Human trafficking in Venezuela

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A map of Venezuela and its economic activity Venezuela econ 1972.jpg
A map of Venezuela and its economic activity

In 2011 Venezuela was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. [1] Venezuela's political, economic, and social concerns contributed to the factors and types of human trafficking in the country. In particular, the severe poverty in Venezuela has increased the rate of human trafficking. [2] Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation, lured from poor regions in the nation's interior to urban and tourist areas. Victims are recruited through false job offers and subsequently forced into prostitution or conditions of labor exploitation. Child prostitution in urban areas and child sex tourism in resort destinations such as Margarita Island appear to be growing. Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Western Europe and Mexico, in addition to Caribbean destinations such as Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic. Men, women, and children from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and the People's Republic of China are trafficked to and through Venezuela and may be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. [3]

Contents

The country ratified the 2000 TIP Protocol in May 2002. [4]

In June 2014 the United States named Venezuela as one of four countries it signaled out as not doing enough to prevent human trafficking. In its annual Trafficking in Persons report, the U.S. said it had lowered Venezuela's ranking to Tier 3, the lowest grade possible. [5] Since Venezuela was ranked within Tier 3, it risked being subject to certain sanctions and could lose non-humanitarian and non-trade-related aid from the United States. [6] [7]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 3" in 2017, a category for countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. [8] The country was still at Tier 3 in 2023. [9]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 7.50 out of 10 for human trafficking, with people mainly being moved to Colombia and Chile, but also to the Caribbean islands. [10]

Causes

Human trafficking in Venezuela is shaped by its political, economic, and social environment.

Political causes

Nicolas Maduro, the current President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro assuming office.jpg
Nicolås Maduro, the current President of Venezuela

Politically, in order for human trafficking to "thrive the slave trade requires the direct or indirect involvement of national governments, at both the source and the destination." [11] In addition, according to a statistical study conducted by Kevin Bales, a scholar of modern slavery and trafficking, the level of corruption and instability in a country is a major factor in the rate of human trafficking. [12] Venezuelan policy on human trafficking, therefore, impacts the overall rate of the issue and the regulation of it. In addition, as political instability in Venezuela persists, and the opposition party to Nicolás Maduro continues to "openly and repeatedly [push] for regime change by any means necessary," [13] the policy platform on human trafficking is not being dealt with.

According to the U.S. Department of State, In 2008 Venezuela released minimal information on its efforts to combat the issue. [3] Public corruption "especially complicity between law enforcement and border agents with traffickers and alien smugglers," make it difficult to enact legislation on the issue because of its current governmental instability. [1] After the reelection of Maduro, the Venezuela's political climate created drastic partisanship, causing many policy issues to be ignored. [13]

In addition, while political measures have been introduced in Venezuela to combat sexual violence and human trafficking, many of these measures have not been enforced and implemented throughout the country. As a result, political efforts to combat human trafficking, or lack thereof, can serve as a factor in itself on one of the reasons human trafficking continues to persist throughout the country. In 2017, it was noted that unless Venezuela takes a definite effort to combat human trafficking through political platforms, it is likely that the country will remain a tier 3 country on the U.S. State Department's report for the worst countries of human trafficking in the world. [14]

Economic causes

The rise of inflation in Venezuela contributing to its current economic hardship Venezuela's Annual Inflation Rates (2005-2013).png
The rise of inflation in Venezuela contributing to its current economic hardship

Venezuela's current economy makes it difficult to enact structural changes that would combat human trafficking. In fact, with "international reserves under USD 11.0 billion and a strong repayment commitment by the socialist government" [15] Venezuela's economic hardship predicted to worsen. In fact, inflation in Venezuela is rising at record-breaking rates "which spiked above 68 percent last year and may reach 100 percent." [16] The country has also been categorized as one of the most miserable economies in the world, based on the Global Misery Index, which is not only impacting the crime in the country but causing thousands of individuals and families to take steps toward emigrating. [17] As the prices of basic consumer goods rise at incredible rates, the basic economic status of everyday families continues to deflate, which perpetuates factors of human trafficking.

