Nineteen Routes to child slavery in Central America
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Virginia Murillo Herrera
Abstract
This chapter describes the process of child trafficking into, within, and through Central America. Relative poverty is the key driver, with the United States to the north a beacon for those seeking economic betterment. The violence of recent civil wars, and of criminal gangs and growing social inequality, create a context for huge levels of out-migration. Within these processes of migration there are substantial numbers, often hidden, of children either seeking an improvement in their own lives or, at least, to rejoin adult family members who migrated earlier also in search of work and a better life. The particular geography of Central America makes it a bridge for trafficking and it has come to be seen as a good destination for the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, with accelerating numbers of ever-younger children and adolescents being drawn into the trafficking nexus. Countries in the region are attempting to harmonise legislation, while non-governmental organisations at the grassroots level are also engaging in concerted actions.
Abstract
This chapter describes the process of child trafficking into, within, and through Central America. Relative poverty is the key driver, with the United States to the north a beacon for those seeking economic betterment. The violence of recent civil wars, and of criminal gangs and growing social inequality, create a context for huge levels of out-migration. Within these processes of migration there are substantial numbers, often hidden, of children either seeking an improvement in their own lives or, at least, to rejoin adult family members who migrated earlier also in search of work and a better life. The particular geography of Central America makes it a bridge for trafficking and it has come to be seen as a good destination for the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, with accelerating numbers of ever-younger children and adolescents being drawn into the trafficking nexus. Countries in the region are attempting to harmonise legislation, while non-governmental organisations at the grassroots level are also engaging in concerted actions.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements and dedication vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- List of abbreviations xiii
- List of boxes, figures, tables and photos xv
- Introduction: Child slavery worldwide 1
-
Strategic overviews
- Child slavery today 21
- Constructing the international legal framework 43
- Just out of reach: the challenges of ending the worst forms of child labour 61
- Child domestic labour: a global concern 81
- Child trafficking: a modern form of slavery 99
- Clarity and consistency in understanding child exploitation: a UK perspective 117
- A human rights approach to preventing child sex trafficking 133
- Child rights, culture and exploitation: UK experiences of child trafficking 145
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Themes, issues and case studies
- Preventing child trafficking in India: the role of education 163
- Birth registration: a tool for prevention, protection and prosecution 175
- ‘Bienvenue chez les grands!’: young migrant cigarette vendors in Marseille 189
- Child domestic labour: fostering in transition? 203
- Extreme forms of child labour in Turkey 215
- Haliya and kamaiya bonded child labourers in Nepal 227
- Sex trafficking in Nepal 243
- The role of the arts in resisting recruitment as child soldiers and ‘wives’: experience from Uganda and Nepal 257
- International adoption and child trafficking in Ecuador 271
- Child slavery in South and South East Asia 285
- Routes to child slavery in Central America 297
- Resources 307
- The end of child slavery? 317
- Index 327
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements and dedication vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- List of abbreviations xiii
- List of boxes, figures, tables and photos xv
- Introduction: Child slavery worldwide 1
-
Strategic overviews
- Child slavery today 21
- Constructing the international legal framework 43
- Just out of reach: the challenges of ending the worst forms of child labour 61
- Child domestic labour: a global concern 81
- Child trafficking: a modern form of slavery 99
- Clarity and consistency in understanding child exploitation: a UK perspective 117
- A human rights approach to preventing child sex trafficking 133
- Child rights, culture and exploitation: UK experiences of child trafficking 145
-
Themes, issues and case studies
- Preventing child trafficking in India: the role of education 163
- Birth registration: a tool for prevention, protection and prosecution 175
- ‘Bienvenue chez les grands!’: young migrant cigarette vendors in Marseille 189
- Child domestic labour: fostering in transition? 203
- Extreme forms of child labour in Turkey 215
- Haliya and kamaiya bonded child labourers in Nepal 227
- Sex trafficking in Nepal 243
- The role of the arts in resisting recruitment as child soldiers and ‘wives’: experience from Uganda and Nepal 257
- International adoption and child trafficking in Ecuador 271
- Child slavery in South and South East Asia 285
- Routes to child slavery in Central America 297
- Resources 307
- The end of child slavery? 317
- Index 327
