Can A Ticket Home Solve Argentina's Prostitution Problem?
The news has spread over the social networks in the Argentinean region of Cordoba: “The government of Cordoba pays the ticket for prostitutes to go back to their home region.”
CORDOBA - In this region, a tough new law against human trafficking has now been on the books for 50 days. Brothels and nightclubs have been closed, and victims have been sent back home, in Argentina's broader fight against trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children.
But, says María Amelia Chiófalo, the Secretary for Assistance and Prevention of Human Trafficking, these situations are never simple. "It's about much more than just paying for a ticket back to the places of origin for the victims of sexual exploitation," she explained. "First of all, when a brothel is closed, the victim is rescued, although this is often not recognized as such."
Chiófalo said that after the victim receives psychological treatment, she is offered a range of solutions to help recover from this experience, which can be anything from a job training course to the opportunity to find decent employment. As for the victims originating from other provinces, they are paid their ticket to return to their families. "Prostitution is not work, it is the degradation of the individual," she said.
According to official records, in the province of Cordoba, 115 women who worked as prostitutes in brothels and nightclubs have been rescued since the new legislation was signed into law by Governor José de la Sota.
In the first major operation carried out during the same night the law was enacted, 93 women were rescued, 33 of which were from other provinces. "Most of these girls returned to their places of origin."
"Many of them were mothers and got reunited with their children," Chiófalo said. "We also found women who came from Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, who were offered the trip back to their countries." When announcing the enforcement of the law against human trafficking, De la Sota boldly declared: "In Cordoba, the Sinaloa cartel operates in the trafficking of women," a reference to the Mexico-based Sinaloa criminal organization. Alejo Paredes, the Provincial Security Minister, and the secretary for combating human trafficking, refused to confirm this information.
Read the article in Spanish.
Photo - Suedehead
