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Chelsea Richardson

Phillips

AP Language

13 December 2017

Salvadoran Sex-Trafficking

Over the past decade, sex-trafficking in El Salvador has become an overwhelming social issue.

Notorious street gangs like Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) have fueled sex-trafficking in El Salvador.

Gangs like MS-13 are the primary buyers and sellers of sex-trafficked victims. Sex-trafficking

dehumanizes Salvadorans because they’re sold and auctioned off like cattle. Sex-trafficking has put

Salvadorans lives in extreme danger and has contributed to the increase in an already staggering

homicide rate. In 2017 The United States Department of State reported 48 Salvadoran sex-trafficking

victims crossing the border. Many Salvadorans are forced to emigrate to other countries as a drastic

escape due to the unwanted violence, insecurity insinuated by sex-trafficking, and the government's

inability to pass sufficient laws to protect victims.

Deplorable violence in El Salvador actively influences youth emigration because of the extreme

influx of gang presence. Of all types of unprecedented violence, sexual violence continues to plague

the youth. In an article written by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a

key factor currently influencing youth in El Salvador is unwarranted sexual violence. Unimaginable

sexual violence, such as rape, trafficking, and molestation, are responsible for the high rates of teenage

pregnancy, in addition to the high numbers of sexually transmitted infections (“Key Issues Affecting

Youth in El Salvador”). Not only have victims endured unimaginable sex-trafficking abuse, but

alongside their assault they contract sexaully transmited diseases. In a series of blog posts written by

an organization called Mission to El Salvador, sexual violence in El Salvador “has become so grave
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that young girls are fleeing El Salvador, with the hopes of finding safety in Mexico or the United

States.” Young girls find the harrowing decision to leave their families behind and run from their

homelands much more bearable than falling victim to sex crimes. Salvadorans fear the threat of sex-

trafficking because it “is now at the door step of every family and not just the poor.” (Minhas). Since

this problem now targets everyone, those who live in luxury find themselves victimized as well. Costly

security will no longer serve as protection to Salvadorans. Residents of El Salvador feel exposed to the

sex-trafficking world because of their close proximity to it.

Insufficient laws leave Salvadorans exposed to the atrocities of sexual violence. In 2017, The

United States (U.S.) Department of State concluded that Salvadoran sex-trafficking victims felt the

services offered to them by their government were useless and did not protect them from violent

encounters with their traffickers. In addition to useless laws, many victims of sex-trafficking emigrate

because the laws introduced to “protect” them never progress. The U.S. Department of State reported

the Salvadoran “congress failed to pass draft anti-trafficking legislation” that was introduced in 2012.

Their government's lack of commitment to prevent sex-trafficking and protect victims, influences many

Salvadorans to desire freedom by emigrating. On November 13, 2017, The United Nations office on

Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that “victims have been identified in the United States of

America, Canada, Japan, South America, and the European Union.” Imagine coming from an

impoverished nation and spending an entire life savings to emigrate to a surrounding nation in hopes

of a better future. The lack of protection from sex-trafficking crimes influence victims to flee to

countries that offer more protection.

Not only do Salvadorans emigrate voluntarily to escape consistent heinous crimes in their

homeland, but many are forced to do so against their will. Salvadoran sex-traffickers often times sell

their victims thousands of miles across countries, which they refer to as migrant smuggling. Migrant
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smuggling dehumanizes its victims because they’re treated as property and are handled much like

cattle. The demeanor in which these victims are handled compromises their human rights. The UNODC

published a report in 2017 that discussed the topic of smuggling of migrants, stating that sex-trafficking

victims are easily smuggled because “the lack of security at country borders makes it very easy to

transport victims into different regions” (“Human Trafficking and the Smuggling of Migrants). The

government of El Salvador has made their country the ideal place for sex-traffickers and an astounding

country of terror for their actual citizens.

Salvadoran opinion, expert reports, and scientific research have found unprecedented violence

associated with sex-trafficking to be a major emigration push factor. In March 2017, an unsettling

article was published by the organization Mission to El Salvador that vocalizes the unspeakable acts

Salvadoran endure in their everyday lives. In the article, a scientific study done by the National Civil

Police, reported 361 cases of rape and 165 cases of sexual aggression were recorded between January

and August in 2015. Salvadoran women who contributed to the article discussed the recurring femicides

that plague their country. A 13 year old girl walked to the local store when suddenly she was approached

by gang members who killed her after demanding her cell phone; this is a femicide (“Being a Woman

in El Salvador, Part 1”). While these cases are reported to the government, “no cases were prosecuted

this year” (“Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons”). The government continues to ignore reported

cases because authorities refuse to recognize the extent of trafficking. Salvadoran gangs inflict

injustices on to women by viewing them as property and selling them into sexual slavery (“Being a

Woman in El Salvador, Part 3”). Femicides and sex-crimes against women and citizens in El Salvador

demean victims and must be managed in order for El Salvador to keep its citizens.

Some countries argue that the solution to control sex-trafficking influence on Salvadoran

migration is to enact laws against sex-trafficking. Although the proposed solution seems like an easy
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fix, it’s very far from the manageable solution. How is it possible to eliminate sex-trafficking when

corruption within the judiciary continues to inhibit law enforcement? Just this year, the Salvadoran

government received a case where a prison official allowed gang members to bring a teenage girl inside

the prison only to force her to prostitute herself to the inmates (“Office to Monitor and Combat

Trafficking in Persons”). The laws imposed to prevent sex-trafficking are insufficient because “the

government of El Salvador does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of

sex-trafficking” (“Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons”). Corruption within El

Salvador's government makes it extremely difficult for them to combat sex-trafficking.

