Prostitution in Bolivia
Encyclopedia
In Bolivia
, prostitution is legal and regulated.
Prostitutes must register and must undergo regular health checks for sexually transmitted diseases (every 20 days). The police are allowed to check whether the prostitutes are registered or not.
-infection rate. In 2007, in El Alto
, hundreads of prostitutes were attacked, forced to strip and beaten by angry locals; several brothels were burnt. Citizens demanded that brothels and bars be located at least 3,200 feet away from schools. The municipal government responded by closing all brothels within 1,600 feet of schools, but took no action against those who had attacked the prostitutes. "We are Bolivia's unloved," said Yuly Perez, vice-president of ONAEM, the Bolivian sex workers' union, "If we don't work, who's going to feed our kids?" Another representative from the sex worker oraganization said that: "People think the point of our organization is to expand prostitution in Bolivia. In fact, we want the opposite. Our ideal world is one free of the economic desperation that forces women into this business."
region.
Most prostituted children come from the lower social classes and from broken families. Only 12.6% of the prostituted children have any education, leaving them with few opportunities. As a result, many remain in the sex trade throughout adulthood, despite wanting to exit. Approximately one third of girls and adolescents in prostitution have between one to five children, mostly under the age of 5.
Most child prostitutes work on the streets, inside brothels or inside bars and clubs.
There are different types of child prostitution, varying with the economic power of the client and the age of the child. Upper-class clients tend to seek older adolescents aged 16–17 (and youg adult prostitutes aged 18–20). Many of these youth come from Eastern Bolivia and from outside of the country. This type of prostitution is organised by closed networks, and is subject to very few controls. In some cases, the sexual contact between these adolescents and their clients takes place at the client’s house. Adolescents from all parts of the country prostitute themselves in local bars or pubs, mainly for middle-class clients. Street prostitution
involves women and girls of all ages who typically enter the trade when they are between the ages of 12 and 15 years. Finally, there is a form of “hidden” prostitution, which can involve children as young as 8 years, often in exchange for drugs or some kind of treat or toy. During the day, these children stay in the street often working as street vendors, domestic servants or waitresses. At night they go to dance clubs or sell alcohol in the street. Clients of this type of prostitution are generally adults or adolescents with little money.
The problem of child prostitution is exacerbated by poorly enforced laws and by rare and ineffective police raids. However, recently, more efforts have been done to address this problem; in 2008, the police raided several brothels and rescued 215 children who were working there.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the NGOs Save the Children and Pro-Adolescente conducted public awareness campaigns on the trafficking
of children. La Paz Department and the La Paz city government each operate a shelter for abused and exploited children.
. Young Bolivian women and girls are trafficked from rural to urban areas for commercial sexual exploitation; women and children from the indigenous ethnic groups in the Altiplano
region are at greater risk of being trafficked
into prostitution.
Faced with extreme poverty, many citizens become economic migrants, and some are victimized by traffickers and forced into prostitution, both inside and outside Bolivia.
The country is also a source for victims trafficked for sexual exploitation to Argentina
, Chile
, Brazil
, Spain
, and the United States
. Weak controls along the borders exacerbate this problem.
In 2008, the Bolivian national police investigated 229 cases involving human trafficking, most of them related to prostitution.
Bolivia is a Tier 2 country, the Government of Bolivia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, prostitution is legal and regulated.
Prostitutes must register and must undergo regular health checks for sexually transmitted diseases (every 20 days). The police are allowed to check whether the prostitutes are registered or not.
Societal views
Although prostitution is widespread in Bolivia, the prostitutes are severely stigmatized by society, they are blamed for everything from broken homes to the rising HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-infection rate. In 2007, in El Alto
El Alto
At one time merely a suburb of adjacent La Paz, Bolivia, on the Altiplano highlands, the city of El Alto is today one of Bolivia's largest and fastest-growing urban centers. As of the 2001 census, the population was 649,958. In 2010, the population may be nearly 900,000, or more. The city contains...
, hundreads of prostitutes were attacked, forced to strip and beaten by angry locals; several brothels were burnt. Citizens demanded that brothels and bars be located at least 3,200 feet away from schools. The municipal government responded by closing all brothels within 1,600 feet of schools, but took no action against those who had attacked the prostitutes. "We are Bolivia's unloved," said Yuly Perez, vice-president of ONAEM, the Bolivian sex workers' union, "If we don't work, who's going to feed our kids?" Another representative from the sex worker oraganization said that: "People think the point of our organization is to expand prostitution in Bolivia. In fact, we want the opposite. Our ideal world is one free of the economic desperation that forces women into this business."
Child prostitution
In Bolivia, the average age of entry into prostitution is 16. Child prostitution is a serious problem, particularly in urban areas and in the ChapareChapare Province
Chapare, also called The Chapare and is pronounced Cha-pa-reh, is a rural province in the northern region of Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. The majority of the territory consists of valley rainforests that surround the area's main waterway, the Chapare River, which is also a tributary of...
region.
Most prostituted children come from the lower social classes and from broken families. Only 12.6% of the prostituted children have any education, leaving them with few opportunities. As a result, many remain in the sex trade throughout adulthood, despite wanting to exit. Approximately one third of girls and adolescents in prostitution have between one to five children, mostly under the age of 5.
Most child prostitutes work on the streets, inside brothels or inside bars and clubs.
There are different types of child prostitution, varying with the economic power of the client and the age of the child. Upper-class clients tend to seek older adolescents aged 16–17 (and youg adult prostitutes aged 18–20). Many of these youth come from Eastern Bolivia and from outside of the country. This type of prostitution is organised by closed networks, and is subject to very few controls. In some cases, the sexual contact between these adolescents and their clients takes place at the client’s house. Adolescents from all parts of the country prostitute themselves in local bars or pubs, mainly for middle-class clients. Street prostitution
Street prostitution
Street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, beaches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a...
involves women and girls of all ages who typically enter the trade when they are between the ages of 12 and 15 years. Finally, there is a form of “hidden” prostitution, which can involve children as young as 8 years, often in exchange for drugs or some kind of treat or toy. During the day, these children stay in the street often working as street vendors, domestic servants or waitresses. At night they go to dance clubs or sell alcohol in the street. Clients of this type of prostitution are generally adults or adolescents with little money.
The problem of child prostitution is exacerbated by poorly enforced laws and by rare and ineffective police raids. However, recently, more efforts have been done to address this problem; in 2008, the police raided several brothels and rescued 215 children who were working there.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the NGOs Save the Children and Pro-Adolescente conducted public awareness campaigns on the trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
of children. La Paz Department and the La Paz city government each operate a shelter for abused and exploited children.
Human trafficking
Economic and social problems create a climate which is favorable to human traffickingHuman trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
. Young Bolivian women and girls are trafficked from rural to urban areas for commercial sexual exploitation; women and children from the indigenous ethnic groups in the Altiplano
Altiplano
The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet...
region are at greater risk of being trafficked
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
into prostitution.
Faced with extreme poverty, many citizens become economic migrants, and some are victimized by traffickers and forced into prostitution, both inside and outside Bolivia.
The country is also a source for victims trafficked for sexual exploitation to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Weak controls along the borders exacerbate this problem.
In 2008, the Bolivian national police investigated 229 cases involving human trafficking, most of them related to prostitution.
Bolivia is a Tier 2 country, the Government of Bolivia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.