Senator Aníbal Fernández (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Senator Aníbal Fernández presented an initiative to Congress that would penalise clients of prostitutes who “know or should know” that there is a trafficking network involved.

The new measure would be an extension of existing legislation against human trafficking, said Fernández. “We already target the procurer, now we are going after those that generate the demand,” he said.

“Trafficking, one of the three most important illegal businesses in the world, has three pillars: the recruiter, the victim, and the client,” Fernández said. “Now we are harshly going after the third leg, which is the client. If we understand by trafficking that someone is forced into prostitution, by trickery, threat or violence, (the client) has a responsibility when participating in this action.”

Fernández said that the potential punishment for the crime could be three to six years or four to 10 years in aggravated cases. He also said that the sentence could be as much as five to 10 years with no chance of release in cases involving minors.

Fernández noted that the issue was presented in March of 2009 and May of 2010 in Argentina. “Since 2005 by the indication of president Néstor Kirchner we began to work on this policy,” he said.

Meanwhile, another law, due to be presented to the lower house of Congress by Democracia Igualitaria y Participativa deputy Marcela Rodríguez, will seek to punish all clients of prostitutes for the “sexual use of a person”, with prison sentences ranging from six months to three years.

The sex industry is not only one of the most controversial in the world, and one of the most profitable, but also one of the most enigmatic in terms of the legal and ideological debates that surround it. Prostitution -whether considered legal or illegal, moral or immoral, legitimate or illegitimate (or any combination of these)- is present in virtually all countries and in all societies. It has existed as a political, social, and governmental issue, arguably, since the beginning of civilisation and continues to pose poignant questions.

Protest at Plaza de Mayo on International Women’s Day against human trafficking and prostitution. (Photo: Avery Kelly)

The international community has adopted different approaches for addressing prostitution at the state level, influenced heavily by the ideologies of its respective cultures and related interpretations of gender issues, and of sex work in particular. Governments develop these postures -prohibition, abolition, regulation, or total decriminalisation- as formal benchmark ideologies so that corresponding legislation and implementation might follow accordingly.

Argentina is officially an ‘abolitionist’ country. Although prostitutes are not persecuted, under this heading, the driving factors that promote and sustain the sex industry should be addressed via public policy, so that one day they will be eradicated. The stance is based on the fundamental vision that prostitution should not have to exist as a means for survival, but those who work in the industry within the current cultural context should be free to work as they please.

Thus, individual prostitution is legal in Argentina, while any sort of prostitución ajena, or external prostitution is illegal, i.e. prostitution via pimping and/or in brothels. Ideally, legislation drafted by abolitionist countries should allow for investigation and oversight of the industry to ensure that only voluntary prostitution exists.

As a nationally dictated benchmark, the abolitionist stance leaves most technical interpretation (and subsequent legislation and application) to the discretion of the Argentine provinces, whose cultures and political stances vary.

Renowned activist Lohana Berkins explains that in the debate concerning prostitution in Argentina, “there are three stances: regulation, prohibition, and abolition,” with the most vehement arguments heard from the first two groups. Though they differ in response to the question of prostitution as a legitimate form of work and other ideological issues, all agree there is much to be done both socially and politically with respect to the matter and that practical implementation of legal measures must be improved.

The Regulation Position

Main idea: According to the regulation stance, individual and elected prostitution should be legal, regulated with state policies, and formally recognised as a legitimate form of work. Within the current abolitionist context, advocates of regulation call for an end to the discrimination and prejudices that leave sex workers vulnerable and without the state protection and rights allotted to all other workers (ie. healthcare, political acceptance, governmental recognition of unions, etc.). Though they recognise the sex industry’s link with forced prostitution and cooperate with efforts to abolish such networks, they assert that not all sex workers are victims of trafficking, and that prostitution is, in fact, a legitimate and acceptable choice for some individuals. They believe that chosen sex work can, and should, be extricated from forced prostitution and that the regulation and recognition of individual prostitution would facilitate that process.

Main public representative: Association of Women Sex Workers in Argentina in Action for Our Rights (AMMAR).

