Human trafficking in El Salvador

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In 2009 El Salvador was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Most victims were Salvadoran women and girls from rural areas who were forced into commercial sexual exploitation in urban areas, though some adults and children were subjected to forced labor as agricultural workers and domestic workers. The majority of foreign victims were women and children from neighboring countries, such as Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, who migrated to El Salvador in response to job offers, but were subsequently forced into prostitution or domestic servitude. Trafficking offenders used fraudulent documentation to facilitate the movement of foreign victims. Salvadorans have been subjected to forced prostitution in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, the United States, Spain, and Italy. [1]

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In 2009 the Government of El Salvador did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, however, it made significant efforts to do so. During 2009, the government sustained anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts and continued to provide services to children who were trafficked for sexual exploitation. It did not vigorously investigate or prosecute incidents of forced labor, and it did not take adequate measures to ensure that adult trafficking victims received access to necessary services. [1]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017. [2] The country was on the Tier 2 watch list in 2023. [3]

El Salvador ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2004. [4]

In 2017, authorities investigated 73 sex trafficking cases, two forced labor cases, and one domestic servitude case, in comparison to 55 sex trafficking cases in 2016. [5] Offenders convicted in 2017 received sentences ranging from 10 to 14 years imprisonment. [5]

Sex trafficking

Citizen and foreign women and girls have been victims of sex trafficking in El Salvador. They have been raped and physically and psychologically harmed in locations throughout the country. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Prosecution (2009)

Article 367B of the Salvadoran Penal Code prohibits all forms of human trafficking, and prescribes penalties of four to eight years’ imprisonment. Sentences may be increased by one-third when the offense is accompanied by aggravated circumstances, such as when the offense is committed against a child or the defendant is a public official. Such penalties are sufficiently stringent, but are not commensurate with penalties prescribed for serious offenses such as rape, which carries a punishment of six to 20 years’ imprisonment. Since passage of El Salvador's anti-trafficking statute in 2004, some prosecutors prefer to charge trafficking-related crimes under the country's rape statute to secure heavier mandatory sentences against offenders. In 2009, the government's dedicated anti-trafficking police and prosecutor units investigated 70 cases of human trafficking, prosecuted seven cases, and obtained seven convictions with imposed sentences ranging from 4 to 10 years’ imprisonment. While the government secured a number of convictions equal to the previous year, they prosecuted fewer cases than in 2008, when prosecutors brought charges in 15 cases of human trafficking. The majority of law enforcement efforts focused on sex trafficking. The government sustained partnerships with neighbouring foreign governments in pursuing joint anti-trafficking investigations. During the reporting period, the government investigated three public officials for trafficking-related offences, including the former anti-trafficking coordinator in the Attorney General's Office; charges have not yet been filed. In conjunction with an NGO, government officials drafted and distributed guidelines for criminal judges and prosecutors on procedures for human trafficking cases. [1]

Protection (2009)

The Salvadoran government sustained modest victim assistance last year. Immigration officials screened for possible trafficking victims in border regions, notifying the police and referring victims to care facilities; in general, however, the Salvadoran government did not proactively identify trafficking victims among other vulnerable populations, such as women in prostitution or child laborers. The government maintained a shelter dedicated to underage girls who had been victims of sex trafficking; this shelter offered victims psychological and medical care. Most government assistance and services were directed at child trafficking victims, and were not readily accessible to adult or male trafficking victims. However, the government operated a women's shelter serving at least one victim of human trafficking and provided some adult victims with legal and medical services. Adult trafficking victims were also referred to a government-run shelter for undocumented aliens. Further services were provided by NGOs and international organizations. Authorities identified 51 victims of human trafficking in 2009; all but three of these victims were girls, and all but one victim was subjected to forced prostitution. The government trained personnel, including consular officers, in identifying Salvadoran trafficking victims abroad; consular officials identified 21 such trafficking victims during the reporting period. Domestically, Salvadoran authorities encouraged identified victims to assist with law enforcement efforts; 55 victims participated in investigations or prosecutions of their traffickers during the reporting period, though others chose not to assist law enforcement efforts due to social stigma or fear of reprisals from their traffickers. Victims generally were not charged, jailed, or penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; however, not all government officials recognized cases of forced labor or forced prostitution as human trafficking. Law enforcement and social service officials may request residency status for a victim on a case-by-case basis, though they reported no trafficking victims requested this status over the last year. [1]