In particular, human trafficking is "explained by the extreme poverty, recent and massive rural to urban migration, the large numbers of conflicts, the low status of women, and the endurance of traditional rituals and beliefs." [18] As Venezuela continually suffers from economic hardship, the country does not have the vast economic means necessary to confront "the vital and urgent human needs derived from poverty," including infrastructure, transportation, public services housing, urban and rural land use, takes and finances; citizen security and legal security and the socio-economic system. [2] The economic state of Venezuela inherently impacts its political and social capability to fundamentally address and alleviate factors that lead to human trafficking.

Social causes

2014 protests in Venezuela 2014 Venezuela Carnaval Protests.jpg
2014 protests in Venezuela

Social concerns in Venezuela also contribute to the rate of human trafficking in the country. In particular, gender inequality in Venezuela makes it more likely for women and children to be central targets. In fact, in many cases, victims are recruited through false job offers, and many women fall for these offers because of how difficult it is for women to make a liveable and equal wage and be hired at all. [18] In a 2011 Congressional Research Report by Clare Ribando Seelke another social cause of human trafficking in the country is due to the "lingering machismo (chauvinistic attitudes and practices) that tends to lead to discrimination against women and girls." The social unrest in Venezuela is also contributing to a higher crime rate, and more and more people feel unsafe and unprotected by the government. The wave of protests in Venezuela are the worst in over a decade, and contributing to worsened political stability, thus, social instability in homes and workplaces throughout the country as a whole. [19]

In addition to gendered social issues, other individuals factors that contribute to the rise of human trafficking include "poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, history of physical or sexual abuse, homelessness, drug use, and gang membership." [1] These factors, which are worsened in the Venezuela due to its current economic hardship, directly correlate with higher rates of human trafficking in the country at large.

Prosecution (2008)

In March 2007, the Venezuelan government enacted the Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Violence-Free Life. Article 56 of the new law prohibits the trafficking of women, girls, and adolescents for purposes of sexual exploitation, prostitution, forced labor, or slavery, and prescribes punishments of 15 to 20 years' imprisonment. Articles 46 and 47 of the new law prohibit forced prostitution and sexual slavery and carry penalties of 15 to 20 years' imprisonment. This legislation closed a gap in Venezuelan law, in which the internal trafficking of adults was not prohibited. However, despite the policy efforts to combat human trafficking, many of the promises laid out in the Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Violence-Free Life were ignored. [3] In particular, The Supreme Court of Justice (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, TSJ) announced that it would begin creating over 92 specialized courts throughout the country that would help prosecute cases of human trafficking and sexual violence. However, according to a later press release published in February 2008 by Venezuela's Ombudsman's Office (Defensoria del Pueblo), the TSJ announced it would only set up 7 courts instead of the originally proposed 92. [20] Furthermore, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007 examines the new law, but "it does not provide information about efforts to implement it". [20] As a result, despite the public efforts of Venezuela to pass the Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Violence-Free Life, many of the policy elements were never fully implemented, if at all.

In addition to the lack of concrete measures to enforce and implement the Organize Law on the Right of Women to a Violence-Free Life, the policy provisions do not address the trafficking of adult males or boys. Article 16 of the Organic Law Against Organized Crime, enacted in 2005, prohibits trafficking across international borders for labor or sexual exploitation, and prescribes penalties ranging from 10 to 18 years imprisonment. Provisions of Venezuela's 2004 Naturalization and Immigration Law criminalize transnational trafficking for labor exploitation, prescribing punishments of four to 10 years imprisonment. The above penalties are commensurate with those for other grave crimes. The Child Protection Act and various articles of Venezuela's penal code can be used to prosecute internal trafficking of minors, but many of these statutes carry extremely low penalties, mostly fines. [3] Within the few laws that Venezuela has regarding human trafficking, the issue is typically only limited to women and children, and there are no deliberate measures meant to combat human trafficking of men. As a result, the issue has been framed in the country as a gender-specific one, when, at least 18% of men are victims of human trafficking. [21]

During 2007, the government opened two criminal investigations against three trafficking suspects in Caracas; these cases were pending as of 2008. As of 2007, government officials reported that an additional 12 trafficking-related investigations remained open from previous years. The actual number of trafficking investigations is difficult to determine since the government may not be distinguishing between human trafficking and alien smuggling crimes. No convictions or sentences against trafficking offenders were reported in 2007. Police indicate that some trafficking victims are reluctant to press charges due to long court delays and fear of reprisals from their traffickers. International organizations indicate that the government cooperates with Interpol on some transnational trafficking cases, and has increased screening for potential trafficking situations at airports and border checkpoints after receiving UNHCR-sponsored training last year. As of 2008, the government was investigating an immigration official for trafficking-related complicity. Corruption among other public officials, particularly related to the issuance of false identity documents, appeared to be widespread. [3]

