Human trafficking in Honduras
Encyclopedia
Honduras
is principally a source and transit country for women, girls, and boys trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation
. Honduran children are typically trafficked from rural areas to urban and tourist centers such as San Pedro Sula
, the North Caribbean
coast, and the Bay Islands. Honduran women and children are trafficked to Guatemala
, El Salvador
, Mexico
, and the United States
for sexual exploitation. Most foreign victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Honduras are from neighboring countries; some are economic migrants en route to the United States who are victimized by traffickers. Internal child labor
and forced child labor for violent criminal gangs are serious concerns.
The Government of Honduras does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During the reporting period, Honduras made strong efforts to increase law enforcement
efforts against trafficking offenders and to increase collaboration with non-governmental organization
(NGOs), but government services for trafficking victims, particularly adults, remained inadequate.
. Last year, the government significantly increased efforts to investigate trafficking crimes by opening 74 investigations, initiating 13 prosecutions, and obtaining eight conviction
s, with sentences ranging from 5 to 27 years’ imprisonment. This compares with 24 trafficking-related investigations, 17 prosecutions, eight convictions, and four significant prison terms obtained in 2006. The government also dedicated more prosecutors and police personnel to combat human trafficking activity. Of particular note was a joint effort by the police, NGO Casa Alianza
, and the Tegucigalpa
mayor’s office to utilize proactive strategies such as raids and stakeouts to catch human traffickers and remove victims from trafficking situations. However, anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts outside the capital and San Pedro Sula were few. The government expanded anti-trafficking training for law enforcement officials in 2007, training thousands of personnel with the assistance of IOM. Law enforcement authorities regularly work with neighboring countries and the United States on anti-trafficking efforts, as well as investigations of child sex tourism. However, defendants over the age of 60 are subject to house arrest in Honduras while awaiting trial; many of these accused offenders, including American citizens, flee or bribe their way out of the country and avoid prosecution. Some acts of complicity with human trafficking have been reported among lower-level immigration officials and in other sectors. However, no investigations or prosecutions of such corrupt activity have been opened by the government.
. There is no formal system for proactively identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations such as prostituted women or criminal detainees. In collaboration with an NGO, law enforcement officials in Tegucigalpa undertook a number of victim rescue efforts; fifteen minors were rescued in Tegucigalpa in seven separate cases in 2007.
s, reaching more than 3,000 people. The government worked closely with NGOs and international organizations on additional TV and radio
awareness-raising campaigns. In February 2008, the National Chamber of Tourism
of Honduras and UNICEF launched a Code of Conduct campaign to encourage its tourism industry to prevent child sex tourism. No other government efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts were reported, although public awareness of the dangers of human trafficking appeared to be growing.
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
is principally a source and transit country for women, girls, and boys trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
. Honduran children are typically trafficked from rural areas to urban and tourist centers such as San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
, the North Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
coast, and the Bay Islands. Honduran women and children are trafficked to Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for sexual exploitation. Most foreign victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Honduras are from neighboring countries; some are economic migrants en route to the United States who are victimized by traffickers. Internal child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
and forced child labor for violent criminal gangs are serious concerns.
The Government of Honduras does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During the reporting period, Honduras made strong efforts to increase law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
efforts against trafficking offenders and to increase collaboration with non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
(NGOs), but government services for trafficking victims, particularly adults, remained inadequate.
Prosecution
The Honduran government took significant steps to investigate and punish human trafficking crimes during the reporting year. Honduras prohibits trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation through Article 149 of its penal code and an anti-trafficking statute enacted in February 2006, but does not prohibit trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation. Honduran laws against sex trafficking prescribe penalties of up to 13 years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes such as rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. Last year, the government significantly increased efforts to investigate trafficking crimes by opening 74 investigations, initiating 13 prosecutions, and obtaining eight conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
s, with sentences ranging from 5 to 27 years’ imprisonment. This compares with 24 trafficking-related investigations, 17 prosecutions, eight convictions, and four significant prison terms obtained in 2006. The government also dedicated more prosecutors and police personnel to combat human trafficking activity. Of particular note was a joint effort by the police, NGO Casa Alianza
Casa Alianza
Casa Alianza is an international not for profit organisation and the Latin American branch of Covenant House. It is a charity and NGO whose aims are the rehabilitation and the defence of street children. It was first set up in Guatemala in 1981, then in both Honduras and Mexico in 1986, then in...
, and the Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
mayor’s office to utilize proactive strategies such as raids and stakeouts to catch human traffickers and remove victims from trafficking situations. However, anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts outside the capital and San Pedro Sula were few. The government expanded anti-trafficking training for law enforcement officials in 2007, training thousands of personnel with the assistance of IOM. Law enforcement authorities regularly work with neighboring countries and the United States on anti-trafficking efforts, as well as investigations of child sex tourism. However, defendants over the age of 60 are subject to house arrest in Honduras while awaiting trial; many of these accused offenders, including American citizens, flee or bribe their way out of the country and avoid prosecution. Some acts of complicity with human trafficking have been reported among lower-level immigration officials and in other sectors. However, no investigations or prosecutions of such corrupt activity have been opened by the government.
Protection
The Honduran government made limited progress in its efforts to assist trafficking victims during the reporting year. The government operated no dedicated shelters or services for trafficking victims, although it referred child trafficking victims to NGOs, which could only serve a small percentage of those in need. Honduran NGOs shouldered a heavy burden to provide victim care, and received no direct funding from the government. While the government increased training on referring trafficking victims for care, NGOs report that referrals in practice are unorganized and uneven. Moreover, few resources, public or private, are available for adult trafficking victims. During the reporting period, the government worked closely with IOM to repatriate more than a dozen young Hondurans who had been trafficked to neighboring countries for sexual exploitation, and Honduran consular officials are trained to identify trafficking victims. Victims are encouraged to assist in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, and the government collaborated with NGOs to identify victim witnesses. There were no reports of victims being penalized for unlawful acts committed as a result of their being trafficked. Honduras does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they may face hardship or retributionRetribution
Retribution may refer to:* Retributive justice* Retribution Engine, a video game engine* Retribution , a novel by Jilliane Hoffman* Retribution , a poem by Longfellow...
. There is no formal system for proactively identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations such as prostituted women or criminal detainees. In collaboration with an NGO, law enforcement officials in Tegucigalpa undertook a number of victim rescue efforts; fifteen minors were rescued in Tegucigalpa in seven separate cases in 2007.
Prevention
The government made solid progress in prevention activities during the reporting period. The government’s inter-institutional committee against human trafficking hosted more than 50 training sessions for government officials, civil society members, students, and journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s, reaching more than 3,000 people. The government worked closely with NGOs and international organizations on additional TV and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
awareness-raising campaigns. In February 2008, the National Chamber of Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
of Honduras and UNICEF launched a Code of Conduct campaign to encourage its tourism industry to prevent child sex tourism. No other government efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts were reported, although public awareness of the dangers of human trafficking appeared to be growing.