Introduction
Sex trafficking is a complex public health problem and human rights violation that is prevalent worldwide. The recent Global Report on Trafficking in Persons revealed that sexual exploitation remains the primary reason for smuggling people, which accounted for 59% (Kangaspunta et al. 2). Consistently, the 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report disclosed that no country is immune to this modern slavery (United States Department of State 2).
Zona Norte, Tijuana Mexico is a central hub of the sex industry due to the thriving sex tourism in the area (Goldenberg et al. 478). The blooming sex business in this district contributes to the widespread sexual exploitation of girls and young women in the region. This essay explores the sex trafficking menace in Zona Norte, Tijuana Mexico. It further discusses previous measures that have been put in place to combat this criminal activity.
The Nature of Sex Trafficking in Zona Norte
Trafficking of children, girls, and young women for sexual exploitation in La Zona Norte has attracted significant attention in both developed and developing countries in recent years. Zona Norte is globally recognized as a leading source, transit, and destination city for children, teenage girls, and young women to sex trafficking and human smuggling in general (Boyce et al. 1050).
Goldenberg et al. report that thousands of children, adolescent girls, and young women are transported from the US and many parts of the world to this Mexican district for sexual exploitation. They are lured by pimps, human traffickers, and other facilitators. The human rights violation is endemic to this red-light district due to its proximity to the busy US-Mexico border (Zhang 16). The red light district reports widespread prostitution and trafficking of children and young women for sexual exploitation (Goldenberg et al. 478). Tucker explains that many illegal activities, including sexual trafficking, occur in this district because Tijuana is very accessible by both American and non-American residents.
Moreover, general tolerance to sexual exploitation of children explains why this particular zone reports increased cases of sexual trafficking. Prostitution, sex trafficking, and other related human rights breaches are considered “quasi-legal” (Goldenberg et al. 479). Recent research established that “to avoid persecution by police, adults who exchange sex are required to undergo routine STI/HIV testing to maintain health permits, which are unavailable to minors” (Goldenberg et al. 479). Although several laws and regulations have been enacted to boost efforts to fight sex work and prostitution in the Northern Zone of Tijuana, most of them are hardly implemented, consequently creating a conducive environment for sex trafficking.
Moreover, the high prevalence of this menace in this zone can be attributed to the lack of specific laws and regulations focused on addressing the needs and rights of girls and women in this area. An extensive analysis of children and women’s experiences of sex trafficking across several cities located along the US-Mexico cities revealed that legal measures or interventions are hardly legally implemented to safeguard the fundamental needs and rights of female workers in the region (Boyce et al. 1051). Thus, the absence of strict policies against sex trafficking in Zona Norte, Tijuana Mexico, accounts for the high prevalence of this vice in this red-light district.
Sex trafficking and prostitution in La Zona Norte and Mexico have been known to exist throughout Mexican history. The roots of this vice can be traced back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries throughout the colonial era, when Spanish settlers created a demand for prostitution (Nuñez and Fuentes 442). During the late 19th century, the Mexican authorities started regulating sex work through the implementation of monthly quotas and medical examinations, among other requirements imposed on sex workers. However, the root of modern slavery dates back to the Mexican Revolution and the Cold War, where many factors, such as poverty, forced women to offer sexual services to make a living. The post-war period was characterized by a surge in the number of impoverished women opting for the sex trade.
The fight against this vice has brought together several individuals, groups, organizations, and governments. The U.S. and Mexican governments have implemented a raft of measures to curb the transit and sale of children and women for sex along their shared border (Zhang 21). Their law enforcement and social service agencies have erected several checkpoints and patrol agents along the southern border to deter unauthorized smuggling activities, including sex trafficking and illegal immigration (Maldonado Macedo 313).
Moreover, local, regional, and international non-governmental organizations, such as Justicia para Nuestras Hijas (JPNH) and the United Nations, are actively involved in the fight against this vice (Tyburczy 96). These agencies contribute to this common cause in many ways, including aiding in the investigation of sex trafficking and supporting the victims. Furthermore, academic practitioners, human and women rights activists, and artists complement existing interventions (Castaneda and Patricia 1055). Therefore, many parties are responsible for the fight against this iniquity.
