Human Trafficking in [Mexico] [other countries]Street Children in [Mexico Child Prostitution in [Mexico] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the early
years of the 21st Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/streetchildren/Mexico.htm
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CAUTION: The following links and accompanying text have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Tod pangaea.org/street_children/latin/mexico.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] The morning sun streaked across
12-year-old Eloy's emaciated face as he and his
girlfriend, Margarita, greeted the new day from a discarded red velour
armchair they had shared the previous night outside a ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF – www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mexico.html [accessed 20 June 2011] Human Rights Reports » 2004
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41767.htm [accessed 1 March 2011] CHILDREN - There were an estimated 1,200
street children in Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, , 8 October 1999 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/mexico1999.html [accessed 20 February 2011] [30] While welcoming the fact that
the State party's legislation complies with international labor standards and
the measures taken for the eradication of child labor, the Committee is still
concerned that economic exploitation remains one of the major problems
affecting children in the State party. The Committee is particularly
concerned that the State party, in its second periodic report, categorized street
children as working children. The Committee is of the opinion that
this misconception affects the scope and perception of this social
phenomenon. In this regard, the Committee is particularly concerned that a
large number of children are still involved in labor activities, especially
in the informal sector and in agriculture. The Committee expresses its
concern at the insufficient law enforcement and the lack of adequate monitoring
mechanisms to address this situation. A fish catching miracle in Mexico Bill Bell, Vallarta Living, February 2009 www.banderasnews.com/0902/vl-catchamiracle.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] When you walk down the cobblestoned streets and peer in the open doorways you
will find Mexican children that are well-loved, hugged, kissed and doted
upon. Yet travel up into the Sierra Madres coastal mountains to the state
capitol of Tepic and you will notice abandoned
children scrounging the streets and landfills for anything of value. Much
like the homeless now found on the North Shore, they sleep under bridges and
in abandoned buildings. The big difference here is these are children as
young as four and five years old, many forced out on the street because they
were physically and sexually abused. "While ministering in the
prison in Tepic in 1968, Gonzales saw several
little boys among the inmates," said now director, Russ Krube. "When he questioned the warden, he was told
that the boys were homeless street children. Since there was no children's
home in the entire state of Nayarit, they had no
choice but to put the boys in with the adult prisoners." Buckner explores needs in Mexico Analiz González,
Buckner International, January 25, 2008 www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7458&Itemid=136 [accessed 20 September 2011] “Most of the people who live in
this area are not originally from Mexico City,” Martinez said. “They don’t
have steady salaries, and sometimes they have to go away to find work, and
they leave their kids alone and with no food.” Some women trek 30 minutes for the free
meal with babies tied around their backs in pieces of cloth and other
children walking by their side. Some children go alone. Prizes for Communities Fighting Exclusion Darío Montero, Inter Press Service News
Agency IPS, www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40420 [accessed 20 June 2011] "Street kids suffer social
stigma. They are all viewed as drug dealers, and that's not the case. Drug
consumption has increased all over the country because of the sealing of the
border with the United States, and street children have become the first
victims in this fight against drug trafficking." The Morelos
centre works with 80 children and young people who live on the streets, and
another 150 who come in on a daily basis and receive specific support for
their formal education studies, and efforts are made to convince their
parents to take them out of the labour market, in return for a grant to
compensate them for lost income.
Meanwhile, the Children's Education Centre in Colonia
Ajusco, in the south of the city, only looks after
working children, of whom there are already 230. "But even within the Mexico
City government, proposals are being made to 'clean up' the historic centre
and remove the street kids from the area, because it's a tourist attraction
and it should look nice," she complained. Such policies are often
expressions of "social cleansing", and violate the children's human
rights, she said. GSIS graduate helping Mexican children - Harger heads nonprofit aiding victims of poverty Claire Pelley, The Clarion ( www.duclarion.com/2.971/gsis-graduate-helping-mexican-children-1.46652 [accessed 20 June 2011] Each year, JUCONI improves the
lives of 350 street children in the areas of education, basic health and
lifestyle choices that will take kids off the streets of According to Harger
their work isn't finished until the whole family has reached their
goals. "They're with [JUCONI] as
long as it takes. It's usually three to five years, but we have some families
that have been with us for nine years." She explained. "The
families just have different hurdles to overcome." RIGHTS-MEXICO: 16,000 Victims of Child Sexual Exploitation Emilio Godoy, Inter Press
Service News Agency www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38872 [accessed 20 February 2011] International organisations
fighting child sex tourism say Mexico is one of the leading hotspots of child
sexual exploitation, along with Thailand, Cambodia, India, and Brazil. Another chilling statistic is that
95 percent of Mexico City’s 13,000 street children have already had at least
one sexual encounter with an adult. - htsccp Old homeless prostitutes in Sofia Miselem, Agence France-Presse www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1391399 [accessed 20 June 2011] "It was very cold and I saw
some cardboard boxes moving on the sidewalk. They were old prostitutes
sleeping on the street, and right then and there I decided I had to do
something about it," the former prostitute told AFP. It is not pretty and is located in
La Merced, one of Mexico City's most violent neighborhoods, where street
walkers charge less than four dollars a session, but Munoz is proud and her
tenants are grateful for the facility. Delivering hope Marla Jo Fisher, The Orange www.ocregister.com/travel/children-19014-perez-mother.html [accessed 20 June 2011] [scroll down] CHILDREN LIVING ALONE ON THE
