HomeNewsBrief'Mexico Sees 800,000 Sex Trafficking Cases a Year'
BRIEF

'Mexico Sees 800,000 Sex Trafficking Cases a Year'

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / 22 MAR 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

As an anti-human trafficking bill makes its way through Mexico's legislature, a congresswoman has claimed that more than 800,000 people a year are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

In an effort to draw attention to the crime of human trafficking in Mexico, congresswoman Rosi Orozco (pictured) recently cited figures showing that some 800,000 adults and 20,000 children are trafficked for sexual exploitation each year in Mexico, reports EFE.

Orozco said the figure came from the National Refuge Network (RNR), an NGO that provides shelter to abused women. According to the RNR, at least 47 criminal networks control these trafficking routes that predominantly run through the Mexican states of Veracruz, Chiapas, Puebla, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Baja California, Chihuahua, Guerrero and·Quintana Roo.

Mexico's lower house·voted unanimously·on Thursday for a new anti-human trafficking law that would mandate sentences of between 15 and 30 years for the crimes of slavery, child pornography and the sexual exploitation of women and children. If passed into law, a maximum sentence of 40 years would also be imposed for parents who allow their children to be sexually exploited.

The bill follows two constitutional amendments made last year by President Felipe Calderon, one that requires those accused of human trafficking to be imprisoned during trials, and one that ensures the anonymity of victims.

InSight Crime Analysis

Estimates over the income generated from the global human trafficking industry vary widely with some putting the figure at close to $10 billion annually, and others over $30 billion. What is beyond doubt is that it is one of the most profitable forms of crime in the world.

Attracted by the potential profits, Mexican cartels have become increasingly involved in the trade, according to a 2011 Washington Post investigation. Because crimes related to human trafficking are rarely prosecuted, this has given criminal groups another incentive to deepen their involvement. As Orzoco told the Post, “If narcotics traffickers are caught they go to high-security prisons, but with the trafficking of women, they have found absolute impunity.”

The new law will seek to address this discrepancy in Mexico's judicial system, a problem that was recently highlighted with the release of figures by the Attorney General's Office that showed only a fraction of cases were subject to preliminary investigations over the last three years.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 5 JUL 2022

Why did drug trafficking enjoy such a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic…

EL MENCHO / 2 SEP 2021

As violence has continued to rise in Mexico year after year, criminal groups have adopted an increasingly militarized approach to…

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / 15 JUL 2022

A recent report has shed new light on how temporary work visa programs for migrant laborers can backfire.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…