Human Trafficking and Sex Tourism in Latin America - Essay Example

Human Trafficking and Sex Tourism in Latin America: A Case Study of Brazil Introduction Latin America is one of prominent regional blocs with extensive cases of human trafficking and sex tourism. Sex tourism is thought to have started in the 15th century upon arrival of Columbus in the Latin America. It is as result of willingness of the local women to have commercial sex with the white arrivals. In the process, many women were transported to Europe for the purpose of sex because of their daunting beauty that pleased Columbus and his country men. Since then, cases of human trafficking and sex tourism have continued to exist in major cities of the Latin America. Brazil is one of the countries in the Latin America mentioned in many international reports to have experienced blossoming sex tourism and human trafficking. The tremendous development of sex tourism and human trafficking in Brazil attributes to various historical, political, economic and social factors. Currently, serious cases of children involvement in commercial sex have gained an upward gradient as many of the participants are under-educated or totally illiterate. Evolution of the Menace According to Hannum, sex tourism in Latin America evolved as a result of increased demand for sex among the wealthy Europeans who travelled to Latin America to obtain cheap sex from the regional women. The evolution of sex tourism in the Latin American countries also relates to the establishment of military bases of foreign armies in those regions. The British armies are held as major participants in the evolution sex tourism in the Latin America. In the views of Hannum, governments of the Latin American countries like Brazil resolved to support tourism in their specific countries as this was one of the ways to generate massive revenues. Promotion of tourism in these areas coupled with the increase in number of commercial sex workers desperate for the foreign European currencies. Sex tourism as per the current statistics has grown to a multibillion dollar industry in Brazil. However, most of the revenues gathered from the sector do reach the government in either ways (Hannum). The industry encompasses women, males and international clients who either come to obtain sex or to sell their sex to respective consumers. Current Status, Trends and Predisposing Factors Hannun in reference to the reports of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Child Trafficking (ECPAT), estimates that child sex tourism in Brazil rose to 500,000 in the year 1994. This is number is exceptional to Brazil alone without putting into count similar cases in other Latin American countries. Hannun reports that research conducted by the Predo Foundation averred that most incidents of prostitution among children in the larger Latin America correlate to regional incapability to care for its population. Reports indicate that most children resort to prostitution as an alternative way to earning a living. In addition, most of the children engaged in prostitution in the Latin American countries, specifically Brazil are victims of civil conflicts who faced abusive families. Hannum further demonstrates that increase in child sex tourism in Brazil links to the growing dislike of the old sex workers feared to have infections of sexually transmitted disease. Moreover, Hannun confirms that child sex tourism in Brazil and entire Latin America is factored by sex clients’ feeling of freedom from their social cultural rules that restrict the practice. The rigorous growth of child sex tourism in Brazil also relates to the increased media advertisements of jobs that lure desperate children to apply for such rare vacancies in their respective countries (Hannum). Advertisements of luxurious free travel have also been one of the ways used by dealers in the sex tourism industry to hunt for children and other sex tourism practitioners. Increase in sex tourism in Brazil also links to the wide internet advertisement of sexual pictures that trigger the urge for sex among the active participants in the industry. Hannun holds that collective measures by government and other social organization to curb rampant sex tourism industry in Brazil have met hurdles due the religious and ethical beliefs together with human rights issues. Hughes, et al report that sex tourism in Brazil has been growing at tremendous rate due the imbalances in economic distribution that have accumulated wealth to particular few individuals in the societies while leaving more than 20 million people under marginalized situation. The imbalanced economy also exposes over 40 million young adolescent populations to vulnerability occasioned by patriarchal abandonment thereby resolving to prostitution for survival. In the report of Hughes et al, most children in the sex tourism industry are aged below 14 years. Hughes et al illustrate that economic and effects of environment such as drought that hit the country in 1998 directed many young people to prostitution in strive to fend for their families. Hughes, et al in reference to reports of Inter-institutional Network against Child Prostitution and Sexual Abuse connote the cities of Joao Pessao, Pantannal, Purto Murtinho, Coruma and Campo Grande to be the most affected with cases of sex tourism. Oliveira relates the growth of sex tourism in Brazil to the structure of the country’s economy