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Forced prostitution and human trafficking in Mexico

Violence against women, femicide, and rape have increased in the last decades

English | 22-09-19 | 08:17 | Actualizada | 22-09-19 | 08:23 |

Redacción El Universal

Today, EL UNIVERSAL tells the story of “Yamileth,” a woman who was the victim of sexual exploitation. This story puts the spotlight on one of the crimes that have increased the most but is rarely discussed: trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution . According to experts , this crime is one of the most lucrative activities for criminal organizations , only surpassed by drug and arms trafficking .

According to organizations against human trafficking, o ut of 10 victims, 9 are never rescued, nevertheless, it is important to mention that children and men are also being forced into prostitution now. In regards to the criminals' modus operandi , in the majority of the cases, they establish a romantic relationship with the victim and somehow convince them to move in with them. Once the victim is away from their family , they start treating them differently and become violent towards women. Then they are forced into prostitution . In other cases, women are in charge of recruiting women. They often promise to give them a job in a northern state or abroad .

When comparing the statistics , the numbers reveal that during the first semester of 2019 , human trafficking reports have increased by 9% in contrast with 2018. Furthermore, let's not forget the crisis that struck the few shelters for victims of human trafficking have experienced in recent months, which were affected by budget cuts .

For years, the government and society 's priority has been to fight other forms of organized crime such as drug dealing, smuggling, fuel theft, and arms trafficking , but out of humanitarian sense, human trafficking should be the main priority. It would be expected that the new government , which took office in December 2018 and has said it will implement a gender perspective and would support the causes of the feminist movement, takes actions and creates a specific strategy to eradicate this crime but not imprison those who are forced into prostitution but rather punish those promote this crime by paying for it, perpetuating the sexual exploitation of women and children.