AMMAR was founded in 1994 and joined the Argentine Workers’ Union (CTA) organisation a year later, deciding that this would be the only logical way to gain the rights and responsibilities of all other workers in the country. According to their website, “AMMAR is a trade union formed by sex workers in Argentina to fight against the violations of our rights to health, work, education, documentation, and housing.”

AAMAR Protesting in Buenos Aires

More than anything, they “fight fundamentally for the freedom to work”. The group explains, “We believe that it is necessary to attain the dignified conditions needed to do our work and in this way to break out of clandestine (situations) that constantly endanger us. For this reason we organised ourselves into a union.”

As it sees sex work as a valid profession, AMMAR requests that the same treatment given to other workers be applied to prostitutes, including conceeding the right to retirement pensions. It campaigns for an end to social and legal discrimination against them and asserts that moralising about what is suitable or not for women to do is not acceptable grounds for denying them acknowledgement and acceptance.

The Abolition Side

Main idea: The abolitionist stance is the most widely accepted in regards to prostitution within Argentina and is aligned with the government’s official standpoint. This group, which is itself divided into micro-sectors, fundamentally differs from the regulatory one in that while it accepts that willing prostitutes should remain free from government persecution, it does not recognise prostitution as a legitimate form of work and opposes government recognition of it as a reasonable profession. At the same time, most abolitionists are in favour of the creation of public policies that allow sex workers to live and work in peace. However, abolitionists believe that the population of willing sex workers, one uninfluenced by any economic or personal factors is minuscule, and that recognising the activity as a job would be detrimental to trafficking victims and others obligated to work in the industry. 

Public spokespeople: Among others, the transgendered community and anti-trafficking groups.

Berkins explains that as a trans activist, the official recognition of prostitution as work “is the one thing we oppose completely… this is an inflexible point.”

Lohana Berkins speaks out against prostitution. (Photo: Avery Kelly)

For her, the regulatory stance poses grave implications for the transgendered community that is often obligated to engage in sex work for lack of other job opportunities. “Because for transgendered people, (prostitution) is imposed on us by the state (…) For us it’s not a choice -we’re abolitionists. We want the government to recognise this, first with (the acknowledgement of) our own identities (within the industry) and also by generating clear public policies.”

The strong connection of prostitution with human trafficking also pushes forth the abolitionist cause. Proponents emphasise the abolitionist call for social and cultural changes to wipe out the sex industry entirely. They see forced prostitution as the main component of the sex industry that is only supplemented by willing sex workers.

Viviana Caminos (Photo: Terra Borody)

Viviana Caminos, director of the National Network Against Human Trafficking (RATT Argentina) describes what she sees as an inextricable link between prostitution and sex slavery: the basic economics of the industry.

“I ask, ‘how can we divide human trafficking from prostitution?’ It’s practically impossible! (…) Human trafficking exists because there is demand for women’s bodies for prostitution (…) it has to do with capitalism, the more you have to offer and the less you spend, the more you make. So this is what happens, instead of keeping the 50, 60, or 70% of profits that pimps keep from prostitutes they rent out, they (traffickers) decide to go with 100% of the profit. So they enslave girls -they deceive them and they get those bodies for free, which they can use for the period of time that they want until they are no longer useful.”

Caminos believes there is a very small percentage of sex workers who join the industry by their own impartial decision, those called in Argentina ‘VIP’ or ‘la elite’. “That fantasy that people prostitute themselves to pay for their studies or something (…) it could actually happen, but it’s an extremely small statistic.”

As an abolitionist, Caminos furthered that her organisation does not consider prostitutes as having a real occupational choice, but rather a culturally dictated and available option.

Somewhere in Between

Main idea: A true mixture of abolitionism with hints of regulation and maybe even prohibition. This stance is based upon the idea that lawmakers are unequipped to draft legislation, or even form legitimate stances on these issues, without listening to sex workers themselves. They are strongly against the sexual exploitation of women, especially that of forced sex work, but hold that laws should reflect the reality of society and be suited for the people who live and work in situations of prostitution. 

Public spokespeople: Among others, CTA.

According to Alejandra Angriman, Secretary of Gender for CTA, “We have different opinions within CTA… we’re not all in favour nor totally against prostitution -there’s no uniformity on the issue nor one united line of thought. What we oppose is the sexual exploitation of women, and what matters to us are the opinions of those people who work in (…) this industry.”

