Inside Colombia’s Fight Against Child Trafficking for Sex Tourism

Child trafficking in Central and South America is a deeply concerning issue with significant human rights implications. And Opens borders for countries does not help. It allows the free flow of children to arrive in a different country with an adult who may not be their real parent, and worse. Thats just the tip of the Ice berg. How much Ice, is below the iceberg? According to various reports, the region is a major source, transit, and destination for child trafficking, particularly for sexual exploitation and forced labor.

In Central America, organized crime groups, including gangs, are heavily involved in trafficking children for both sexual exploitation and forced labor, with many children from countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador being trafficked to Mexico and the United States. In South America, countries such as Colombia, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic are noted as significant sources of trafficked children; for instance, approximately 27 percent of sex trafficking victims in South America between 2003 and 2021 were minors. And these are only the stats that we know of, Imagine, it must be much higher due to not knowing, the unknown. These statistics highlight the urgent need for comprehensive anti-trafficking strategies and enhanced protection measures for children across these regions.