Protection (2008)

As of 2008, the Venezuelan government did not operate shelters dedicated to trafficking victims, and relied on NGOs to provide the bulk of victim assistance without government funding. Government-provided psychological and medical examinations were available for trafficking victims, but comprehensive victim services such as counseling, follow-up medical assistance, job training, and reintegration assistance were generally unavailable. The government operates a national hotline through which it receives trafficking complaints, and refers trafficking victims to NGOs for care. The government reported assisting 22 trafficking victims in 2007, in addition to collaborating with IOM to repatriate two Venezuelan victims who had been trafficked to Switzerland and Mexico. However, since the Venezuelan government does not have policy provisions in place to help protect against human trafficking of men, many of these resources only help women and children. [20] The lack of a secure witness protection program discouraged some victims from assisting with the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. According to NGOs, the government does not have a formal mechanism for identifying trafficking victims among prostituted persons in the nation's commercial sex trade. As of 2008, there were no reports of victims being jailed or penalized for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked. The government provides some legal protection for the resettlement of foreign victims to third countries if it appears they may face hardship or retribution if returned to their country of origin. [3]

Prevention (2008)

The government acknowledges that human trafficking is a problem in Venezuela, but views the country as principally a transit point. Nonetheless, the government has increased efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts and to raise public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking by airing public service announcements and widely distributing posters and pamphlets against commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and child sex tourism, and advertising the government's hotline number. The government also reported shutting down a hotel on Margarita Island which had been advertised in the United Kingdom as a destination for sex tourism. It has also sponsored a large number of nationwide anti-trafficking workshops and training programs for police officers and other government officials. The government has partnered with UNICEF to continue to draft a national anti-trafficking action plan, and collaborated with NGOs and international organizations on other anti-trafficking efforts, but relations with these organizations are reported to be uneven. Moreover, high turnover in official personnel appears to have hampered some of the government's overall anti-trafficking efforts. [3] Many of its anti-trafficking efforts have been short-lived, and due to economic instability, underfunded and abandoned. [20]

Related Research Articles

Chilean law does specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, and there were isolated reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017. The law criminalizes promoting the entry into or exit from the country of persons for the purpose of facilitating prostitution, with penalties of up to three years in prison and a fine of $827. Sanctions are increased in a number of circumstances, including cases in which the victim is a minor, violence or intimidation is used, deception or abuse of authority is involved, the victim is related or under the tutelage of the perpetrator, or advantage is taken of a victim's circumstances or handicap. The law criminalizes the prostitution of children and corruption of minors, and the age of consent for sexual relations is 14. The law criminalizes obtaining sexual services from a minor in exchange for money or other considerations.

<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.

Sri Lanka is a source and destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. Sri Lankan men and women migrate willingly to Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea to work as construction workers, domestic servants, or garment factory workers. However, some find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude when faced with restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and debt bondage that is, in some instances, facilitated by large pre-departure fees imposed by recruitment agents. Children are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and, less frequently, for forced labor. The designated Foreign Terrorist Organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued to recruit, sometimes forcibly, children for use as soldiers in areas outside the Sri Lankan government’s control. Government security forces may also be complicit in letting a pro-government paramilitary organization recruit, sometimes forcibly, child soldiers. Reports also indicate that a small number of women from Thailand, China, Russia, and other countries of the Newly Independent States are trafficked into Sri Lanka for commercial sexual exploitation. In November 2007, over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeeping soldiers were repatriated based on accusations that they engaged in sexual misconduct, some cases involving minors, in Haiti. The Government of Sri Lanka does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Sri Lanka is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons over the previous year, particularly in the area of law enforcement.