CTA officially accepts the federal stance as abolitionist and respects “the right of the provinces in deciding how to interpret and implement national rulings at the local level,” acknowledging the differences in cultures and positions that produce inconsistencies with respect to prostitution across the country. 

Calls for Changes in the Future

The main arguments comprising the prostitution debate in Argentina call for changes in the country, specifically addressing public policy issues and the application of the law.

According to AMMA leader Jorgelina Sosa, although the country has eloquent legislation in place, “in reality there is no political willingness to fulfil it or see it carried out (…) we keep making laws and decrees but always pre-judge the worker.”

Berkins agrees that the ignorance of the opinions of different types of sex workers is a key point to overcome. She believes that it is time for a “serious and profound debate” by the “victims of prostitution” concerning “what is the process, what is the system really like” so that the workers themselves have a voice in the debate.

According to Caminos, there are two main tasks at hand: the implementation of public policies that accompany abolitionist laws and a reform of the justice system. She said, “We need public policies, for example, the creation of more jobs, but this is not just a national issue. The provinces have to start thinking about implementing public policies. I also support the reform of the justice system -we have a misogynistic and classist system. We have seen the sentencing after the trial of Marita Veron. There is impunity in this and other cases of violence (…) that have never come to justice.”

Although debates centre on the legitimacy of prostitution as a profession and how to oversee the sex industry within the abolitionist state of Argentina, all sides seem to agree on various key points regarding the politics of prostitution -especially on the call for more discussion. The debate is well and truly alive.

Susana Trimarco, mother of Marita Verón, met with the president yesterday in the Casa Rosada to discuss details of reforming the human trafficking law. Discussion about the law’s reform will begin today in the Lower House.

Trimarco told reporters that the president and Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Abal Medina are committed to advancing with the impeachment of the second division of the criminal chamber in Tucumán. The president said, “We have to remove those people who do not belong there once and for all,” according to Trimarco.

The meeting took place just one week after all 13 accused in the Marita Verón case were declared innocent.

Carlos Varela, one of Trimarco’s lawyers, said this week is critical for the case. “The five lawyers who have been working on the case will meet in Buenos Aires with the Foundation (María de los Angeles Verón) and agree to appeal,” he said.

According to Varela, the group has three possible options: appeal to the Court of Justice of Tucumán, the national Supreme Court or the American Court of Human Rights. Trimarco already announced her decision to proceed with demands for the dismissal of three judges, or “hoodlums” as she called them, to the provincial legislature.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner came out strongly against the Argentine Justice system after the ruling that acquitted all the suspects accused of human trafficking.

“Last night something very ugly happened. There is a divorce between society and justice, I couldn’t believe it when I was told,” said Fernández in a public speech this afternoon at the inauguration of a medicine production plant.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

“We are going to initiate a democratisation of the Judicial Power. Humbly, I believe the time has come for each of the States powers to take care of the things that are happening. I pledge to start a democratisation of the Judiciary,” she added.

Already in conflict with certain judicial decisions taken in recent weeks, namely the extension of the injunction in the Clarín case, and the rejection of the “per saltum” mechanism by the Supreme Court, Fernández continued attacking the judicial branch questioning, “what other office is guaranteed for life?” Seemingly paving the way to what might become a drastic reform of that branch of government. She also stated “when there is money involved no matter how much noise you make they just don’t care”.

Also today the Supreme Court reacted to the news of the Marita Verón verdict by releasing a statement that called on judges to do their best to fight human trafficking.

“Following the events that took place today that are known by the public, the National Supreme Court, as holder of one of the three powers of the State, makes clear that the fight against human trafficking and the protection of victims of gender violence is a very clear and important institutional decision,” read the statement.

Although it made no direct reference to the actual case of Marita Verón, the statement also called on “all the judges in the country to keep maintaining their maximum efforts to end this crime”.

The Supreme Court could eventually be called to rule on the Marita Verón case if it is appealed.

The Court in Tucumán are meeting today to discuss the banning of brothels across the province, in a bid to end the persistent issue of trafficking and prostitution in Argentina.

The proposed law has 11 articles and prohibits all places where any form of sex work takes place, including cabaret clubs, saunas and nightclubs.

