Human trafficking in South America

Sex trafficking is the practice of kidnapping people, typically young women and children, to be forced into the practice of sexual slavery and prostitution. Sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking. According to a report by the UNODC, 79 percent of trafficking is for sex trafficking.[3] Typically, people with histories of sexual assault or sexual violence and people who live in poverty are targeted and kidnapped.[8] According to State Department officials, it is estimated that tens of thousands of Latin American women are trafficked each year, typically internationally. A large number of these victims come from Colombia or the Dominican Republic. According to a report made by the United Nations in 2016, multiple gangs, crime families, and drug trafficking organizations deal in human trafficking which may involve some 48,500 victims. These women and usually children are trafficked into prostitution, but can also be forced to work in pornography or stripping. Argentina and Brazil are very common destination countries for women from the Andes and some places in the Caribbean, like the Dominican Republic and Panama is a destination country for women from Colombia and Central America who are forced to work in the sex trade. Trafficking is a common occurrence along borders in Central and South America. The Mexican-Guatemalan border is especially popular due to undocumented migrants en route to the United States are often pushed into prostitution.[2]

Forced labor is the practice of intimidating a person into performing types of labor, through intimidation or violence.[9] The ILO reported that in 2012, about 1.8 million people in Latin America were laborers in forced labor. These numbers included victims of human trafficking. These numbers are estimated to be roughly 3.1 percent of the regions population, though it does not count the victims of human trafficking who are sent out internationally.[2] Typically, men are approached by people looking for workers in urban areas where poverty and unemployment are common.[10] From the 2014 UNODC report males make up anywhere from 67 to 70 percent of the trafficked victims for forced labor.[11] These people promise good pay for work and often transport the workers to ranches and mines in remote areas. This is a common practice or occurrence in place like Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay where people are often forced to work on cattle ranches, lumber mills, cole mines and plantations where soy beans, cotton and corn are produced. Upon reaching their destination, the workers are told they are now in debt, and held in debt bondage. They are told that transportation costs will be taken out of their salaries. Other times, the workers aren't brought to the work site, but to a drop off point, where they sometimes wait for days or weeks for employers to come pick them up. Food, lodging and transportation are taken out of their salary, and they are held until their debt is paid.[10] The indigenous people of Latin America are also highly susceptible to being taken into forced labor. Typically, they live in poverty and with discrimination and a low literacy rate working against them, they have no real way to protest against the laborers effectively.[10] It is estimated that annually, about 1.5 million seasonal farm workers who are mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean Islands harvest produce in the United States. There have been an increasing amount of abuses due to forced labor because of the low wages, harsh working conditions, lack of legal protection and an increasing demand for cheap labor.[2]

Typically, children are trafficked in countries that have large tourist attractions and centers on sex tourism. Street and orphaned children are the most vulnerable to be taken advantage of by traffickers, though there have been cases where the trafficked children still live with their family, and participate in commercial sexual activities to provide for the family. Some other factors that make a child vulnerable to becoming a victim of trafficking are poverty, infrequent attendance of school, involvement in criminal activity, drug or alcohol addiction, or physical or sexual abuse. Children are typically trafficked for the uses of illegal adoptions, child soldiers, sex slavey, or to work for an organized crime group. State Department officials estimate that roughly 1 million children work as domestic servants in Latin America and that 70 to 80 percent of unaccompanied children travel with smugglers.[2] The UNODC noted that children made up 30 percent of the trafficked victims in the Americas.[12]

People are often trafficked by criminal organizations such as criminal gangs or mafia groups. Typically, organized crime groups take part in the sex trade and trafficking practice. In Guatemala, organized crime groups kidnap and transport women from other countries, often other Latin American countries, to participate in prostitution and sexual slavery. According to the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, organized crime groups from Russia, Japan, Mexico, Central America, Ukraine and multiple other countries have been caught attempting to traffic people across the U.S.-Mexico border. The State Department states that there is evidence of children being forced to commit crimes in Ecuador, Chile, and Brazil.[2]

Human trafficking is unique in that the supply and demand are the same thing. The high demand for human bodies incentivizes the exploitation and dehumanization of human beings.[13] In a SAGA publication there is an approximation of 32 billion dollars the human trafficking industry generates annually.[14] Supply and demand of human trafficking is normalized in capitalist societies where consumers feel it is their right to receive the services they paid for. Giving a monetary value to humans, makes those selling them see them as object and their property.[4]

Due to the supply and demand of humans, the final destination for trafficked humans correlates with tourism. Tourism and sexual exploitation are positively correlated in modern day cities in Latin America.[7]

Additional factors that perpetuates human trafficking, forced labor, and forced prostitution are stigmas and attitudes a society has in regard to individuals in the human trafficking industry. Research done by Jo Bindman, claims in general sex workers face significantly higher discrimination by law enforcements, governmental authority and society. This presents an issue concerning human trafficking as those who are unwilling forced into sex work are at a disadvantage of receiving help due to the conversation around sex work.[4]

Due to inequality and disparities that result from globalization and the lack of regulation, there are certain groups who are more vulnerable than others of becoming victims of human trafficking. These groups include and is not limited to individual who are impoverished, lack job opportunities, queer, and/or engage in harmful cultural traditions.[13] Those who are living in poverty and lack the opportunity to at acquire a safe, honorable job are easily susceptible to the deceiving, manipulative tactics of human traffickers. In their desperation, people find themselves in the human trafficking system.[15]

Some people go to traffickers looking to be brought into a new country, typically illegally. The most common countries people are brought to are The United States, Britain, Italy, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands. These countries have come to rely on migrant workers doing jobs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing and domestic service for low paying wages. Because of a concern about job competition, security and many other issues related to taking in large amounts of foreign-born populations, this has caused many of these countries to strengthen and tighten their border security. Though this has only caused a rise in illegal immigration. Many people from Guatemala and Belize travel through Mexico to get to the United States border. Because of the increasing security along the borders, smugglers will take more dangerous routes, which makes the smuggling more costly. To pay for this, smugglers will force the migrants into forced labor or prostitution.[2] According to Zdrojewski, many of the trafficked women and children in Central America originate from Nicaragua, Dominica Republic and Guatemala. Most immigration is from the south to the north, to the United States.[7]