Human Trafficking in [Panama Street Children in [Panama] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Panama] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Republic
of Panama [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Panama is a
source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. The majority of victims
are Panamanian women and children trafficked within the country into the sex
trade. Some Panamanian women are trafficked to Jamaica and Europe for sexual
exploitation. Rural children in Panama may be trafficked internally to urban
areas for labor exploitation. Foreign victims trafficked into Panama are from
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Central America. Some Colombian women
reportedly migrate to Panama, intending to work in Panama’s sex industry by
means of the country’s alternadora visa program, which is commonly used to
facilitate prostitution. However, reports indicate that some Colombian women
who obtain alternadora visas are defrauded as to the actual conditions of
employment and later subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude and
forced prostitution. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008
[full country report] |
|
CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Panama. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their
authenticity or to verify their content. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Nations
Make Progress Against Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Finds The world's most comprehensive
report on trafficking in persons shows governments are making some progress
in their responses to this form of organized criminal activity -- often
called modern-day slavery -- with stronger laws, increased convictions and
greater protections for victims. Consistent with its objective of
inspiring action against human trafficking, the TIP report also issues praise
for localities that have adopted "best practices" in their strides
to prevent trafficking, provide for victims or prosecute traffickers themselves.
Panama has passed a law that
requires businesses in the tourist industry to inform travelers about laws
against child pornography and sex tourism. The city of Madrid has taken
strides to reduce both prostitution and trafficking by targeting the
customers of these illicit endeavors, while at the same time engaging in
prevention and victim assistance efforts. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The
country was a destination point for trafficked women. There was evidence that
rural children were trafficked internally to work as domestic servants in
urban areas. The country was a transit point
for Colombian sex workers to other Central American countries and the Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2004 [37] The Committee welcomes the
ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and
Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption of 1993 but is concerned
that there is still a need for more effective measures to guarantee adoption
procedures respectful of the rights of the child and to prevent the abuse of
adoption, e.g. for trafficking of children. [58] The Committee welcomes the
ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography. It remains concerned that
sexual exploitation and abuse continue to be serious problems and that the
victims of sexual exploitation do not have access to appropriate recovery and
assistance services. The Committee also remains concerned about the lack of
data to determine the real dimension of the problem of child abuse and sexual
exploitation and about the insufficient measures to prevent and combat
trafficking of children. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 2 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study UNICEF
and Casa Alianza join efforts against violence Assistance to street children and
the search for alternative lifestyles, as opposed to the stigma against
adolescents produced by the phenomenon of gangs or “maras” constitute a key
part of the work of UNICEF and Casa Alianza. Both organizations share the
idea that the solution to the social problems that affect children and
adolescents should come through public policies in education, health,
housing, employment and protection, that is to say, through the creation of
opportunities. The response of the state, faced with this type of problem, is
to punish the children who live in conditions of poverty. Project DESTINO to Combat Child Labor in Panama [PDF] Many of Panama’s poor and
indigenous children must help their families by working on farms, limiting
their educational development and lifelong opportunities. To combat these
effects, three Panamanian organizations—Casa Esperanza, FUNDAMUJER and
Fundacion Tierra Nueva—are teaming up to provide nonformal and flexible
education opportunities for 7,100 child laborers. The three-part collaboration stems
from a newly launched project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
called Disminuyendo y Erradicando el Trabajo Infantil para Nuevas
Oportunidades (DESTINO). DESTINO will target poor and indigenous children in
the central Panamanian provinces of Chiriquí, Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera, Los
Santos, Darién and Comarca Gnobe Bugle, who are working on family or commercial
farms to help their parents make ends meet. Due to long work hours and
seasonal harvests, these children miss school, making it difficult for them
to keep up with schoolwork, and prompting many to drop out. Despite Panama’s
compulsory-education laws, tens of thousands of children—nearly 58,000 in
2002—between ages 5 and 17 were working. Of this group, only 42 percent
attended school. Nations
Make Progress Against Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Finds The world's most comprehensive
report on trafficking in persons shows governments are making some progress
in their responses to this form of organized criminal activity -- often
called modern-day slavery -- with stronger laws, increased convictions and
greater protections for victims. Consistent with its objective of
inspiring action against human trafficking, the TIP report also issues praise
for localities that have adopted "best practices" in their strides
to prevent trafficking, provide for victims or prosecute traffickers
themselves. Panama has passed a
law that requires businesses in the tourist industry to inform travelers
about laws against child pornography and sex tourism. The city of Madrid has
taken strides to reduce both prostitution and trafficking by targeting the
customers of these illicit endeavors, while at the same time engaging in
prevention and victim assistance efforts. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Panama Street Children in [Panama] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Panama] [other countries]