Human trafficking in Guatemala

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Human trafficking is an act of recruiting, transporting, and harboring people against their will; usually by using force. People who are trafficked are mostly used for sexual purposes or illegal work. These acts include: forced marriages, trafficking for human organs, and gaining members for organized crimes. Every country in the world deals with this crime, and are usually classified as transit countries, target countries, or source countries. Guatemala is a part of North America, which is a target country; this means they contain human trafficking victims.

Contents

History

For the past few years, Guatemala has become a hot spot for multiple types of sex trafficking. [1] Sex trafficking, kidnapping, and illegal adoption rings are part of a larger string of criminal acts. [2] Part of the reason for this is the failure of the peace accords and the government not being able to implement tax reform. [2] Trafficking is also encouraged by a police force that is constantly having to choose corruption or death, and deciding to participate in trafficking to avoid the later. [2] [3] There has also been a number of elected officials who are under investigation for either participating in sex trafficking or protecting establishments were trafficking occurs. [3] It is also believed that “territorial groups” run brothels which contribute to these sexual acts. [2] These groups are often local gangs running drugs or more established gangs that deal with international drug deals. [2] It is also common for family-run sex trafficking to appear near the border, ports, and underpopulated jungles; which tend to usually go unnoticed. [2]

Guatemala has also made major improvements towards fighting trafficking. In 2012, the Guatemalan government established a trafficking prosecution unit that also helps prosecutors in the country's outer regions. [4] There is also talk of this unit being expanded to eight additional states. [4]

Types of Human Trafficking

The most common types of human trafficking reported in Guatemala is sexual exploitation including: forced prostitution, child sex tourism and child pornography. [5] Sex trafficking in Guatemala is a problem. [6] [7] [8] [9] Sexual types of trafficking are more public as they require a consumer whereas labor trafficking (debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, child labor, and child soldiers) is less visible to concerned bystanders. [10] Less common in Guatemala but still existent in some trafficking circles is the organ trade, where people are abducted for organ harvest. [11] People are often upset by the advertising of selling people for sex and are therefore more likely to report these findings to law enforcement. Another large aspect of trafficking in Guatemala is adoption fraud, this is when children are forcefully taken from their biological mothers to be resold to family looking to adopt a foreign child. [12] Guatemala is the second most popular country for foreign adoption after China, which has opened up the market for trafficked children to become a lucrative industry. [13]

Statistics

Cases of identified trafficking victims have significantly decreased from previous years, dropping from 673 in 2015 to 316 victims in 2018. In this 2018 study it was observed that 292 of the 316 victims were children. [1] Many of the victims are native Guatemalans under the age of 18. The children are often used to collect money though begging, pick-pocketing and working as hawkers. The young women are sexually exploited or sold and young men are forced into gang life, selling and transporting drugs along with other gang related activity. [14]

In 2016 the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) estimate that the trafficking industry involving sexual exploitation brings in $1.6 billion US dollars to Guatemala each year. [15] This is equivalent to 12.3 billion Guatemalan quetzal, which is 2.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). [16] It is believed that only 3% of traffickers are known and many run under the name of large trafficking circles to avoid detection. [16] The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has stated that there are only two prosecutors willing to convict traffickers in the country, because of this there have been low conviction numbers with only 20 convicted in 2014. [16]

According to the United States assessment of Guatemala in relation to human trafficking, Guatemala was on the Tier 2 watch list for human trafficking in 2017. [1] The country was placed at Tier 2 in 2023. [17]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index noted that the crime was carried out by small local gangs as well as larger organised groups. [18]

Border Crossings

The borders in Central America involving Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, Belize and Nicaragua are considered hot-spots for human trafficking supply and transit. Every year many women and children attempt the crossing from Guatemala to the United States though Mexico. They often will wait by the Guatemala-Mexico border and get picked up by traffickers promising safe travel for a cost. Many migrants can't afford it and will later pay though bonded labor or other manners such as sexual exploitation or working as a mule to pay off the debt. [19] A global report on Trafficking in Persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that cross-border trafficking in person originating in Central America and The Caribbean reports for 12% of the all human trafficking detected in North America. [20] It has been stated that Guatemala has highest rates of trafficked child labor in the Americas with over 800,000 children forcefully working for gangs and other organizations. [12]

