Sex trafficking, child marriages linked, study of Mexico finds
May 11, 2017
The researchers interviewed 603 women working in the sex industry in the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez
NEW YORK, May 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Girls being trafficked for sex in northern Mexico often have been forced into exploitation as under-age child brides by their husbands, a study showed on Thursday.
Three out of four girls trafficked in the region were married at a young age, mostly before age 16, according to Mexican and U.S. researchers in a yet-unpublished study.
Human trafficking is believed to be the fastest-growing criminal industry in Mexico, and three-quarters of its victims are sexually exploited women and girls, according to Women United Against Trafficking, an activist group.
Under a 2012 anti-trafficking law, those convicted of the crime can spend up to 30 years in prison.
Nevertheless, nearly 380,000 people are believed to be enslaved in Mexico, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index published by rights group Walk Free Foundation.
The researchers interviewed 603 women working in the sex industry in the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, both along the border with the United States.