According to the official text, the law will prohibit “the installation, operation, management, maintenance, promotion, publicity, administration and or exploitation in a any form, mode or denomination of places which facilitate, tolerate, promote, manage, organise, develop or gain from the exploitation of prostitution…”

The Commission of Human Rights, Justice and Security have approved the text and given it their full support in anticipation of the debate today.

A key aspect of the law focuses on the protection of trafficked people and will ensure they are able to escape prostitution and receive protection. Any persons found without fixed addresses or identities are to be assumed victims of tracking and will receive protection while their situations are resolved.

The law will also punish those involved in the setting up or management of locations exploiting prostitution with arrests. It will not be possible to avoid prison sentences by paying fines.

“We aren’t just advancing women’s rights, but also breaking links between woman and exploiter by overcoming and reducing servitude and, in many cases, this benefits from the work of women,” explained head of the Commission of Security and Justice, Gerónimo Vargas Aignasse.

Susana Trimarco, mother of kidnapped Martia Verón has been very involved in the development and promotion of the new law. Verón disappeared in 2002 and her mother has since become a figurehead for the struggle against trafficking in Argentina.

In  2007, Susana Trimarco set up the María de los Angeles Foundation, an organisation aimed at combatting human trafficking and providing legal, psychological, and social assistance to its victims. Since her daughter disappeared in 2002 she has led a ten year hunt as  as far as northern Spain, in an attempt to uncover the insidious sex traffic network which spans Argentina. Ten years later, the trial is finally underway in Tucumán, with 13 of the accused due to appear in court over the next few months. But Marita’s whereabouts are still unknown.

She met with governor José Alperovich to offer her help.

“We want to be a part of this because we’ve worked hard to counter these crimes,” she said.

“We know about the problems and the needs to be faced in the closure of brothels, and we know how to go about it,” she added, saying “the governor is a good listener and a hard worker and for that reason, things are going to go well.”

Although the ruling will depend on each individual case, legislator for the Tucumán Crece bloc, Reynaldo Jiménez has said that the main power of implementation will lie with the Ministry of Public Safety.

Speaking to state news agency Telám, lawyer for María de los Angeles, Carlos Garmienda said that there are currently 17 brothels.

“Some have already been closed but reinvented with new names, while others operate on a temporary basis to avoid being identified,” said Garmienda.

Colombia’s foreign minister, María Angela Holguín, sought to defend Cartagena from allegations made by the US media in connection with the recent prostitution scandal.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Holguín stated that Cartagena is “paying the price for an anomalous act committed by the US Secret Service.”

“Where there’s a man, there’s prostitution,” Holguín added in a statement which triggered controversy across the country.

Holguín emphasised that the phrase was not negative, nor did it just “slip out”. She added that the statement was intended to contextualise the issue and not make Cartagena the centre of the attention of the US media.

The prostitution scandal erupted when 11 Secret Service agents and five members of the US army special forces allegedly hired prostitutes at one or more bars in Cartagena, prior to Obama’s arrival for the Summit of the Americas.

The men allegedly took 20 women back to their hotel room, some of whom are believed to have been minors.

“It causes me great sadness that the blame has been apportioned to Cartagena. It is a city whose livelihood is generated by tourism, a city that is so important in that area, and has been made to look like the culprit. But it is the Secret Service who are guilty.”

Holguín stated that the agents did not comply with the stipulations of their duties. “This is an issue of the Secret Service which has not complied with its rules of conduct. Their superiors should judge them accordingly and we trust that they will do so.”

Holguín admitted that the issue was not treated with much importance at first since it was considered to be solely an internal problem within the US Secret Service.

The foreign minister’s address comes in the wake of a series of controversial articles, included one in The Washington Post which states that Cartagena is “the right place to get into trouble.”

In 2002, Marita Verón disappeared. She was 23-years old at the time, and it is strongly suspected that she was abducted by women traffickers, and subsequently forced into prostitution. Her mother, Susana Trimarco, has been instrumental in raising awareness of the case, as well as the issue of trafficking of women.

Almost ten years later, the trial is underway in Tucumán. The case has brought the issue of female trafficking back into the public sphere, and has shed light on some of the realities of the problem highlighting corruption among the police force, politicians and within the judicial system.

