Human trafficking in Ecuador
Encyclopedia
Victims of human trafficking in Ecuador are generally women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas
to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines
and other hazardous work. Ecuador
prohibits human trafficking
in its penal code, and penalties are commensurate with other serious crimes. Despite robust law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, conviction rates remain low. The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs. The government has also undertaken advertising campaigns against human trafficking, particularly child labor and child sex tourism.
and forced labor. The majority of trafficking victims are believed to be women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas
to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines
and other hazardous work. There have also been reports of Ecuadorian children being forced to engage in criminal activity, such as drug trafficking and robbery. Parents sometimes send their children to neighboring countries in order to earn money, and Ecuadorian children are found in conditions of forced labor in Colombia
, Venezuela
, Chile
, and the Dominican Republic
, particularly as domestic servants, forced vendors, and beggars. Ecuadorian women are subjected to forced prostitution in Colombia, Peru
, Venezuela, and Western Europe. To a lesser extent, Ecuador is a destination country for Colombian, Peruvian, and Chinese women and girls in forced prostitution. Indigenous Ecuadorians are vulnerable to forced labor in domestic servitude. Child sex tourism
occurs mostly in urban areas, and in tourist destinations, such as Tena
and the Galapagos Islands
. Ecuador is a transit country for Chinese nationals smuggled to destinations elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere; some of these migrants are trafficked.
During 2009, Ecuadorian authorities investigated 78 cases of human trafficking and 154 cases of child commercial sexual exploitation. Despite robust law enforcement efforts, conviction rates remain low; the government prosecuted 32 cases, and achieved two convictions for commercial sexual exploitation of minors in addition to one conviction for human trafficking under Article 190, securing a sentence of eight years. In one case involving 14 children subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, who were found during a brothel
raid in 2006, an appeals court in 2009 absolved three trafficking offenders of all charges, despite an earlier court's conviction and sentencing of three to six years' imprisonment; government officials and NGOs complained of serious procedural errors in this case. Despite reports of trafficking-related corruption, particularly related to civil registry officials issuing false identity documents to children, no investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of potentially complicit officials took place last year. According to Ecuadorian police, brothel owners commonly use false identity documents to exploit children in prostitution, and to avoid criminal liability for immigration and trafficking violations in the event of a police raid.
Most cases of human trafficking investigated in Ecuador during 2009 involved forced prostitution, particularly of children. A growing number of investigations are related to labor exploitation of children and adults, but do not appear commensurate to the incidence of forced labor in the country, particularly the large number of children exploited for forced begging and forced domestic work. The government has provided police specializing in crimes against children with specific training on trafficking in persons. Ecuadorian authorities have formed partnerships with Colombian, Venezuelan, U.S., and Chinese officials to jointly investigate several trafficking cases.
, Machala
, Portoviejo
, Cuenca
, and Quito
. These units accompany other police authorities on brothel raids to coordinate immediate protective services toward identified trafficking victims, and assistance for victim witnesses during court proceedings. The government encourages victims to assist with the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenders. While Ecuadorian authorities have conducted raids on establishments to rescue children in prostitution, according to the U.S. government they did not demonstrate adequate efforts to identify adult trafficking victims among women exploited in brothels and other vulnerable populations. In 2009, police removed 33 children from commercial sexual exploitation and five from conditions of forced labor. Authorities did not penalize identified trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. The Ecuadorian government does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they face hardship or retribution, though foreign victims are not typically deported from the country. The government provides victim services to repatriated Ecuadorian trafficking victims. Ecuadorian authorities have developed trafficking in persons protocols for consular officers abroad and have begun training their diplomatic corps in these procedures.
and Kichwa
, a local language. State-owned radio stations have also donated airtime to an NGO in the highlands to broadcast messages on how to identify and avoid human trafficking situations. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism has launched a nationwide campaign to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry, and the government has continued a multimedia campaign in 20 departments to encourage citizens to identify and report trafficking cases. The government, however, has not taken steps to reduce demand for commercial sex acts purchased from adults or forced labor of adults.
Geography of Ecuador
Ecuador is a country in western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, for which the country is named. Ecuador encompasses a wide range of natural formations and climates, from the desert-like southern coast to the snowcapped peaks of the Andes mountain range to the plains of...
to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines
Mining in Ecuador
Mining in Ecuador played a small role in the Ecuadorian economy in the 1980s, contributing only 0.7 percent to the GDP in 1986 and employing about 7,000 persons. Inaccessibility of the regions where minerals were located and the incomplete exploration of resources hampered mining activities...
and other hazardous work. Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
prohibits human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
in its penal code, and penalties are commensurate with other serious crimes. Despite robust law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, conviction rates remain low. The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs. The government has also undertaken advertising campaigns against human trafficking, particularly child labor and child sex tourism.
Incidence
Ecuador is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitutionForced prostitution
Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution, is the act of performing sexual activity in exchange for money on a non-voluntary basis. There are a wide range of entry routes into prostitution, ranging from "voluntary and deliberate" entry, "semi-voluntary" based on pressure of...
and forced labor. The majority of trafficking victims are believed to be women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas
Geography of Ecuador
Ecuador is a country in western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, for which the country is named. Ecuador encompasses a wide range of natural formations and climates, from the desert-like southern coast to the snowcapped peaks of the Andes mountain range to the plains of...
to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines
Mining in Ecuador
Mining in Ecuador played a small role in the Ecuadorian economy in the 1980s, contributing only 0.7 percent to the GDP in 1986 and employing about 7,000 persons. Inaccessibility of the regions where minerals were located and the incomplete exploration of resources hampered mining activities...
