In Paraguay, an intricate system of sex trafficking and exploitation centers in the city of Ciudad De Este. The tri-border location of this city links Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina making Paraguay a prime location for the system of sex trafficking. Weakening travel regulations and absence of authority allow the transportation of young girls and teens.
The industrialized region attracts women from the rural countryside, where many women are desperate for money to feed their families. Women from ages ten to twenty are targeted and lured by traffickers with the false promise of gaining a domestic job or restaurant work. Captive girls are often forced to stay in the sex work through starvation and violence. Many are addicted to low grades of crack.
The author, Andy Footner, believes that the impoverished state of many families in Paraguay is due to the large numbers of children caused in part by the Catholic Church’s prohibition on birth control.
Another key factor that leaves Paraguay weak and susceptible to the trafficking is the anti-traffickers requirement of triple-national cooperation. The officials have to deal with legal logistics on three levels; local, national, and regional. The three different countries speak Portuguese and two different dialects of Spanish, which make communication between authorities frustrating and time consuming.
Title: Paraguay’s Sex Traffic Hub Imperils Female Teens
Source: Womens E-News, January 2009
URL: www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/080108/paraguays-traffic-hub-imperils-female-teens
Author: Andy Footner
Student Researcher: Katrina Gargiulo
Faculty Evaluator: Dan Warter
Sonoma State University: Sociology of Media, Fall 2009
Instructor: Peter Phillips, #25