How aware are Argentines of female trafficking and the networks that operate within the country? To what extent do they think that the police are complicit in the issue? What do they think needs to be done to stop female trafficking? The Argentina Independent hit the streets of Buenos Aires to find out.

Photos by Allison Kate Cherkis

Cecilia Maitland, 25, Environmental Engineer, Belgrano

I think there is a network that is a lot bigger than people suspect, and that they are doing a lot more than people know about. In other countries in Latin America, it’s clearer that these problems exist, so they give them more importance, but here it’s not as obvious. My opinion is that it’s all connected with drugs and the mafia, but it’s not something I have a lot of contact with – we don’t see a lot about it in newspapers, I don’t see it as something that they give a lot of importance to. To change things, we need to educate women more on the matter, it’s basic: education and for there to be more publicity, bigger campaigns, because I think there’s a problem of ignorance, that the people simply don’t know a lot about it. We should also be made aware of certain situations to avoid as women.

Ines Hernandez, 60, Teacher, Quilmes

Part of my family lives in Tucumán, where Marita Verón comes from. Her mother is working to fight against this issue. But I don’t think she has done a lot for raising awareness in the whole country, and neither has the government. The government should be doing absolutely everything that they can, in any way possible, to raise awareness of the issue, as well as to find Marita. She is either alive or dead. Unfortunately I don’t think she’s alive, but it’s not impossible. In Argentina, girls want to be rich, or to have everything, very quickly. I think girls have lost that sense of sacrifice doing things as they should be done, legally and by working at them. They are then misled; they [the traffickers] tell them that they’re going to Buenos Aires, to work. It’s very common in the north of Argentina, in Tucuman, Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca, that these people tell them that they’ll be staying with a rich family in Buenos Aires, and work as a nanny. They promise them a good job, but it’s a lie. They take them and put them in brothels. There are some unbelievable stories that I’ve heard of. This is a country where the citizens are never protected. There is certainly a connection with drugs. The people that take the girls are paid with drugs. I’m absolutely sure.

Federico Foieri, 35, Physicist, Almagro

I know about it from what I hear on the TV. I know that it exists, and that there is a lot of complicity with the police and the authorities. In my opinion, they receive money to not check certain things, or to look the other way, pay less attention. I don’t know exactly how they do it. I think they just receive money to stay quiet. I’m not so sure about the judicial system’s role, I think more than anything it’s the police, but then again I’m not a specialist in the judicial system. I think most of the time it works well. I think the thing is in lots of places in the provinces, many girls prostitute themselves, and the most important thing to remember is that something’s failing, it may the judicial system, but it seems to us that it’s the police.

Lucia Raffen Templi, 19, Student, San Martin

I think there’s a link between the police and trafficking of women. There’s a load of things that they let pass and don’t do anything about, or they pretend not to have seen. I know that there’s a lot of things going on, a lot of networks that trafficking of women, but it’s not something that people think about a lot here. There are so many cases that don’t get talked about, and people only really think about what’s reported in the news, and they don’t report everything – good or bad news. It’s not something that comes up constantly. I don’t think people are aware of the networks either; I’m not. It’s something that I try to keep very up to date with. I think we as women live in a gender dictatorship, we go out with fear about what could happen to us every day, which doesn’t happen to men. I mean, they may fear getting robbed or whatever, but we go out with the fear that we just might not come back; it’s a constant threat.

Santiago Lopez, 26, Student, Belgrano

They should be doing more to stop this, informing people more, controlling the borders more vigilantly, increasing the punishments for those caught, make them life sentences. There are networks everywhere, I’ve heard it’s especially bad in Missiones and that part, but it’s everywhere, also here in Buenos Aires. The question of prostitution here is contradictory, because people fight against it, but more and more people also pay to see prostitutes. The more people are paying for it as a service, the more they’re enforcing the way these people are treated. I think there’s a lot of corruption among the police, without a doubt. They have a lot to do with this, to me it seems they play a fundamental role. If the police weren’t at the centre of these business dealings, it wouldn’t be how it is at the moment. Police should be doing the job that they’re supposed to do, and should not be complicit in this business.