that accrues women few chances to access employment and resources. Such occurrences drive women to seek economic prosperity in the sex tourism industry. According to Oliveira, the growth of sex tourism also attributes to high poverty levels in the country that steered many young individuals including girls to flood the streets of Brazil. Poverty has also made families to send their daughters to the streets to seek sex jobs so that they can earn money to buy food for their families. Oliveira further mentions that family constraints such as alcoholism and frustrations have driven many girls out of homes to the cities to practice prostitution. Some of the girls in the sex tourism industries are victims of broken families without substantial sources of income. Other girls in the sex tourism industries are believed to have faced sexual abuse from their step fathers, a factor that drive them to the venom streets. Oliveira further explains that social-cultural beliefs and stereotypes are among the main reasons behind the escalated growth of human trafficking and sex tourism in the republic of Brazil. Oliviea discloses that Brazilian cultures do not respect girls whose virginity is broken. This has resulted into cases of rejection and isolation of the Brazilian girls who are the victims of lost virginity. Consequently, such girls resolve to stream to the streets where they prefer as the best places to exercise freedom and obtain consolation out of the family and societal rejections. The desire for better jobs and urge for independence are among the reasons that have pushed girls to the streets to practice prostitution. Kloer states that human trafficking in Brazil involves young children who are offered for commercial sex or forced industrial labor. In the indication of Kloer, almost 400,000 children are sold every year to resorts and tourists attraction areas. Adult women are also victims of trafficking as they are used in commercial sex work. Sex tourism in Brazil displays unique features in the history of Latin America as it involves large number of young boys (Kloer). In some cases, the trafficked individuals are sold to the industrial sectors with ethanol, sugar cane, cattle, soy and charcoal industries being the most assimilators of slave labor. Kloer further mentions that most of the foreign consumers in sex tourism industry are European and US tourists. A large number of victims of human trafficking encompass women and children who are sometimes sold to Spain, Portugal, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and Paraguay among other slave consuming nations. Kloer depicts that Brazil plays the two sides of human trafficking as it also imports slaves from Bolivia and Paraguay who work in the garment manufacturing industries. The BBC world news reveals incredible secrets currently surrounding the sex tourism industry in Brazil. BBC confirms that sex tourism in Brazil involves young girls accompanied by their mothers who would always ask for service delivery for as less as $5. The current statics as reported by BBC news discloses the city of Recife as the worst center for child sex tourism. The sex tourism industry in Brazil to a greater extent involves the taxi drivers in the business owing to their critical role of ‘gathering young girls and connecting them with the tourists. BBC news exemplifies that most of the girl prostitutes in the sex tourism industry are victims of poverty driven by their parents to the streets to get income for the support of their respective families. Upon intensive investigation into the issue of child sex tourism in Brazil, BBC news reports that the sex practitioners have well established groups with more mature ladies responsible for collecting money and protecting the young girls against abuse. In the views of Ribeiro, cities of Fortaleza and Recife are the perceived safe cities that welcome the Europeans who travel to Brazil to obtain sex services. Ribeiro ascertains that the business has involved reputable and competent travel agencies, hotel staffs and taxi drivers who introduce the prostitutes to the tourists. According to BBC, many victims of human trafficking who operate in the sex tourism industry have reportedly faced death threats by their masters in case they escape and run away from the business. The young prostitutes also face body and psychological abuse occasioned by their masters who beat them whenever they do not present money. There are enormous cases of disease infection worst of which is cervical cancer that invades most of the little girls (BBC). Promotion of tourism in Brazil has exposed desperate girls to the wealth nature of the tourists and desire for the foreigners’ dollars has pulled many girls to the sex tourism industry (Oliveira). With reference to the reports of UNICEF, Oliveira confirms that cases of human trafficking dominated the Bahia City as young girls were sneaked into foreigners’ ships where they offered sex services to the respective clients. The growth of sex industry in Brazil is also correlated to the practice of particular agencies that send girls’ photographs to the foreign clients in Germany, Switzerland, and France among other interested nationalities who returned information of their arrival in Brazil. Oliveira persistently levels blame on the government and law enforcing arms in the Brazilian economy as the ones responsible for condoning human trafficking and sex tourism. In