Prevention (2009)

The Salvadoran government sustained anti-trafficking prevention efforts during the reporting period. The government forged or continued partnerships with NGOs, international organizations, and foreign governments on anti-trafficking initiatives. In May 2009, the government collaborated with an NGO to launch a campaign aimed specifically at increasing awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children; the campaign reached approximately 4,500 children and adults. The government included anti-trafficking information in the training it gives to military forces prior to their deployment for international peacekeeping missions. No specific government efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor were reported over the last year. [1]

See also

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In 2008 Zambia was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Child prostitution existed in Zambia's urban centers, often encouraged or facilitated by relatives or acquaintances of the victim. Many Zambian child laborers, particularly those in the agriculture, domestic service, and fishing sectors, were also victims of human trafficking. Zambian women, lured by false employment or marriage offers, were trafficked to South Africa via Zimbabwe for sexual exploitation, and to Europe via Malawi. Zambia was a transit point for regional trafficking of women and children, particularly from Angola to Namibia for agricultural labor and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. Malawian and Mozambican adults and children were occasionally trafficked to Zambia for forced agricultural labor.

In 2008, Honduras was principally a source and transit country for women, girls, and boys trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Honduran children were typically trafficked from rural areas to urban and tourist centers such as San Pedro Sula, the North Caribbean coast, and the Bay Islands. Honduran women and children are trafficked to Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States for sexual exploitation. Most foreign victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Honduras were from neighboring countries; some were economic migrants en route to the United States who are victimized by traffickers. Internal child labor and forced child labor for violent criminal gangs were serious concerns.

Kenya ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2005.

Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.

Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.

Bolivia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2006.

Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and women and children in forced prostitution.

In 2009, Paraguay was a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically sex trafficking, as well as a source and transit country for men, women, and children in forced labor. Most Paraguayan trafficking victims were found in Argentina, Spain, and Bolivia; fewer victims were exploited in Brazil, Chile, France, South Korea, and Japan. In one case, 44 suspected Paraguayan trafficking victims were detained at the international airport in Amsterdam, and Dutch authorities arrested the alleged trafficking offender. In another case, 13 Paraguayan women were found in conditions of forced prostitution in a brothel in La Paz, Bolivia. Paraguay was a destination country for 30 Indonesian orphans, who were allegedly brought into the country for a long-term soccer camp, but who the government suspects are trafficking victims.

The U.S. State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed Poland in Tier 1 in 2024. Below is the full copy of a webpage section relating to Poland in a report published by the Bureau of Public Affairs of the United States Department of State, entitled "Country Narratives: Countries N Through Z: Trafficking in Persons Report 2024",which is in the public domain.

Poland is a source and destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and for women and children in forced prostitution. Men and women from Poland are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Italy and Sweden. Women and children from Poland are trafficked for forced prostitution within Poland and also in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Sweden. Women and children from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, and Russia are trafficked to Poland for forced prostitution. Men and women from Bangladesh, China, and the Philippines are found in conditions of forced labor in Poland. Men and women from Thailand, Nigeria, Iraq, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Vietnam, Turkey, Djibouti, and Uganda are found in conditions of forced labor, including forced begging and debt bondage, and also forced prostitution in Poland.

Nicaragua ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2004.