Oscar Flores, 55, Chef, Retiro

I watch the news, so I’m conscious of the Marita Veron case. I see that the mother is still fighting for her daughter, fighting to find her. I think the case has definitely done a lot to raise awareness about women trafficking here in Argentina. Because it hurts the Argentina that we believe ourselves to live in, it shows that there is corruption. This type of thing doesn’t have to happen, and it hurts more that it involves young women and girls. There should be real examples to show that there is a real and correct judicial system. This case should be used to clarify that, to help stop this happening. I don’t know anything about the actual networks that operate, but I think that a lot of the traffickers are very involved with drugs. Day by day, this aspect must be eliminated before the situation can get better, there are kids who are killing themselves by using drugs. With respect to prostitution, it has always, always existed, it’s another issue. But I think generally the government are doing enough in the fight against trafficking of women, they are concerned with it.

Susana Trimarco (Photo: Natasha Ali)

When Susana Trimarco’s 23-year-old daughter, Marita Verón, disappeared on the 3rd April 2002, little did she imagine the scale of the quest she would embark upon. Trailing the insidious path of Marita’s kidnappers, Trimarco’s decade-long pursuit has led her undercover as a prostitute in La Rioja, and as far as northern Spain, in an attempt to infiltrate the opaque networks of the sex trade. Ten years later, the trial is finally underway in Tucumán, with 13 of the accused due to appear in court over the next few months. But Marita’s whereabouts are still unknown.

Marita is just one of thousands of women in Argentina who are subjected to forms of sexual exploitation and trafficked into hellish conditions at the hands of human trade mafias everyday.

“These girls have no one to protect them, the state makes no effort to find them,” Trimarco told The Argentina Independent. “And so I’m left pursuing the case of Marita, and those of thousands of girls in Marita’s shoes, alone.”

Trimarco’s high profile campaign has been instrumental in catapulting the issues of corruption and impunity at the heart of human trafficking networks into the public agenda, exposing an industry which had remained unlegislated and thus unaccountable for years.

Stolen Lives 

In 2007, Susana Trimarco set up the María de los Angeles Foundation, an organisation aimed at combatting human trafficking and providing legal, psychological, and social assistance to its victims. Andrea Romero, the director of projects, explains how the victims are lured with false promises of work.

“The trafficking networks take advantage of women, mainly from economically vulnerable backgrounds, in such a way that they leave their house on their own accord.”

Once in the grasp of the mafia, a wide array of psychological and physical techniques are administered so as to desensitise their victims. The women are maltreated, ill fed, and frequently enchained.

Removing documentation is a crucial form of domination in the mechanics of the trade. If women are exported without papers or money, it follows that they have no logical means of escape. Moreover, by divesting these women of their identity, the mafia creates the illusion that they simply never existed.

At this stage, the women are repeatedly assaulted with a brutality endemic to the trade and threatened into submission.

“The only way they will be released from this subjection,” says Trimarco, “is if there are organisations set up to empower these women and inform them of their rights. They need to speak out if they are to reclaim their identity and denounce their perpetrators.”

According to a report conducted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, no prosecutions or convictions were recorded for trafficking in persons in Argentina between 2003 and 2007.

In 2008 an anti-trafficking law was passed, making the abduction and sexual exploitation of persons a federal offence in Argentina.

The Rescue Office, established that year under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, oversees the prevention and investigation of human trafficking crimes and provides legal assistance to victims.

Since its implementation 2,774 victims have been rescued, with that number rising by 181% in the last year alone, according to statistics from the Rescue Office.

Fundacion Maria de los Angeles (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

In July 2011, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner passed a decree banning the publication of “adult service” advertisements in newspapers and magazines with “implicit or explicit reference to the solicitation of people for sex” (widely known as Rubro 59). The law marks a crucial step towards addressing the exploitation at the heart of the mainstream media, questioning the “normalisation” of such means of procurement.

“2011 has been a critical year for national measures,” says Viviana Caminos, the national coordinator of the Stop Traficking and Trade Network (RATT). “It was the first time that we began to see significant changes with the Ministry of Security denouncing police forces implicated in the trade.”

Initiatives have been set up to train security forces to detect trafficking networks and assist victims. The schemes will also promote the exchange of data thereby strengthening the capacity of state agencies to prevent and investigate trafficking.

