Sex Trafficking In Central America

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Sex Trafficking Effects on Immigration within Central America Sex Trafficking Effects on Immigration within Central America Trafficking in Persons (TIP) for the purpose of exploitation is a lucrative criminal activity that is a major concern for the United States and its neighboring countries. According to recent U.S. State Department estimates, roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across its borders each year, adding to the already ongoing problem of illegal immigration. While most trafficking victims still appear to originate from South and Southeast Asia or the former Soviet Union, human trafficking has been a growing problem in Central America since the start of the 1990s. Countries in Central America serve as source, transit, and…show more content…
Within this region there are clear economical and educational factors that force women out of their homes seeking job opportunities that result in being lured into the sex trafficking business. Within the hemisphere, it is one of the more impoverished regions; over 70% of the region’s population lives below the poverty line. Women, in particular, face enormous challenges, as they increasingly assume sole responsibility for families. From 1988 to 1999 in Costa Rica, the percentage of women as head of the house rose from 19.3% to 27.9%. During the same time period in Honduras, the number of women increased from 27.9% to 30.3%. From 1991 to 1998 in Panama, the percentage of women as heads of a household increased from 26.0% to 30.6%. In 1997, women headed 30.2% of the houses in El Salvador. In that same year in Nicaragua, the percentage was 36.6%. In 1999 in Guatemala, women ran 24.3% of the households. With this increased responsibility, women are seeking jobs and active earning lives to provide for their family, but are at an economical disadvantage. On average, women in Latin America earn 17% less than their male counterparts even though they are more educated, according to a recent study by the Inter-American Development Bank. Because these women experience an economical advantage in their hometowns, they seek job…show more content…
By taking action within Central America, the United States can decrease this flow of low-sector immigrants into the country while fighting for basic human rights. However, it is not solely up to the United States to take action. The countries heavily involved in the sex trafficking business in Central America need to put pressure on their governments to enact policies that can effectively combat this industry. Immigration flows from the sex trafficking business has broken the stability of cross-border control, resulted in organized crime connected across countries, and has led to a surplus of unwanted immigrants into affected

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