Basic elements of trafficking
# '' "Recruitment"''; this can be by deception or by force, and involves a recruiter. # '' "Transport"''; from here to the site of exploitation, the victim is subjected toFederal legislation
There are many laws that touch on the theme of trafficking; historically the Ley Palacios of 1913 was the first law in the protection to protect victims of sexual exploitation and slavery, as well as to punish those responsible. It was the first legislation in the entire American continent and signified a great advance in human rights in the country. The International Day Against Human Trafficking commemorates the enactment of this law. Argentina, as a signatory to the United NationsVictims
Trafficking generates victims who in the majority of cases live under inhuman conditions; to be a victim of trafficking involves slavery, in which the trafficker gains a totally illegal right of property right over the victim or reduces her to the level of indentured servitude for the purpose of economic exploitation. In Argentina the most common victims of forced labor are in underground sweatshops are textile or as farm laborers and in other cases domestic workers. As for sexual exploitation that principally affects women, adolescents, and children, they are mostly found in the country's brothels.Forced labor
Forced labor includes a variety of trades, but the sectors most affected are rural and textile labor.Textile industry
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC – Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos), unregistered labor in apparel approaches 75%. The greater number of these workers are black, which promotes the spread of forced labor. According to Gustavo Vera, president of the cooperative La Alameda (which represents and defends textile workers), "We know that there are about 3,000 underground sweatshops in the Federal Capital" and he adds "There are also some 15,000 underground sweatshops in the first tier of the Buenos Aires suburbs and several thousand more in Greater Buenos Aires, Rosario, Mendoza and Cordoba. These workshops include a population of about 200,000 people who are reduced to forced labor or slave labor, which is the same as forced labor but worse, because the will of the workers is controlled 24 hours a day by the employer." According to theRural
In Argentina, one of the first protections of the farm laborer was born in 1940 with the enactment of the Estatuto del PeónSexual abuse
History
Sexual exploitation was born in theCurrent status
At present, Argentina is a source, transit, and destination location for trafficking, which means that the victims can be Argentinian or from other countries, that they go through this country, and that some have this as the destination to be illegally exploited. "Reclutadores" (recruiters) capture the victims through deception or abduction, assisted by "marcadores" (markers) who pick the victims. Then the circle closes with the "proxenetas" (Recruitment
There are many recruiting methods but all are either "soft", based on fraud and deception, or "hard", based directly on kidnapping the victims. *Kidnapping: in this crime women are identified and marked. Later they are kidnapped from off the street, they are drugged and transported to a place where they are repeatedly violated for the purpose of sexually exploiting them later. Those who offer resistance are threatened with harming or killing her family. *Deception: in which recruiters take advantage of the poverty or defenselessness of the victim with false offers of employment, moving the victim to another province or country, after which she finds she is to be sexually exploited. There are also cases in which the victim has agreed to work in the sex trade, but then finds out the working and living conditions fall within the category of trafficking. Sometimes these victims only recognize the exploitation after intensive psychological assistance.Recent studies
A recent study in 2012 of court cases of the Unidad Fiscal de Asistencia en Secuestros Extorsivos y Trata de Personas iscal Unit of Assistance in Kidnappings and Trafficking in PersonsUFASE) and the Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales nstitute for Comparative Studies in Criminal and Social Sciences(INECIP) revealed that trafficking for sexual exploitation is mutating into new forms of subjugation of women, to make it more difficult to prove the existence of slavery in bordellos and thus evading the law. This is a result of the enactment of Law 26.364 in April 2008 that strongly penalizes this offense. The victims have their documents in their possession and in many cases are allowed to leave the sites of exploitation, but the subjugation continues to function in another way. Furthermore, the report shows collusion between state, local, police, and judicial entities that "legitimizes the activity and leads to its habituation." Some 72% of cases are enslaved in nightclubs like ''whiskerías'' (undercover brothels), pubs, or pool halls, all enabled by the municipalities, and the other 22% in private apartments.Underage victims
Worldwide, close to 2.5 million people are victims of some form of trafficking. Between 22% and 50% are girls and boys. The exact figure is unknown because trafficking in children is usually hidden; for this reason, reliable data cannot be obtained. Many of these situations occur within cities or urban areas. For example, trafficking for the purposes ofInterviews about trafficking
Narrative on trafficking for sexual exploitation: Narrative of labor exploitation:Court cases
Case of Marita Veron
One of the more well known cases in Argentina is that of Marita Veron, which was brought to court in 2012 after an intensive search and collection of evidence, where part of the network of this country's web of trafficking for sexual exploitation was discovered. It is known that she left her home on April 3, 2002, and three days later, she was found by police while escaping from a sex party that seems to have been her first destination; she was put on a bus with a group traveling in the direction of Tucuman but never arrived. Later, a witness saw her in one of three Rioja brothels, which the Appeals Chamber of Tucumán described as "places intended for the practice of prostitution where there is a systematic recruitment of women including by means deprivation of liberty." Since then there has been no more information obtained on the whereabouts of Marita. Marita's mother Susana Trimarco, the principal impulse behind the investigation, has managed to rescue more than 20 women who were victims of trafficking. The Maria de los Angeles Foundation rescues and helps victims of trafficking. The trial over the disappearance of Marita began on February 8, 2012, and indicted 13 people, 7 men and 6 women, who are linked to the kidnapping and to the promotion of prostitution. It brought together more than 150 witnesses. The trial ended on December 11, 2012, and all indicted people were absolved, the mother of Marita Veron will impulse a political trial against the magistrate.UFASE's statistics
According to statistics taken from August 22, 2008, to March 7, 2012, by the Fiscal Assistance Unit of Kidnappings and Trafficking (UFASE – Unidad Fiscal de Asistencia en Secuestros Extorsivos y Trata de Personas) responsible for assisting the Argentine fiscal units in the processing of kidnappings and trafficking court cases. Some 64% of court cases were for trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation, while the percentages for trafficking for labor exploitation were 5% rural, 1% textile, and 1% begging. As for sexual exploitation, 77% of the victims were female, 19% male, and 4% transgender. In 70% of cases, the method of recruitment was by "promises of employment", 8% by exploiting the victim's family problems and 8% inducement by romantic relationship, and 3% of cases by the delivery by a family member or acquaintance. Some 52% had no freedom of movement and 45% experienced violence. With regard to the nationality of the victims, 31% were Bolivian, 28% Argentinian, 21% Paraguayan, 10% Dominican, 5% Peruvian, 3% Colombian, and 2% Uruguayan. Source countries for recruitment were 83% in Argentina, 12% in Paraguay, and 1% in Bolivia, while the destination country was 94% for Argentina, 4% Paraguay, and 2% Chile.Support programs for victims and others
Office for Rescue and Caring of Victims of Trafficking
According to the new Law 26.364 that was created in August 2008, theMaria de los Angeles Foundation
Fundación María de los ÁngelesReferences
External links
Spanish
Fight against trafficking
Resources
English
International reaction
Photography
*Ron Nicolaysen, Human Trafficking, Argentina