“We are principally an exploitative country,” Carlos Garmendia, Marita’s attorney, explains. “And we are, by that logic, also a recruitment country.”

Whilst many victims are trafficked from Paraguay, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic, “internal trafficking” remains an acute problem.

According to the Fiscal Unit of Kidnappings and Trafficking (UFASE), 39 sentences were apportioned in 2011. While the majority of victims are imported, over 70% of the traffickers convicted are Argentine.

The global human trafficking market now has an estimated turnover of US$32bn. If that figure is accurate, it makes the industry more lucrative than the narcotics trade. Because, unlike drugs, people can be used and abused on multiple occasions. The figures are startling not only because of the ubiquity and the pervasiveness of these ‘invisible’ networks, but because their presence remains integral to the everyday functioning of a country’s economy.

The countries most vulnerable to human trafficking are those that have undergone periods of economic or political crises, leaving a power vacuum to be exploited by criminal networks. Viviana Caminos recalls how the sex trade first became visible in Argentina in 1999, becoming fully conspicuous in 2000, just as the economy took a nosedive and the burden of debt began to take its toll. Women began to be bartered, sold and exploited as commodities in an unregulated marketplace.

The widespread cultural endorsement of prostitution in Argentina is the principal obstacle in infiltrating these opaque networks. Garmendia is categorical: where there is a demand, the supply chain will continue to flow unabated. Raising awareness of the consumption of prostitution is the only way to staunch the supply at its source.

Vicious Cycles: Debt and Dependency

Despite the groundwork achieved by the 2008 law, campaigners are still fervent that the legislation lacks several key amendments. Firstly, the law does not take into account victims over 18 years of age who allegedly consent to prostitution.

Secondly, the legislation does not address the regnant topic of enforced marriages, according to Inspector Claudia Flores, who has overseen a number of trafficking cases in Córdoba. Women from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Paraguay, without the immigration papers required to enter the country, are lured into formal marital arrangements. In such circumstances, the women have to provide a dowry and thereafter they are set an unattainable monthly quota to sustain their husbands, ensuring they remain in a perpetual state of dependency.

Not only are these women an extremely lucrative form of currency in themselves, but they are forced to consume and pay for an exorbitant amount of drugs and alcohol, and to sell these substances on to their clients.

“The women need to be sedated simply to entertain the unfathomable number of customers – often 20 to 30 in six hours – that they are subjected to each night,” Flores explains.

A recent high profile court case, overseen by Flores, is that of Victoria P. A mother of two, Victoria was trafficked into the the region known as ‘tolerance houses’ in Río Gallegos, where she was drugged, sedated and forced into prostitution.

Victoria’s tragic tale took a turn for the worse when she fell pregnant to a client. Her pimp subsequently forced her to undergo an abortion, but it failed and she remained pregnant. After giving birth, her child was shipped off to Paraguay and into the hands of the pimp’s boyfriend. Since the brothel counted members of the police and security forces among its clientele, immigration never presented an obstacle.

Andrea Romero, director of the Maria de los Angeles Foundation, speaks on their work to fight sex trafficking (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

According to Flores, politicians, prosecutors and the police are heavily implicated in this trade whose lucrativeness and very existence depends upon their complicity and consent. Even when the brothels are raided and perpetrators convicted, only 6% of the establishments remain closed; for the rest business continues as normal – and the chain remains unbroken.

The case of Lorena Martins, who publicly denounced her father, Raúl, last year, is emblematic. An ex-agent of the state intelligence unit (SIDE), Martins has allegedly been involved in the sex trade for 20 years.

Accused of more than 12 crimes in Argentina, he still has several brothels to his name in Buenos Aires, including The One and Maxim. His notorious Cancún establishment, The Mix, visited by Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri on his honeymoon, was closed in 2011.

According to Martins, such clubs function as covert sites for the exploitation of dozens of women who are forced into prostitution and delivered straight into the hands of leaders of drug cartels.

Relentlessly searching for evidence to incriminate her father, Lorena Martins discovered a series of documents which allude to a payment made to the former head of the Buenos Aires government agency as a contribution to the electoral campaign of Mauricio Macri.

