Prostitution in Mexico
Encyclopedia
Prostitution in Mexico is legal, but the laws vary by state; 18 of the 32 states of Mexico regulate prostitution. Prostitution
involving minors under 18 is illegal, but such activities are common and represent a serious problem. Some Mexican cities have enacted tolerance zones which allow regulated prostitution and function as red light districts. In most parts of the country pimping is illegal. The government provides shelter for former prostitutes.
; Mexico is one of the leading hotspots of child sexual exploitation, along with Thailand
, Cambodia
, India
, and Brazil
.
A study by Unicef Mexico and the DIF/National System for Integral Family Development estimated that more than 16,000 children in Mexico were involved in prostitution (in June 2000); a 2004 study by researcher Elena Azaola estimated that some 17,000 children under the age of 18 are victims of the sex trade in Mexico; the State System of Integral Family Development (DIF) reported that more than 20,000 minors were victims of child prostitution in Mexico in 2005, an increase since the year 2000.
Out of Mexico City
’s 13,000 street children
, 95% have already had at least one sexual encounter with an adult (many of them through prostitution).
In the impoverished southern state of Chiapas
, children are sold for as little as 100 to 200 dollars, according to human rights groups. That area is considered one of the worst places in the world in terms of child prostitution.
Poverty forces many rural children, with or without their families, to migrate to urban cities to seek out employment, some of them also migrate across the border to the US. These children have little or no parental supervision and many are lured into the sex industry or abducted by criminal child trafficking gangs.
Child sex tourism
is most prevalent in the northern border area and in resort areas. The cities where child sexual abuse occurs most frequently are Tijuana
, Acapulco
, Cancún
and Guadalajara
. The US-Mexican border is one of the main centers for child sex tourism. Children are sexually exploited through networks involving foreigners, military, police, government and business officials.
Poverty, corruption and the violent drug war have contributed to the proliferation of sexual slavery in the country; much of the sex business is controlled by criminal gangs.
Groups considered most vulnerable to human trafficking
include women and children, indigenous persons, and undocumented migrants.
Young female migrants recounted being robbed, beaten, and raped
by members of criminal gangs and then forced to work in table dance bars or as prostitutes under threat of further harm to them or their families.
The vast majority of non-Mexican trafficking victims come from Central America; lesser numbers come from Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Argentina, and Eastern European countries. Victims are also trafficked to the United States.
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
involving minors under 18 is illegal, but such activities are common and represent a serious problem. Some Mexican cities have enacted tolerance zones which allow regulated prostitution and function as red light districts. In most parts of the country pimping is illegal. The government provides shelter for former prostitutes.
Child prostitution and child sex tourism
Child prostitution is a serious problem in the country. Mexico is a destination for international paedophiles who engage in child sex tourismChild sex tourism
Child sex tourism is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, that is commercially-facilitated child sexual abuse...
; Mexico is one of the leading hotspots of child sexual exploitation, along with Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
A study by Unicef Mexico and the DIF/National System for Integral Family Development estimated that more than 16,000 children in Mexico were involved in prostitution (in June 2000); a 2004 study by researcher Elena Azaola estimated that some 17,000 children under the age of 18 are victims of the sex trade in Mexico; the State System of Integral Family Development (DIF) reported that more than 20,000 minors were victims of child prostitution in Mexico in 2005, an increase since the year 2000.
Out of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
’s 13,000 street children
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
, 95% have already had at least one sexual encounter with an adult (many of them through prostitution).
In the impoverished southern state of Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, children are sold for as little as 100 to 200 dollars, according to human rights groups. That area is considered one of the worst places in the world in terms of child prostitution.
Poverty forces many rural children, with or without their families, to migrate to urban cities to seek out employment, some of them also migrate across the border to the US. These children have little or no parental supervision and many are lured into the sex industry or abducted by criminal child trafficking gangs.
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...
is most prevalent in the northern border area and in resort areas. The cities where child sexual abuse occurs most frequently are Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
and Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
. The US-Mexican border is one of the main centers for child sex tourism. Children are sexually exploited through networks involving foreigners, military, police, government and business officials.
Human trafficking and crime
Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.Poverty, corruption and the violent drug war have contributed to the proliferation of sexual slavery in the country; much of the sex business is controlled by criminal gangs.
Groups considered most vulnerable to human trafficking
include women and children, indigenous persons, and undocumented migrants.
Young female migrants recounted being robbed, beaten, and raped
by members of criminal gangs and then forced to work in table dance bars or as prostitutes under threat of further harm to them or their families.
The vast majority of non-Mexican trafficking victims come from Central America; lesser numbers come from Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Argentina, and Eastern European countries. Victims are also trafficked to the United States.
See also
- Sex workerSex workerA sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
- Regulated prostitution
- Boy's Town, Nuevo LaredoBoy's Town, Nuevo LaredoBoy's Town, , is a commercial district in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, serving primarily as a "zone of tolerance" in the city for legal prostitution, and also a variety of other nocturnal entertainment. It is a walled compound containing three short east-west streets and...
- Zona Norte, Tijuana
External links
- The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality
- Mexico City lawmakers seek to legalize prostitution
- A New Law in Tijuana Regulates the Oldest Profession
- Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation
- Mexico City Pushes for Legalized Prostitution
- Critics warn Mexico City over prostitution proposal
- PROSTITUTES JOIN MEXICO AIDS FIGHT
- Prostitution in Mexico