Human Trafficking in [Paraguay] [other countries]Street Children in [Paraguay] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Paraguay |
Child Prostitution The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
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FEATURED ARTICLE *** Triple Border Project,Ciudad del Este, Paraguay PERSONAL STORY MABELIA - Mabelia is 10 years old. On November 30, 2002, she was found by a merchant from Ciudad del Este on Adraina Jara y Pampliega street. It was approximately 9:00 p.m. when she was found in, what is perhaps, one of the most frequented corners of the centre of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. She was very dirty. Dressed in pants
and a pullover, and wearing Japanese-style slippers, when she was found she
had about 12 USD (80.000 Gs, Guaraníes)
in her pockets, a product of her 'sexual activity'. It had been 48 hours
since she had returned to her mother's home, but she feared going back, since
she had not met the goal that had been established by her mother, Doña Maria. At the Courthouse, the young girl
told the judge that the money found in her pockets was the fruit of her
'sexual work'. She explained that, encouraged by her mother, she would leave
her house in the morning and sometimes would cross the Puente de la Amistad (Friendship Bridge)to
the border city of Foz de Iguazu
in Brazil on the pretext of buying candies to sell later. She admitted to
having an 'established clientele'. - htcp ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - Sexual exploitation of children also
was a problem. UNICEF reported that two-thirds of sex industry workers were
minors, the majority of whom began working between the ages of 12 and 13. In
addition, UNICEF reported there were more than 40 thousand criadas (domestic servants) between the ages of 6 and 12,
who were often sexually exploited as well. In November the government's
Municipal Advisory Council on the Rights of Children and Adolescents reported
that 35 percent of street children in Ciudad del Este
had been victims of sexual exploitation, in many cases with the full
knowledge of their parents. Bur of
Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - 2002 Prostitution by adults is not
illegal, and exploitation of women, especially teenage prostitutes, remained
a serious problem. National daily
newspaper Noticias ran a series of features in
September and October chronicling child prostitution in Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001 [49] The Committee expresses its
deep concern that, with regard to the increasing phenomenon of commercial
sexual exploitation of children, there are no data available, legislation is
inadequate, cases involving sexually exploited children are often not
investigated and prosecuted, victims are criminalized, and rehabilitation
programs are not available. It further notes that a national plan against
commercial sexual exploitation of children has not been developed. Triple Border Project,Ciudad del Este, Paraguay PERSONAL STORY MABELIA - Mabelia is 10 years old. On November 30, 2002, she was found by a merchant from Ciudad del Este on Adraina Jara y Pampliega street. It was approximately 9:00 p.m. when she was found in, what is perhaps, one of the most frequented corners of the centre of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. She was very dirty. Dressed in pants
and a pullover, and wearing Japanese-style slippers, when she was found she
had about 12 USD (80.000 Gs, Guaraníes)
in her pockets, a product of her 'sexual activity'. It had been 48 hours
since she had returned to her mother's home, but she feared going back, since
she had not met the goal that had been established by her mother, Doña Maria. At the Courthouse, the young girl
told the judge that the money found in her pockets was the fruit of her
'sexual work'. She explained that, encouraged by her mother, she would leave
her house in the morning and sometimes would cross the Puente de la Amistad (Friendship Bridge)to
the border city of Foz de Iguazu
in Brazil on the pretext of buying candies to sell later. She admitted to
having an 'established clientele'. - htcp Success Stories - Cynthia in Paraguay www.globalfundforchildren.org/success_stories/cynthia.html Although technically in the
state’s care, Cynthia was free to roam the streets. She began using drugs and
turned to small-time robberies and occasional prostitution to survive. “My
life was drugs and fighting,” she recalls, but under her tough demeanor,
Cynthia desperately wanted change. ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for
Action [DOC] www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/publication/other/english/Doc_page/ecpat_5th_a4a_2001_full.doc [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – PARAGUAY – In 1999, the NGO Luna Nueva made contact
with both governmental and non-governmental organisations
working in the Brazilian border town of Foz de Iguacu and the Paraguayan border town of Ciudad del Este. As a result
of this contact, a commission has been formed involving organizations working
in Report
by Special Rapporteur [DOC] [59] The Penal Code criminalizes the
use of children in prostitution, but does not directly penalize the sale,
traffic or use of children in pornography. In legal proceedings
concerning child pornography, cases have been referred under article 135 of
the Penal Code, which addresses sexual abuse of children. Children
will only incur criminal responsibility for their involvement in these
offences where they are the author, and not as the
victim. Children under the age of 14 do not incur legal
responsibility. Following the commitments made during the Yokohama
Congress, a National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Sexual
Exploitation is being elaborated. Brazil,
Paraguay Reach Agreement On Resolving Border Issues Paraguay, on its part, has
committed itself to cooperating in fighting illicit activities such as
smuggling of goods, tax evasion, drug trafficking, piracy, money laundering
and child prostitution. Concluding
Comments - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women [28] While appreciating the State
party's efforts to address the issue of trafficking in women and girls,
including the ratification of the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime in 2003 and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, in 2004,
and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2003, and the
establishment of an inter-agency board including representatives from the
civil society to combat trafficking, the Committee is concerned that domestic
legislation has not been put in place in line with those instruments and that
provisions on sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls and boys are
absent in the Childhood and Adolescence Code. It also expresses concern about
the lack of a comprehensive plan to prevent and eliminate trafficking of
women and to protect victims as well as the lack of systematic data
collection on this phenomenon. Trafficking in Children www.ecpat.net/eng/CSEC/faq/faq6.asp Immigration controls at the
Paraguay - Brazil border are extremely lax. Authorities do not request
identification papers from unaccompanied children or from adults traveling
with young children. It has been reported that while some children are being
trafficked across this border from All material used herein
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Human Trafficking in [Paraguay] [other countries]Street Children in [Paraguay] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Paraguay