Suriname is principally a destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. It is also a source country for underage Surinamese girls, and increasingly boys, trafficked internally for sexual exploitation. Some of these children are trafficked into the sex trade surrounding gold mining camps in the country’s interior. Foreign girls and women from Guyana, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia are trafficked into Suriname for commercial sexual exploitation; some transit Suriname en route to Europe. Chinese men are subjected to possible debt bondage in Suriname, and are subject to forced labor in supermarkets and the construction sector. Chinese women reportedly are exploited sexually in massage parlors and brothels. Haitian migrants, typically en route to French Guiana, sometimes are forced to work in Surinamese agriculture. The Government of Suriname does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government sustained a moderate level of law enforcement action against trafficking crimes, and modestly improved victim assistance and prevention efforts. However, official complicity with suspected trafficking activity is an area for concern.

Uruguay is a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most victims are women, girls, and some boys trafficked within the country to border and tourist areas for sexual exploitation. A government agency has found that families had facilitated the exploitation of many children in prostitution. Impoverished parents reportedly turn over their children for domestic and agricultural servitude in rural areas. Some Uruguayan women have been trafficked to Spain and Italy for sexual exploitation. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

In 2008 Vietnam was primarily a source country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children were trafficked to the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C), Cambodia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Macau for sexual exploitation. Vietnamese women were trafficked to the P.R.C., Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea via fraudulent or misrepresented marriages for commercial exploitation or forced labor. Vietnam was also a source country for men and women who migrate willingly and legally for work in the construction, fishing, or manufacturing sectors in Malaysia, Taiwan, P.R.C., Thailand, and the Middle East but subsequently face conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. Vietnam was a destination country for Cambodian children trafficked to urban centers for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. The country had an internal trafficking problem with women and children from rural areas trafficked to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Vietnam was increasingly a destination for child sex tourism, with perpetrators from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the P.R.C., Taiwan, the UK, Australia, Europe, and the U.S. In 2007, an Australian non-governmental organization (NGO) uncovered 80 cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children by foreign tourists in the Sa Pa tourist area of Vietnam alone.

In 2019 Zimbabwe was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Large scale migration of Zimbabweans to surrounding countries - as they fled a progressively more desperate situation at home - increased, and NGOs, international organizations, and governments in neighboring countries reported an upsurge in these Zimbabweans facing conditions of exploitation, including human trafficking. Rural Zimbabwean men, women, and children were trafficked internally to farms for agricultural labor and domestic servitude and to cities for domestic labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children were trafficked for domestic labor and sexual exploitation, including in brothels, along both sides of the borders with Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Young men and boys were trafficked to South Africa for farm work, often laboring for months in South Africa without pay before "employers" have them arrested and deported as illegal immigrants. Young women and girls were lured to South Africa, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada with false employment offers that result in involuntary domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Men, women, and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia were trafficked through Zimbabwe en route to South Africa. Small numbers of South African girls were trafficked to Zimbabwe for domestic servitude. The government’s efforts to address trafficking at home have increased with the introduction of the National Action Plan (NAP) as well as the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Act. In addition, the trafficking situation in the country is worsening as more of the population is made vulnerable by declining socio-economic conditions.

Honduras is principally a source and transit country for women, girls, and boys trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Honduran children are 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 are from neighboring countries; some are economic migrants en route to the United States who are victimized by traffickers. Internal child labor and forced child labor for violent criminal gangs are serious concerns.

Jamaica is a source, transit, and destination country for adults and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a source, transit, and to a lesser extent a destination country for men and women trafficked from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women are trafficked to Kazakhstan for forced agricultural labor—mainly in tobacco fields—to Russia for forced construction work, and to China for bonded labor. Kyrgyz and foreign women are trafficked to the U.A.E., China, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria for sexual exploitation.

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."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea</span>

In 2009, Papua New Guinea was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Women and children were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude; trafficked men were forced to provide labor in logging and mining camps. Children, especially young girls from tribal areas, were most vulnerable to being pushed into commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe. Families traditionally sold girls into forced marriages to settle their debts, leaving them vulnerable to involuntary domestic servitude, and tribal leaders trade the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and political advantage. Young girls sold into marriage were often forced into domestic servitude for the husband's extended family. In more urban areas, some children from poorer families were prostituted by their parents or sold to brothels. Migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines were subjected to forced prostitution, and men from China were transported to the country for forced labor.