Sex trafficking is a distinct form of human rights violation because it is perpetrated with the victim’s informed consent. Unlike prostitution, where a person decides to solicit or provide sexual services, victims of sex trafficking are often coerced by the perpetrators to obtain their “consent” (Hickle and Roe-Sepowitz 123). Law enforcement and healthcare professionals who work with this vulnerable population have reported that the victims are often encounter severe physical, emotional, and financial abuse and exploitation (Varma 98). Therefore, the lack of voluntary choice of victims and the brutal nature of their experiences make sex trafficking a gross violation of human rights.
Measures for Combating Sex Trafficking
Many countries and organizations have adopted an aggressive stance on combating this modern form of human rights violation. The United States and Mexico, in particular, have implemented several measures to abolition sex trafficking. This section explores some of those strategies with a focus on examining their effectiveness in preventing the menace.
Legal Measures
The US and Mexico have taken several bold steps to prevent sex trafficking and human slavery. These measures focus on imposing strict sanctions to deter the practice and prosecute perpetrators, as well as protect those who have been affected (Correa-Cabrera and Sanders Montandon 4). Both countries have criminalized all forms of human trafficking within and across their jurisdictions. The US enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000 to boost its anti-trafficking efforts (Doonan 274).
The legislation has been reauthorized several times to deter the smuggling of persons and protect the victims. Through the T-Visa, the Act allowed victims to access critical resources, including social services, healthcare, and other medical programs (Shih 66). At the state level, the California Supply Chain Accountability Act of 2010 and other statutes have been created to boost local efforts. These abolitionist policies focus more on increasing sanctions for sex traffickers and enhancing access to services for the victims.
Similarly, Mexico has implemented several laws and policies to fight sex trafficking along its borders, including the southern border with California. Notably, the Law to Prevent and Sanction Trafficking in Persons of 2007 provides a comprehensive legal framework for managing trafficking cases (Correa-Cabrera and Sanders Montandon 4). Both nations have implemented significant legislative policies to improve their anti-trafficking strategies.
However, these laws have been ineffective in controlling sex trafficking and other forms of human slavery within and across the two countries. Majorly, there have been concerns over inconsistencies in the enforcement of these regulations and prosecution of offenders. Weak enforcement of the TVPA accounts for the persistent sexual abuse against women and children. The burden of proof, which falls on the victim, is one of the most controversial aspects of the current legal policy.
Doonan states that amending this requirement may facilitate prosecution and punishment for traffickers (278). Moreover, there are marked inconsistencies in how the concept of human trafficking is defined across the states and countries, which hampers transnational collaboration and partnership in the fight against this global problem (Shih 66). Correa-Cabrera and Sanders Montandon pinpointed similar inconsistencies in the definition of trafficking in persons by arguing that Mexican legislators conceptualized this issue in their terms (4).
Correa-Cabrera and Sanders Montandon assert that such weaknesses have created challenges in detecting both victims and perpetrators, besides heightening the risk of being trafficked multiple times. The weak legislation is compounded by runaway corruption and interference from interest groups whose goals obscure better reforms. Another barrier to the success of the current legal framework is treating prostitution as a legal business.
Legalizing sex work in trafficking Zona Norte, Tijuana, and Mexico at large increases women’s vulnerability to trafficking and other forms of slavery. These limitations illuminate a strong need for more comprehensive anti-trafficking legislative reforms to promote legal migration which can reduce the risk of victimization upon entrance and improve current outcomes.
Public Awareness Campaigns
Creating public awareness about sex trafficking and other types of modern slavery has been proposed as a potential mechanism for dealing with this menace. In the most basic sense, this approach involves training individuals, local communities, and the public on how to identify and report potential cases of trafficking, as well as accessing victim services (Shih 66). This approach to law enforcement reflects contemporary models of public governance, such as community policing, which operates outside the conventional boundaries of “state control” (Shih 66). Such an advocacy initiative “backyard abolitionism,” was implemented by a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California (Shih 67).
The anti-trafficking agency conducted regular outreach programs aimed at mobilizing Californians and developing their ability to detect potential cases of trafficking, especially in high-risk neighborhoods. The neoliberal strategy has revolutionized anti-trafficking efforts in the state and nationally by promoting sharing of knowledge about tackling the vice from different perspectives. This method ensures that the majority of the public has some basic understanding of the multifaceted nature of sex trafficking, as we the multiple factors which exacerbate the risk of victimization.
