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Women and girls, who are often themselves victims of human trafficking and are sexually exploited by criminal gangs, are being prosecuted and convicted for human trafficking-related crimes, according to a new UNODC publication., Female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation as defendants: A case law analysis

These victims often have no alternative but to obey an order. Some hope to limit their own exploitation or escape poverty by playing a role in the criminal process.

Yet at the same time, the traffickers use the women and girls as a shield to protect themselves from being punished for their crimes.

These are the findings of a new UNODC study which aims to shed light on this alarming trend. The publication highlights the complexities faced by victims of human trafficking, with a view to assist the authorities and victim support services that handle such cases.

Source: Textt by UNODC, 2020

One in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence mostly by an intimate partner. Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. This is the Shadow Pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global collective effort to stop it. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity. More needs to be done to prioritize addressing violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. Everyone has a role to play.

**UN Women is providing up-to-date information and supporting vital programmes to fight the Shadow Pandemic of violence against women during COVID-19.

Even before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the home was a place of fear for many women and girls living in situations of violence. In Latin America, 70 percent of femicides occur in the victim’s home.

The quarantine and stay-at-home orders that governments adopted to address COVID-19 trapped many women with their abusers; evidence from early on in the pandemic reinforces the urgency of this issue. ORMUSA, or Organización de Mujeres Salvadoreña, in El Salvador reported 13 femicides in the first 6 weeks of quarantine between March 17 and April 29, 2020. In Argentina, 63 women and girls were killed because of their gender between March 20 and July 7. In the month of March 2020, 50 feminicides were recorded in just six states in Brazil. These statistics are alarming as the virus continues to spread across the Americas, raising fears that extended lockdowns will continue to exacerbate gender-based violence while governments struggle to address the twin public health crises.

Se reconocen como violencias contra las mujeres cualquier acción, omisión, coacción o privación que ocasione muerte, pérdida de libertad, daño o sufrimiento físico, sexual, psicológico, económico o patrimonial, que ocurre en cualquier momento de la vida y en espacios públicos o privados.

¿Cómo se puede prevenir la ocurrencia de hechos violentos al interior de las familias? 

1. Con redes familiares o sociales que apoyen y sepan cómo actuar y a dónde acudir cuando se presente un hecho de violencia.
2. Cambiando las ideas preconcebidas sobre lo que puede/debe y no puede/no debe hacer un hombre o una mujer o una person
3. Identificar en el territorio las entidades, y su ubicación, que tienen la obligación de atenderte.

Segun la Organización Mundial de la Salud  (OMS) y la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), 1 de cada 3 mujeres sufre violencia física o sexual infligida por la pareja en algún momento de su vida. 

La violencia contra la mujer es un fenómeno generalizado. Ocurre en todos los países, pero la prevalencia varía de un país a otro. La prevalencia del mismo también varía dentro de cada país. Estudios realizados en diferentes países demuestran que el porcentaje de mujeres 15 a 49 años que han sufrido violencia física o sexual por parte de su pareja a lo largo de su vida se sitúa entre el 15% y el 71%. 

Esas diferencias muestran que la violencia contra la mujer es un problema prevenible.