a move to deliver strong evidence, Oliveira confirms that police officers in the state of Para had insight knowledge of prostitution in the clubs of Cuiu-Cuiu mining town but did not take any actions. Worst of all is that police officers collaborated with the club owners and occasionally could gather bribes from the owners of the nightclubs. Police also mistreated and even caused harm to individuals who tried to escape from their hunters in the night clubs. Police officers also engaged in the menace of prostitution as they frustrated the prostitutes by locking them and raping them in custody before freeing them back to the streets (Oliveira). Economic and Social Effects In spite of the perceived colossal revenues obtained by participants in the sex tourism industry, there have been dire cases of frustration among certain marginalized groups. Oliveira reports that since the industry is managed by certain powerful individuals, the real commercial sex operators have not enjoyed the fruits of their toil in the field. The very bitter part of the sex tourism in Brazil starts immediately upon trafficking to the operation centers when the business owners demand for transport compensation from the girls before they start earning. Oliveira painfully demonstrates that the girls used in the concession of the business rarely get paid as the clients served make direct payment to the club owners who in turn do not pay the maidens. The girls also face infection of diseases such as malaria, which raises the costs of living made in absence of salary. Oliveira mentions that most of the trafficking involved young girls whose virginity were intact. Such precious supply attracted stiff bargains involving the sons of the rich men in Brazil who occasionally made good payments. The prostitutes were reportedly confronted with furious police officers who physically fought them to an extent of causing miscarriages. The government is also blamed for the increase of disease infection among the girls because of its failure to lag the costs of condoms, which are still being sold at luxurious prices. Societal disregard of the prostitutes created senses of deteriorated self-esteem and increased self-hatred that saw many girls causing self body mutilations. Oliveira reports that body cutting was a common form of self mutilation designated to attract sympathy from the public and offer necessary assistance and comfort. Government/Civil Society Interventions The government of Brazil and other non governmental organizations has joined forces to escalate wars against child and sex tourism in general. BBC news indicates that the government of Brazil has intensified patrol in the streets of Ceara to alienate incidences of sex tourism with preparation for the football world cup of 2014. Government operations in Ceara have involved police intrusion into motels and restaurants and arresting offenders while taking the young girls into special care homes. Ribeiro applauds the measures taken by the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism to link up with other participants in the fight against the menace. The government has also initiated awareness campaigns that seek to identify the citizens with the contemporary effects of child sex abuse. Government and other organizations have established measures to train young individuals to work in the travel tourism industries. In addition, Ribeiro reports that non-governmental organizations like the Center for Defense of Child and Adolescent (CEDECA) have heightened campaigns to protect children from societal abuse. In the view of Hughes et al, the government of Brazil introduced phone service for the public to report cases of sex tourism and human trafficking in1997. Furthermore, the Brazilian government spent $1.7 million in 1998 with aim of rehabilitating and setting homes for the girls who are victims of sex tourism. In the allocation, government also intends to reduce the number of street children within the streets of Brazil. Conclusion Human trafficking and sex tourism are very synonymous with Latin America. Among all the countries in the Latin America, Brazil has recorded the worst incidents of the vices in the world’s history. The main victims of such fouls are women and young girls who should be going to school. It is sad to recall that the main consumers of these activities are learned and perceived civilized Europeans who travel from their countries to Brazil with intentions of spoiling people’s daughters. It is a sad realization that girls employed in sex tourism industry rarely get money out of the depriving service they offer. The government has also failed to execute its appropriate roles; instead the police officers are the key players in this industry that infringe human rights. The government has also failed to establish measures to alienate poverty, which is the main cause of human trafficking and sex tourism in Brazil. Works cited BBC news world, 2010, Brazil's sex tourism boom. Web. October 12, 2011. Hannum, Ann. Sex Tourism in Latin America. 2002. Web. October 12, 2011. Hughes et al, Fact book on Global Sexual Exploitation: Brazil. Web. October 12, 2011. Kloer, Amanda. Human Trafficking in Brazil: A Scenic Countryside of Slaves. 2010. Web. October 12, 2011. Oliveira, Selma. Child Prostitution on the Rise in Brazil. 1995. Web. October 12, 2011. Ribeiro, Patricia. Brazil Fights Child Sex Tourism. 2010. Web. October 12, 2011. Read More