrum of
participating countries was selected to provide a comprehensive,
hemispheric assessment of sex trafficking.
Goals and Objectives
The project on trafficking of women and children for
sexual exploitation (Trafficking Project) aims to provide a real and
contemporary understanding of the sex trafficking practice in Latin
America and the Caribbean. While the underground nature of the
phenomenon, the multitude of factors that encourage silence and
impunity, and the lack of trafficking-specific indicators make exact
quantification of trafficked persons impossible, the project’s
research data will provide governments and international organizations
the factual bases needed to create legislation and policy to combat
trafficking and protect its victims.
Research Methodology
The Trafficking Project has been implemented following
the methodology detailed below in seven Central American nations and the
Dominican Republic. Field investigations are ongoing in four regions of
Brazil (north, north-east, central-west, and south-east), which include
a total of eighteen states. The study will expand into eleven additional
countries― Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile,
Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Jamaica.
The project design includes four key elements: (1)
collaboration with counterpart organizations in each participating
country; (2) initiation of public debate on the issue of trafficking
through a National Congress in each participating country; (3) field
investigation on the trafficking of women and children for sexual
exploitation; and (4) use of the study’s findings and conclusions to
craft effective regional and national responses to trafficking.
As part of the field investigation, IHRLI/OAS and its
counterparts will:
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Interview government officials and make a diagnosis
of each state’s recognition and reaction to the problem;
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Interview non-governmental actors and other key
informants regarding the incidence of trafficking and the
effectiveness of the government’s response;
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Study and evaluate national legislation, including
policies and laws, related to trafficking, and its enforcement;
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Study and evaluate international protections and
mechanisms applicable and/or available to combat trafficking and its
effects; and
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Compile and analyze data from all available sources
of the patterns and practices of trafficking and exploitation.
Results, conclusions and recommendations from the field
study will be published in individual country reports. The findings from
the country studies will be synthesized into a final regional
assessment, which will place the situation of trafficking in Latin
America and the Caribbean in the broader context of the debate
concerning terms and definitions, international legal provisions, and
United Nations efforts.