Prevention

Guatemalan law enforcement require international assistance to fight human trafficking and assure justice. [4] A project funded by the Government of Canada that supports the SICA Member States (Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua) improve the collaboration against Human Trafficking within Central America. [21] The project based on the "Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants" by the UNODC for Central America and the Caribbean aims to increase the actual structure of border control in Central America and the Dominican Republic. [21] Guatemala has signed and ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Person. [21] For a more efficient international cooperation that has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of convictions, the government has established appropriate laws. [21] However, while the government has improved its efforts to stop human trafficking, inadequate funding and training remain restricting the capability of the officer division to manage various investigations and prosecutions in the whole country. [1]

Prosecution

Among the new anti-trafficking law and the strengthened enforcement efforts from the government against human trafficking, the Guatemalan government has advanced with investigations, prosecutions, and convictions compared to previous years. [1] [22] In early 2009, to guarantee the appropriate care and compensation for damages to the victims, Guatemalan government in the National Law decree the Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, Trafficking in Persons (VET) as an effort to assist victims. [23] Article 48 of the VET added Article 202 to the Guatemalan criminal code, stating that "the capture, transport, transfer, retention, harboring or reception of more persons constitutes a crime of human trafficking". [24] [23] Similar to other penalties for severe crimes that are adequately stringent, the new anti-trafficking law prescribes sentence between eight and eighteen years of imprisonment which are sufficiently and rigorous by the government. [1]

Related Research Articles

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children is a protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. It is one of the three Palermo protocols, the others being the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafficking of children</span> Form of human trafficking

Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking</span> Trade of sexual slaves

Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).

Prostitution in Colombia is legal, regulated and limited to brothels in designated "tolerance zones". Sex workers are required to have regular health checks. However, the laws are rarely applied and prostitution is widespread, partly due to poverty and internal displacement.

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

Human trafficking in South Africa occurs as a practice of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation among imported and exported trafficked men, women, and children. Generally, South African girls are trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, while boys are used for street vending, food service, and agriculture. Anecdotal evidence suggests that South African children can also be forced to provide unpaid labor for landowners in return for land occupancy, living accommodation, or for maintaining labor tenancy rights. In any case, this form of unpaid labor has caused human trafficking to be described as a modern form of slavery. Human trafficking is the result of a combination of several factors, including gender inequality, economic instability, and political conflict. Since Africa experiences all of these, it is an active hub for human trafficking. Many urge for the need of a cultural shift to reduce instances of human trafficking by lessening the demand for sex and unpaid labor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in the United Kingdom</span>

The United Kingdom (UK) is a destination country for men, women, and children primarily from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe who are subjected to human trafficking for the purposes of sexual slavery and forced labour, including domestic servitude. In 2012 it was ranked as a "Tier 1" country by the US Department of State, which issues an annual report on human trafficking. "Tier 1" countries are those whose governments fully comply with The Trafficking Victims Protection Act's minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The TVPA is a federal statute of the United States.

It is likely that several thousands of people are trafficked in Yemen every year, often to Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.

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.

Human trafficking in Canada is prohibited by law, and is considered a criminal offence whether it occurs entirely within Canada or involves the "transporting of persons across Canadian borders. Public Safety Canada (PSC) defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour. It is often described as a modern form of slavery."

Rates of crime in Guatemala are very high. An average of 101 murders per week were reported in 2018. The countries with the highest crime and violence rates in Central America are El Salvador and Honduras. In the 1990s Guatemala had four cities feature in Latin America's top ten cities by murder rate: Escuintla, Izabal (127), Santa Rosa Cuilapa (111) and Guatemala City (101). According to New Yorker magazine, in 2009, "fewer civilians were reported killed in the war zone of Iraq than were shot, stabbed, or beaten to death in Guatemala," and 97% of homicides "remain unsolved." Much of the violent nature of Guatemalan society stems back to a 36-year-long civil war However, not only has violence maintained its presence in the post-war context of the country following the Guatemalan Civil War, but it has extended to broader social and economic forms of violence.