However, concerns about the lack of disclosure have compromised the success of this abolitionist method. Notably, sex trafficking has been conceived as an overt crime because victims are likely to interact with potential offenders in the community. Research shows that close friends and other people who are known to the victim account for the majority of sex trafficking perpetrators (Boyce et al. 1051). As a consequence, issues such as fear of endangering oneself or family members often discourage victims from self-identifying (Goldberg et al. 109). Although public awareness and training may improve the identification and reporting of suspected cases, this approach is hampered by low disclosure.
Border Patrols
Border patrols are the most prominent measures that have been implemented to curb sex trafficking along the US-Mexico border. This approach has been informed by the idea that law enforcement agents, especially police and immigration officers, play a vital role in disrupting individuals, groups, and organizations responsible for sex trafficking. As such, both countries mounted several checkpoints to boost their border security.
For instance, the US spent over $250 billion on enforcing immigration and border security in the last three decades (Young 35). These expenditures include escalating the border patrol, adding numerous miles of fencing, and procuring more advanced technologies such as ground sensors and unarmed aerial vehicles (Young 35). These vast investments are intended to eliminate illegal entries and beef up security along this corridor.
However, the complexity of sex and human trafficking has compromised the effectiveness of this approach. The smuggling of humans occurs on many fronts, including land, water, and air (Rosenblum and Hipsman 2). The strong emphasis on controlling entries through land leaves other entry points open for illegal immigration. Canada implemented a similar policy in 2009, requiring immigrants to have a visa which helped to deter refugees from entering its border with Mexico. However, the cost of implementing and maintaining the program was high, making it unsustainable.
Tracking Illicit Financial Flows
Tracking the flow of the illicit money involved is another emerging solution to sex trafficking. Research shows that money laundering constitutes an integral part of organized crime as most criminal gangs, including sex traffickers, adopt this business model (Kotecha 61). Sex and human trafficking make up some of the highest-valued transnational crimes, which generate substantial illegal financial transactions.
In the past couple of years, some countries such as the US and Canada are increasingly shifting their focus towards tracking money laundering tips to boost the identification and prosecution of criminal gangs potentially involved in smuggling and exploitation of children and women for sex. For instance, the proceeds of this trade are seized, and the culprits are held accountable for the offenses (Kotecha 63).
Monitoring and investing the movement of such money can be an effective strategy for combating such cross-border crimes because it disrupts their operations. Tracking such illegal businesses is a promising anti-trafficking strategy as it creates numerous opportunities to detect and disrupt perpetrators but also identify and compensate those impacted by these activities using the seized assets. However, the deep-rooted nature of sex trafficking requires an enormous investment in advanced technologies for tracking illegal financial flows (Kotecha 63).
Besides, substantiating the integrity of online financial transactions remains a serious challenge. This issue can be explained by the fact that sex traffickers diversify and expand their operations in other activities such as illegal mining, logging, and drugs, and counterfeiting. These issues are compounded by low disclosure of beneficial ownership information, which is essential to curbing transnational crime.
Recommendation
Building a robust multi-stakeholder partnership and cooperation can be a viable solution to the sex trafficking menace. Establishing strong collaboration comprising vertical (local, district, state, national, and regional) and horizontal (law enforcement, service providers, local communities, and other primary actors) integration can transform the fight against this vice. Implementation of this solution requires creativity, voluntary support, strong collaboration, and active participation of all key parties in developing anti-trafficking protocols and intervention and prevention measures.
Furthermore, the solution integrates a range of actions for preventing and managing the problem, including strict enforcement of current legislation, enhanced border security, tracking of illegal financial flows, and enhancing public awareness about the forms, risk factors, impacts, prevention, detection, reporting, management of sex trafficking incidences. This approach necessitates a shift in attention towards punishing perpetrators and providing victim-informed care and support. The viability of this intervention can be explained by the fact that sex trafficking can affect any individual, household, or community (United States Department of State 3).
Thus, everyone has an important role to play in eradicating this issue. For example, the criminal justice system needs comprehensive support from the public, service providers (e.g., healthcare providers and social workers), local leaders, nonprofit organizations, corporate institutions, and other relevant stakeholders). These parties would facilitate the detection and reporting of potential cases, arrest and prosecution of perpetrators, and provision of services for the victims. Therefore, a response that encourages and values the involvement of different parties at all levels can be a viable solution to this menace.
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