To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking in Guatemala

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Human Trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, To Better Know A Country

Published August 19, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT

Every year, the U.S. State Department releases a Trafficking in Persons report which rates countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking.  Each week, I'll be providing a brief glance at human trafficking in one of those countries, based off the 2009 Trafficking in Persons report, with my own (often snarky) analysis added.  This is just a snapshot of what's going on in the country.  For more information, you can check out the full text of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report here. 

This Week's Country..... Guatemala

Basic Stats

• Ranking: Tier 2 Watch List
• Status: Source, transit and destination country for trafficking victims
• Political Stability: Shaky on a good day
• Cash Flow: Lower now that Americans have been cutting back on their Starbucks
• Do I Think They Care?: They want to care, but have a lot on their plates.   

Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?

• Girls: Commercial sex, forced begging, child sex tourism, forced labor in agriculture, and domestic servitude
• Boys: Forced begging, child sex tourism, and forced labor in agriculture
• Women: Commercial sex and forced labor in agriculture 
• Men: Forced labor in agriculture

Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?

• Victims are trafficked from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to Guatemala.
• Victims from Guatemala are trafficked to Mexico, Belize, and the United States. 
• Guatemalan and foreign victims are trafficked internally.

What's Gotta Happen?

• Implement and enforce anti-trafficking law.
• Prosecute traffickers, including public officials who are complicit with traffickers.
• Focus on forced labor in addition to forced prostitution.
• Increase funding for anti-trafficking efforts.

What Can I Do?

• You can support The Institute of Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing Persons, an organization which helps protect Guatemalan children from exploitation.

In summary, Guatemala's got a tough row of Fair Trade coffee to hoe.  They're still recovering from a civil war and dealing with a struggling economy that has long been exploited by Europe and the U.S.  The first step is getting the right laws on the books and keeping those laws enforced.  Hopefully, Guatemala will be able to work with neighboring nations to make that a priority and reduce trafficking into and out of Guatemala.