In 2009, Niger was a source, transit, and destination country for children and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Caste-based slavery practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continued primarily in the northern part of the country. Children are trafficked within Niger for forced begging by religious instructors known as marabouts; forced labor in gold mines, agriculture, and stone quarries; as well as for involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. The ILO estimates at least 10,000 children work in gold mines in Niger, many of whom may have been forced to work. Nigerien children, primarily girls, were also subjected to commercial sexual exploitation along the border with Nigeria, particularly in the towns of Birni N'Konni and Zinder along the main highway, and boys are trafficked to Nigeria and Mali for forced begging and manual labor. There were reports Nigerien girls entered into "false marriages" with citizens of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates: upon arrival in these countries, the girls are often forced into involuntary domestic servitude. Child marriage was a problem, especially in rural areas, and may have contributed to conditions of human trafficking. Niger is a transit country for women and children from Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo en route to Northern Africa and Western Europe; some may be subjected to forced labor in Niger as domestic servants, forced laborers in mines and on farms, and as mechanics and welders. To a lesser extent, Nigerien women and children were sometimes trafficked from Niger to North Africa the Middle East, and Europe for involuntary domestic servitude and forced commercial sexual exploitation."

Hungary ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Ghana</span>

In 2009, Ghana was a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. The nonconsensual exploitation of Ghanaian citizens, particularly children, was more common than the trafficking of foreign migrants. The movement of internally trafficked children was either from rural to urban areas, or from one rural area to another, as from farming to fishing communities.

Guinea ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in November 2004.


Mali ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in April 2002.

Human trafficking in Brazil is an ongoing problem. Brazil is a source country for men, women, girls, and boys subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution within the country and abroad, as well as a source country for men and boys in forced labor within the country. The United States Department of Homeland Security, describes human trafficking as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

Bulgaria ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2001.

The country of Colombia, South America, has a high prevalence of women and girls who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. These women and girls work within Colombia, and are also sent to sex tourism destinations in other parts of Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and North America, including the United States. The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has worsened from 2010 to the present, with almost 1.5 million people fleeing from Venezuela to cities throughout Colombia in recent years. Immigrants in major Colombian cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali find work scarce, and some turn to prostitution as a last resort to feed their families. Within Colombia, some men are found in conditions of forced labor, but the forced prostitution of women and children from rural areas and urban areas remains a larger problem. Individual cases of forced marriage – a risk factor for trafficking – involuntary domestic servitude, and forced begging have been reported. Some children are subjected to forced labor in mines and quarries, in the agricultural sector or as domestic servants. Groups at high risk for internal trafficking include displaced persons, poor women in rural areas, and relatives of members of criminal organizations. Continued armed violence in Colombia has displaced many in rural communities, making them vulnerable to human trafficking. Guerillas and new illegal armed groups have been reported to forcibly recruit children to join their ranks; the government estimates thousands of children are exploited under such conditions. Members of gangs and organized criminal networks may force their relatives and acquaintances, and displaced persons – typically women and children – into conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor, including forced work in the illegal drug trade. Colombia is also a destination for foreign child sex tourists, particularly in coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla. Migrants from South America, Africa, and China transit Colombia en route to the United States and Europe; some may fall victim to traffickers.

Croatia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in El Salvador</span>

Sex trafficking in El Salvador is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Republic of El Salvador. It is a country of origin, transit, and destination for sexually trafficked persons.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 Country Narratives - Countries A Through F". US Department of State. 2010-06-17. Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2023-02-12.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  3. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  4. ↑ United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  5. 1 2 "El Salvador 2018 report". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Human Trafficking and the Children of Central America". IPS. August 21, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Gang Involvement in Human Trafficking in Central America". IPS. September 6, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Human trafficking of girls in particular "on the rise," United Nations warns". CBS News. January 30, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Music video against human trafficking and sexual exploitation launched in El Salvador". IOM. March 8, 2012.
  10. ↑ "My Story Bringing the Light of Jesus to Sex-Trafficked Women of El Salvador". CLD News. 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
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