15 000 CHILDREN ARE BEING SEXUALLY EXPLOITED IN GUATEMALA,
Some 15 000 children under the age of 17, mostly girls, are being sexually exploited in Guatemala, two nongovernmental organisations said on Monday.
According to a study released by the group Casa Alianza and Ecpat, an international organisation that works to prevent child prostitution and trafficking, the figure is ”an approximation, since it is difficult to do a precise count.”
But Maria Villareal, a Mexican Ecpat representative, warned that ”many children are being moved according to demand, like many of the girls who are brought across the border between Guatemala and Mexico.”
Although the majority of the children are Guatemalan, the organisations said that many children are also brought into the country from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
”No country in the region can say it doesn’t have a problem with children being sexually exploited, but the blame doesn’t lie solely on the governments’ shoulders,” said Casa Alianza’s Bruce Harris.
The organisations said that, in some cases, eight-year-old girls are having encounters with up to 15 adults a day; and, even though the majority of the victims are girls, a large number of boys are also falling victim to homosexual abuse.
According to the report, the instigators are often bar patrons, hotel managers, taxicab drivers and even tourist agents.
Villareal said there are also international networks devoted to child trafficking, adding that many of them are linked to organised crime.
The groups said the Guatemalan government should make it a priority to reform its legislation dealing with sex crimes against minors, noting that longer prison sentences and greater cooperation with other countries in the region are also needed. – Sapa-AFP