Routes to child slavery in Central America
Routes to child slavery in Central America
This chapter describes the process of child trafficking into, within, and through Central America. Relative poverty is the key driver, with the United States to the north a beacon for those seeking economic betterment. The violence of recent civil wars, and of criminal gangs and growing social inequality, create a context for huge levels of out-migration. Within these processes of migration there are substantial numbers, often hidden, of children either seeking an improvement in their own lives or, at least, to rejoin adult family members who migrated earlier also in search of work and a better life. The particular geography of Central America makes it a bridge for trafficking and it has come to be seen as a good destination for the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, with accelerating numbers of ever-younger children and adolescents being drawn into the trafficking nexus. Countries in the region are attempting to harmonise legislation, while non-governmental organisations at the grassroots level are also engaging in concerted actions.
Keywords: Central America, child slavery, poverty, migration, geography, sexual exploitation, legislation, non-governmental organisations, child trafficking
Policy Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