In 2009 Namibia was a country of origin, transit, and destination for foreign and Namibian women and children, and possibly for men subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. Traffickers exploited Namibian children, as well as children from Angola and Zambia, through forced labor in agriculture, cattle herding, involuntary domestic servitude, charcoal production, and commercial sexual exploitation. In some cases, Namibian parents unwittingly sold their children to traffickers. Reports indicate that vulnerable Namibian children were recruited for forced prostitution in Angola and South Africa, typically by truck drivers. There was also some evidence that traffickers move Namibian women to South Africa and South African women to Namibia to be exploited in forced prostitution. Namibian women and children, including orphans, from rural areas were the most vulnerable to trafficking. Victims were lured by traffickers to urban centers and commercial farms with promises of legitimate work for good wages they may never receive. Some adults subjected children to whom they are distantly related to forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Small business owners and farmers may also participated in trafficking crimes against women or children. Victims were forced to work long hours to carry out hazardous tasks, and may have been beaten or raped by traffickers or third parties.

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.

Greece is a transit, source and destination country for women and children who are subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution and conditions of forced labor for men, women, and children. Female sex trafficking victims originate primarily in Eastern Europe and former Soviet bloc countries. Traffickers use physical, emotional, and sexual abuse for coercion. Greece's European Union membership, coupled with a shared border with Turkey, means the country sees massive flows of illegal immigrants looking to enter the EU. Traffickers also use Greece not only as a destination but also as transit stop and also as a source country where even Greek women are prostituted on the way to Western Europe.

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."

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

China is a main source and also a significant transit and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labour and forced prostitution. Women and children from China are trafficked to Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America, predominantly Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour. Women and children from Myanmar, Vietnam, Mongolia, former USSR, North Korea, Romania, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Ghana are trafficked to China for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour.

Victims of human trafficking in Ecuador are generally women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines and other hazardous work. Ecuador prohibits human trafficking in its penal code, and penalties are commensurate with other serious crimes. Despite robust law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, conviction rates remain low. The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs. The government has also undertaken advertising campaigns against human trafficking, particularly child labor and child sex tourism. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution.

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

Sex trafficking is defined as the transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception and/or forced into exploitative and slavery-like conditions and is commonly associated with organized crime.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Trafficking in persons in Latin America and the Caribbean". Trends in Organized Crime. 14 (2–3): 272–277. 2011-09-01. doi:10.1007/s12117-011-9135-z. ISSN   1084-4791.
  2. 1 2 "Venezuela | The 2011 Annual Register: World Events 2010 - Credo Reference". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Venezuela". Trafficking in Persons Report 2008. The U.S. Department of State (June 4, 2008). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  5. ↑ "US issues human trafficking downgrades for four countries". Venezuela Star. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Brunnstrom, David (2014). "U.S. says Thailand, Malaysia, Venezuela among worst human trafficking centers". Reuters. Thomson Reuters.
  7. ↑ Gurney, Kyra (2014). "US Chastises Colombia, Venezuela for Response to Human Trafficking". insightcrime.org. InSightCrime.
  8. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  9. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  10. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Venezuela: 2023
  11. ↑ Kapstein, Ethan B.; Kapstein, Ethan B. (2006-11-01). "The New Global Slave Trade". Foreign Affairs. No. November/December 2006. ISSN   0015-7120 . Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  12. ↑ Fein, Helen (2007). Human Rights and Wrongs: Slavery, Terror, Genocide. Colorado: Paradigm Publishers. p. 44.
  13. 1 2 "Why Is Venezuela in Crisis?". The Nation. ISSN   0027-8378. Archived from the original on 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  14. ↑ "U.S. says Thailand, Malaysia, Venezuela among worst human trafficking centers". Reuters. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  15. ↑ FocusEconomics. "Venezuela Economy - GDP, Inflation, CPI and Interest Rate". FocusEconomics | Economic Forecasts from the World's Leading Economists. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  16. ↑ "Political Crisis in Venezuela". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  17. ↑ "Amid Rationing, Venezuela Takes The Misery Crown". Investor's Business Daily. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  18. 1 2 Shelley, Louise (2010). Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 274.
  19. ↑ "What lies behind the protests in Venezuela?". BBC News. 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Venezuela: Implementation and effectiveness of the 2007 Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence". Refworld. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  21. ↑ "Global Report on Trafficking In Persons" (PDF). UNODC. 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
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