STREETS - No one is
quite sure exactly how many private orphanages are operating in Children have been rescued
foraging for food in the city dump. One woman took in three little girls she
found living under a car after their mother died. Some migrants making their
way to the U.S. leave their children behind at orphanages, planning to return
someday to collect them. Other kids have parents who are prostitutes or drug
addicts. While the Mexican government will
pick up street children, it must look for places to put them in private
homes, since there is no government system of foster care. Adoption is
difficult and discouraged. "An
orphanage is actually like Camelot – it's ideal," Perez said. "It's
the ultimate location." Art project aims to help homeless kids Nancy Flores, El Universal, November, 2006 Click [here]
to access the article. Its URL is not
displayed because of its length [accessed 20 September 2011] At 14, Martín Cruz was faced with
a major life decision: Should he leave his home or stay in a toxic family
situation? Cruz left. And after bouncing between temporary homes and
shelters, he had no choice but to join thousands of children who live on the
streets of this megalopolis. Diego Cevallos, Inter Press
Service News Agency www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35033 [accessed 20 June 2011] In Catherine Bremer, Reuters, togetherwiththechildren.org/includes/Reuters_August%202006.pdf [accessed 20 June 2011] When night falls, 34-year-old
Ernesto Portillo takes a bag of toy cars, board games and sweets, jumps on
his moped and weaves through the dark streets of the colonial Mexican city of
An unconventional charity worker,
his job is to roam around trying to befriend the scrawny kids as young as 6
who live under the city's bridges and squat in open-air market stalls. In 10 years, Portillo has got some
200 kids off the street and into care. He has also been chased off, taunted
by drunks, called a pervert and threatened by a terrified 11-year-old boy
wielding a rock. Tod pangaea.org/street_children/latin/mexico.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] The morning sun streaked across
12-year-old Eloy's emaciated face as he and his
girlfriend, Margarita, greeted the new day from a discarded red velour armchair
they had shared the previous night outside a www.mexico-child-link.org/street-children-definition-statistics.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] [Right column] In the central area of 20% survive by begging, 24% by
selling goods, and others by doing subcontracting
work. Meet Fernando, Just Ann M. Augherton, www.catholicherald.com/detail.html?sub_id=2986 [accessed 20 June 2011] He is a con man, a beggar, an
entrepreneur and perhaps the mayor of his "little town." His town
is Plaza Francisco Zarco, a square in Abandoned & homeless: Street
children with a learning disability www.mexico-child-link.org/street-children.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] In a relatively well off society,
the child with learning disabilities is generally well cared for, usually at
home within the family. In a
developing country such as There are many reasons why
children are abandoned & left homeless, such as domestic violence &
family breakup, as well as economic migration of the parents to the The child with learning disability
is much more likely to be abandoned because s/he cannot contribute
economically to the family from an early age. Street Children at High Risk of
AIDS Adapted from: Diego Cevallos,
Inter Press Service News Agency IPS, August 18, 2003 www.thebody.com/content/art29534.html [accessed 20 June 2011] According to experts' estimates,
as many as 7 percent of the approximately 20,000 youngsters
ages 13-17 who live on the streets of Beating Of A-Infos News Service, April
16th, 1998 www.ainfos.ca/98/apr/ainfos00175.html [accessed 20 June 2011] 20 street children (boys and girls
between the ages of 12 and 18) who live in the sewers close to the metro Street Children in Trouble Kristen Smith, El Universal/El Gran
Diario de México, 30 April 1997 pangaea.org/street_children/latin/mexkids.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] Street children face violence from
police and labor exploitation, but most of them cannot file a complaint with
the México City Human Rights Commission because they have no birth
certificates, said Vega. "Without
a birth certificate it's as if they do not exist. They cannot file complaints.
They can do nothing," he said. Persistent Violations Of The Human Rights Of Street
Children Of Both Sexes Ben Schonveld, l'Organisation Mondiale contre la Torture OMCT (The World Organisation Against
Torture), www.antenna.nl/news/hr/women/mn00207.html [accessed 20 June 2011] Responsibility for these acts
appears lies with private security guards, agents of the police force and
judicial police. According to the information, these three bodies both public
and private operate, often in collusion, in the North Central Bus Station, Guadalajara is the second biggest
city in Mexico Oasis En-Gadi At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 20 June 2011] There are said to be up to 2,500
street children in Bringing street kids to the light;
New center in Kenneth D. MacHarg, Latin
America Mission LAM News Service, across.co.nz/StreetKids-Mexico.htm [accessed 20 June 2011] "We have some parents who
need their children to earn the living for them," she reflects.
"People just don't give as well to an adult begging as to a child. We
have found five and six year olds who are just all alone, living in the
park." Sue, a native of Change for Good celebrates 10 years of changing children's
lives At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 20 June 2011] 2004 FUNDING – Street Outreach Covenant House At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 20 June 2011] STREET OUTREACH - The objective of Street
Outreach is to invite Street Youth to participate in a Residential Program so
that they may leave the streets, and of their own volition, begin the process
of education and rehabilitation. Covenant House Mexico (known locally as Casa
Alianza Mexico) uses a holistic approach to care
wherein the team of street educators initiates contact with the children,
intending to build a non-judgmental, trusting relationship based upon mutual
respect. Youth are offered support and assistance with immediate needs, such
as first aid. Once they have decided to leave the streets, youth are invited
to enter into one of the Casa Alianza residential
programs. ACERCATEL - Acercatel
(01-800-110-1010) is a 24-hour
telephone hotline for youth in crisis. Acercatel provides
emotional support, information, counseling, referrals and crisis intervention
for young people facing a variety of problems including family conflict and
sexual trafficking. Last year Acercatel responded
to more than 13,000 crisis calls. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Street Children - |
Human Trafficking in [Mexico] [other countries]Street Children in [Mexico Child Prostitution in [Mexico] [other countries]