Human trafficking in Nepal is a growing criminal industry affecting multiple other countries beyond Nepal, primarily across Asia and the Middle East. Nepal is mainly a source country for men, women and children subjected to the forced labor and sex trafficking. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. Mexico is a large source, transit, and destination country for victims of human trafficking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Costa Rica</span> Trade of people in Costa Rica

Costa Rica ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2003.

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

Human trafficking in Southeast Asia has long been a problem for the area and is still prevalent today. It has been observed that as economies continue to grow, the demand for labor is at an all-time high in the industrial sector and the sex tourism sector. A mix of impoverished individuals and the desire for more wealth creates an environment for human traffickers to benefit in the Southeast Asia region. Many nations within the region have taken preventive measures to end human trafficking within their borders and punish traffickers operating there.

Human Trafficking or "trafficking in persons" is the recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for mainly the purposes of forced labor or prostitution. Other reasons for human trafficking are the removal of organs, forced marriage, and other exploitations. South America is one of the biggest source and destination locations in the world and has struggled with the issue for many years. The ILO estimates that of the 20.9 million victims of human trafficking in 2012, 1.8 million were from Latin America. There are many factors that cause human trafficking, like a high demand for domestic servants, sex laborers, and factory workers, the existence of already established trafficking networks that often take advantage of young women and children, corruption in the governments and local law enforcement agencies, a governmental disinterest in the issue and a lack of opportunity for women in South American regions where trafficking occurs. People exploited in human trafficking are often impoverished, members of indigenous peoples, unemployed, victims of abuse, illiterate, substance users, homeless, or involved in gang activity. Research by the United States Department of State has also found that LGBTQ+ people are vulnerable to human trafficking. By far, sex trafficking is the leading type of human trafficking, making up 79 percent of all human trafficking. This is then followed by forced labor at 18 percent. About 20 percent of trafficking victims are children. Primary destinations for trafficking and illegal immigration are the United States, Spain, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Canada. Globalization, capitalism and societal attitudes facilitate and reduce the barriers to human trafficking.

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

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

Sex trafficking in Guatemala is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Republic of Guatemala.

<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 6 "Guatemala". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fern, Juan; Gutiérrez, o (2011-02-28). "Guatemala Profile". InSight Crime. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  3. 1 2 Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report - Guatemala". Refworld. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  4. 1 2 3 "Institute Visits Guatemala to Gain Insight on Country's Anti-Trafficking Framework - Human Trafficking Institute". www.traffickinginstitute.org. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  5. ↑ . 2009-01-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20090106073547/http://www.wotclef.org/documents/fs_sexualexploit_0303.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2019-02-19.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "Guatemala 'closes its eyes' to rampant child sex trafficking: U.N." Reuters. June 8, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sex trafficking in Guatemala involves primarily children, UNICEF report finds". Fox News. June 16, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Human trafficking of girls in particular "on the rise," United Nations warns". CBS News. January 30, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Central America - Fertile Ground for Human Trafficking". IPS. November 8, 2019.
  10. ↑ "About Human Trafficking | ECPAT Guatemala". Archived from the original on 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  11. ↑ "Global Report onTrafficking in Persons" (PDF). United Nations. 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - Guatemala". gvnet.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  13. ↑ "American To Stand Trial Over Guatemalan Adoptions". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  14. ↑ Abrão, Paulo (December 2017). "Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala" (PDF). Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: 127–129.
  15. ↑ Gagne, David (2016-06-09). "Report Details Hierarchy of Guatemala's Sex Trafficking Rings". InSight Crime. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  16. 1 2 3 "Human trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes in Guatemala 2016 report" (PDF). United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. 2016.
  17. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  18. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Guatemala, retrieved August 31, 2024
  19. ↑ "Central American child migrants move in 'shadows', at risk from..." Reuters. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  20. ↑ "Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016" (PDF).
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Human Trafficking". www.unodc.org. Archived from the original on 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  22. ↑ "Country Narratives: Countries G Through M". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  23. 1 2 "Ley VET" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  24. ↑ "Legislación sobre Trata de Personas". Secretaría Contra la Violencia Sexual, Explotación y Trata de Personas (in Spanish). 2016-09-05. Archived from the original on 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
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