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Human trafficking won't relinquish

Children, teenagers, and women are main the targets of human trafficking in Mexico and worldwide, to sexually exploit them and force them to join criminal bands

70% of the victims are female – Photo: Milan Markovic/EL GRÁFICO
30/07/2018 |08:09
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In the last decade, Mexico has turned into a paradise for criminal groups dedicated to human trafficking.

In the face of pressure from civic organizations , authorities have emphasized the fight against it, but there are still cases, and the main victims are children, teenagers , and women . The UN has established that 30% of the human trafficking victims are boys , and 70% are girls and women .

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obtained from the National Public Security System , says that from January to June 2018 there have been 218 human trafficking victims in the country, and only 154 cases are being investigated .

Sexual exploitation

has a widely known modus operandi . Young women in a vulnerable situation are contacted through social medi a; usually with fake marriage proposals so they leave their home, and in a short time they are consumed by prostitution .

This method also has an international face: they offer a job in Mexico to women who live in countries with economic troubles , like Venezuela . When they arrive in the country, a large network colludes to exploit them : from the m igration personnel in the airport, taxi drivers, motel workers and even the people who manage the websites where they offer sexual services.

The crime begins when with the victim's kidnap, then their transport and reception in order to exploit them. And it ends where it begins, in the way in which they are going to be enslaved; then another series of crimes begin.

Although in most cases human trafficking is about sexual exploitation , underage and young people are also being forced to join criminal bands . The CNDH recognizes it is progressing by giving visibility to this kind of trafficking , that's why it is urging the government to define the way it is going work to control this sort of crime.

When there are developments in regards to controlling children's sexual exploitation , the criminal groups begin to diversify and they start to kidnap boys and teenagers .

The authorities are facing a crime that changes its aim and doesn't relinquish. That's why the strategy must be to attack the structural causes like poverty, corruption, impunity , and the lack of opportunities. There are areas in Mexico that have all these conditions, and the risk there is higher, and that's where the work should begin.

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