and other hazardous work. There have also been reports of Ecuadorian children being forced to engage in criminal activity, such as drug trafficking and robbery. Parents sometimes send their children to neighboring countries in order to earn money, and Ecuadorian children are found in conditions of forced labor in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, particularly as domestic servants, forced vendors, and beggars. Ecuadorian women are subjected to forced prostitution in Colombia, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Venezuela, and Western Europe. To a lesser extent, Ecuador is a destination country for Colombian, Peruvian, and Chinese women and girls in forced prostitution. Indigenous Ecuadorians are vulnerable to forced labor in domestic servitude. Child sex tourism
Child sex tourism
Child sex tourism is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, that is commercially-facilitated child sexual abuse...
occurs mostly in urban areas, and in tourist destinations, such as Tena
Tena, Ecuador
Tena, the capital of the Napo Province, is an attractive and quiet city in the Amazon rainforest. Known as the “cinnamon capital" of Ecuador, and originally founded by missionary explorers, Tena has emerged as one of the top industrialized centers of Ecuador...
and the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
. Ecuador is a transit country for Chinese nationals smuggled to destinations elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere; some of these migrants are trafficked.
Prosecution
Ecuador prohibits all forms of human trafficking in Article 190 of its penal code, amended in 2005; trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation carries a punishment of six to nine years' imprisonment, and trafficking for sexual exploitation carries a penalty of eight to 12 years' imprisonment. Penalties for human trafficking may be increased, by aggravating circumstances, to a maximum of 35 years' imprisonment. Such penalties are commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Other statutes, such as Article 528.13, which prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children, are also used to prosecute human trafficking crimes.During 2009, Ecuadorian authorities investigated 78 cases of human trafficking and 154 cases of child commercial sexual exploitation. Despite robust law enforcement efforts, conviction rates remain low; the government prosecuted 32 cases, and achieved two convictions for commercial sexual exploitation of minors in addition to one conviction for human trafficking under Article 190, securing a sentence of eight years. In one case involving 14 children subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, who were found during a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
raid in 2006, an appeals court in 2009 absolved three trafficking offenders of all charges, despite an earlier court's conviction and sentencing of three to six years' imprisonment; government officials and NGOs complained of serious procedural errors in this case. Despite reports of trafficking-related corruption, particularly related to civil registry officials issuing false identity documents to children, no investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of potentially complicit officials took place last year. According to Ecuadorian police, brothel owners commonly use false identity documents to exploit children in prostitution, and to avoid criminal liability for immigration and trafficking violations in the event of a police raid.
Most cases of human trafficking investigated in Ecuador during 2009 involved forced prostitution, particularly of children. A growing number of investigations are related to labor exploitation of children and adults, but do not appear commensurate to the incidence of forced labor in the country, particularly the large number of children exploited for forced begging and forced domestic work. The government has provided police specializing in crimes against children with specific training on trafficking in persons. Ecuadorian authorities have formed partnerships with Colombian, Venezuelan, U.S., and Chinese officials to jointly investigate several trafficking cases.
Protection
The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs that received funding from the government and international organizations. Women and girls are eligible for shelter services, while the government provides boys and men with victim services on an ad hoc basis, though shelters for trafficking victims remain lacking in parts of the country. Foreign victims are eligible for the same services as Ecuadorian trafficking victims. In addition to these short-term services, the government provides victims with counseling, protection, job training, and educational training, and ensures that child victims received long-term care as needed. Through its Victim and Witness Protection Program, the Ecuadorian government operates specialized police units in the cities of GuayaquilGuayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Machala
Machala
Machala is a city in south-west Ecuador. It is the capital of the El Oro Province and located near the Gulf of Guayaquil on fertile lowlands. Machala has a population of 230,901 , making it the fourth biggest city of the country; it has been referred to as the Banana Capital of the...
, Portoviejo
Portoviejo
Portoviejo is a city in Ecuador, and the capital the Province of Manabí 30 km from the Pacific coast. . Also known as the city of the "Royal Tamarind Trees" for the beautiful trees found in the area...
, Cuenca
Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca is the capital of the Azuay Province. It is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level...
, and Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
. These units accompany other police authorities on brothel raids to coordinate immediate protective services toward identified trafficking victims, and assistance for victim witnesses during court proceedings. The government encourages victims to assist with the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenders. While Ecuadorian authorities have conducted raids on establishments to rescue children in prostitution, according to the U.S. government they did not demonstrate adequate efforts to identify adult trafficking victims among women exploited in brothels and other vulnerable populations. In 2009, police removed 33 children from commercial sexual exploitation and five from conditions of forced labor. Authorities did not penalize identified trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. The Ecuadorian government does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they face hardship or retribution, though foreign victims are not typically deported from the country. The government provides victim services to repatriated Ecuadorian trafficking victims. Ecuadorian authorities have developed trafficking in persons protocols for consular officers abroad and have begun training their diplomatic corps in these procedures.
Prevention
The Ecuadorian government has undertaken vigorous public awareness campaigns against child forced labor and prostitution. The government has forged partnerships with private telecommunications companies and a bank to combat child labor, in part through a network of schools for former child laborers. During December 2009, the government launched a national campaign against child begging and a radio soap opera series about the dangers of forced labor, which was broadcast on provincial radio stations in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Kichwa
Kichwa
Kichwa is a Quechuan language, and includes all Quechua varieties spoken in Ecuador and Colombia by approximately 2,500,000 people...
, a local language. State-owned radio stations have also donated airtime to an NGO in the highlands to broadcast messages on how to identify and avoid human trafficking situations. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism has launched a nationwide campaign to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry, and the government has continued a multimedia campaign in 20 departments to encourage citizens to identify and report trafficking cases. The government, however, has not taken steps to reduce demand for commercial sex acts purchased from adults or forced labor of adults.