When laws are passed in a country, courts of law and law officials are supposed to enforce those

laws to civilians. Tax laws and criminal laws are two of the most commonly enforced laws; anti sex-

trafficking education should be enforced the same way. In El Salvador, laws restricting gang parties

shouldn’t be prioritized over workshops and programs designed to terminate sex-trafficking. Laws

enacted to restrict gangs violent nature wouldn’t be effective because gangs are nearly impossible to

control. Trying to stop a gang is like trying to stop a tsunami. Workshops and programs working to

eliminate sex-trafficking also have potential to limit unwanted sexual violence, and both voluntary

immigration and forced immigration. If anti-trafficking education was properly enforced many

Salvadorans would experience a great decline of feeling insecure and feel less pressure to emigrate

because they would feel supported by their country.

After coming under constant crossfire, El Salvador’s government has made impressive efforts

to end sex-trafficking. Orlando Sentinel wrote an article where Jerry Hoar and Krystal Rodriguez

highlighted El Salvador’s commitment to end all forms of trafficking. The article acknowledged

“officials are, however, making significant efforts to do so, including a new national action plan” ,

which states that from 2016 to 2019, 24,700 dollars will be given to the Salvadoran Interagency Anti-
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Trafficking Council (Hoar and Rodriguez). This allocation will be used to fund future anti sex-

trafficking workshops for government and law officials, and to fund special programs for victims (Hoar

and Rodriguez). Workshops aiming to terminate sex-trafficking have been made a priority in El

Salvador. In 2017 Orlando Sentinel publicized that El Salvador’s “government provided anti-

trafficking training to 2,473 employees” (Hoar and Rodriguez). According to the UNODC these

workshops are meant to train law officials on how to identify Salvadoran sex-trafficking victims.

Border officials are also taught how to recognize sex-trafficking victims emigrating at country borders

(UNODC). Special training provided will minimize the epidemic outbreak of sex-trafficking in El

Salvador.

In addition to workshops, programs directed at helping sex-trafficking victims produce positive

effects. The U.S. Department of State highlighted some of the positive effects in a published report.

They stated that the Salvadoran “government maintained efforts to assist some underage girls exploited

in sex-trafficking. (“Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons”). Programs like these are

crucial in helping other victims of sex-trafficking. These programs establish a safe place for victims to

recover and diminish the urge to emigrate to surrounding countries. These programs and education

workshops decrease sexual crimes which leads to a decrease in emigration.

Since anti-trafficking workshops and victim programs continue to produce positive effects, El

Salvador’s government must remain dedicated to ending civilian terror associated with sex-trafficking.

The Mission to El Salvador organization concluded “there is truly a refugee crisis fueled by the real

threat of sexual slavery.” This conclusion portrays the widespread fear and panic that is being

uncovered, and the world’s enlightenment of the horrific social issue. El Salvador’s vice president

Oscar Ortiz offered his support for the abolition of sex-trafficking by stating that, “people are not

business, they cannot be sold.” at the UNODC’s Blue Heart campaign to end human trafficking (“El
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Salvador Joins UNODC’S Blue Heart Campaign to End Human Trafficking”). El Salvador should

continue to educate officials on anti sex-trafficking practices to eliminate sex-trafficking as a major

emigration push for Salvadorans.

Works Cited

“Being a Woman in El Salvador, Part 1 .” Mission to El Salvador, 9 Mar. 2017,

www.missiontoelsalvador.com/?s=being+a+woman+in+el+salvador+part+1. Accessed 06

Dec. 2017.

“Being a Woman in El Salvador, Part 3.” Mission to El Salvador, 24 Mar. 2017,

www.missiontoelsalvador.com/2017/03/24/being-a-woman-in-el-salvador-part-3-ser-una-

mujer-en-el-salvador-parte-3/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

“El Salvador.” U.S. Department of State, 2017,

www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271182.htm. Accessed 29 Nov. 2017.

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“El Salvador Joins UNODC's Blue Heart Campaign to End Human Trafficking.”, United

Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 13 Nov. 2017,

www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2017/November/el-salvador-joins-unodcs-blue-heart-

campaign-to-end-human-trafficking.html. Accessed 30 Nov. 2017.

“Human Trafficking and the Smuggling of Migrants.” Human Trafficking, United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime, 13 Nov. 2017,

www.unodc.org/ropan/en/HumanTrafficking/human-trafficking.html. Accessed 03 Dec. 2017.

“Key Issues Affecting Youth in El Salvador.” Key Issues Affecting Youth in El Salvador -

OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2017,

www.oecd.org/dev/inclusivesocietiesanddevelopment/youth-issues-in-el-salvador.htm.

Accessed 01 Dec. 2017.

Minhas, Geetanjali. "Must empower trafficking victims: Fadnavis." Governance Now, 28 July

2017. General OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499433630/GPS?u=rale84535&sid=GPS&xid=e1851b2

e. Accessed 29 Nov. 2017.

Rodriguez, Jerry Haar and Krystal. “Modern-Day Slavery: The Repulsive Reality of Human

Trafficking.” OrlandoSentinel.com, Orlando Sentinel , 2 Mar. 2017,

www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-human-trafficking-global-war-20170301-story.html.

Accessed 06 Dec. 2017.