Accusations of corruption are all too common in these cases, and seem to indicate that corruption is entrenched in the system. When there is suspicion that the mafia may be financing political campaigns and bribing the police, who, it may well be asked, is left to hold them to account?

Trimarco remains vehement that “the only way trafficking victims will be released from this subjection is if there are organisations set up to empower them and inform them of their rights. They need to speak out if they are to reclaim their identity and denounce their perpetrators.”

Find out how aware locals are of the issue of women’s trafficking here.

Mexico expelled eight players from their Copa America squad due to a scandal involving prostitutes yesterday. The players were visited by four women on at least two occasions between 24^th Friday 2011 and Sunday morning 26^th June 2011.

“The players confessed and returned to their clubs,” said Hector Gonzalez Iñárritu, director of the national team.”The rules were broken, the code of discipline was broken and I have to act.”

The expelled players are Israel Jiménez, Néstor Vidrio, David Cabrera, Jorge Hernandez, Jonathan dos Santos, Marco Fabián, Javier Cortes and Nestor Calderon. They are ineligible to play in the team for six months and will also be fined $50,000 for violation of internal rules.

To replace these eight players, coach Luis Fernando Tena decided to call Kristian Alvarez, Antonio Gallardo, Edgar Pacheco, Alan Pulido, Emilio Orrantia, Ulises Davila, Diego de Buen and Oswaldo Alanis.

The Mexican national team will play their first game in the Copa America on 4^th July 2011 against Chile, followed by Peru and Uruguay in Group C.

Photo by Daniel Estrada

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…

Instead of teddy bears, you could be sharing your tartan throw and cream teas with some of Buenos Aires’ transvestites.

In the sprawling Parque 3 Febrero, by day, you will find families walking, laughing, feeding the ducks, splashing around on boat rides and strolling through the rose gardens. By night however, the park, or more specifically the so-called ‘Bosques de Palermo’, host a far more shady enterprise: transgender prostitution.

The transvestite prostitute community (or travestis as they are known) of the bosques has developed in a typically turbulent way. In September 2004, a government bill prohibited prostitution within 200 metres of a school, church or residential building. This left them with very few options, but the relative peace and quiet of the bosques continued to house them, in spite of the restrictions.

In August 2007, following complaints by local residents and park users, the prohibition was extended to this patch also. The travestis reacted in angry protest and an uneasy meeting in the rather unlikely location of the Palermo Golf Club ensued. Residents and prostitutes have now agreed to disagree and government bodies are currently negotiating some kind of peace.

As the travestis struggle to gain ground, business continues as usual, and unashamedly. It has become a well documented part of the Buenos Aires experience. The whispered words ‘Bosques de Palermo’, mean only one thing to the taxi drivers, and with a wink and a ‘si, señor’, you’re off into the depths; no questions or sideways glances.

Photo by Daniel Estrada

I brave the woods to discover more.

We drive past the trees, and a row of streetlamps slides into view. There, sure enough, lining the streets, are the feathers, the legs and the hand bags. Scantily-clad, whistling and beckoning anyone who passes by or dares to catch their eye. I am struck by its unambiguous, explicit organisation. It’s far from the threatening, clandestine practice that it is traditionally seen as.

Here, there are as many curious onlookers as there are clients; revellers from the nearby electronica club, ‘Crobar’, wander through, as well as the occasional jogger and pedestrian. The way is well lit and open, noisy and vibrant; not the ‘forbidden forest’ I was expecting. I also notice a distinct lack of police patrols through the area. I zip my rucksack up and venture in.

I approach a happy-looking young ‘lady’, who turns out to be Luna, aged 18, with a cigarette in hand as a kind of peace offering. For, though not naturally shy by any means, they have learnt not to trust too quickly.

“The life of a transvestite is very complicated,” she offers, wistfully, “you don’t know if you will make it home alive at the end of the night.” Her story is typical, though she is younger than most. She works the streets for money, even in the winter when it snows, because there is less money for call girls. Like many of the community, she gets hassled by taxi drivers and the police, who have been known to take advantage of their vulnerability.

Despite an obvious Adam’s apple and hands that are bigger than mine (as she lights her cigarette), you could certainly be forgiven for mistaking Luna’s sexual identity. She has flowing red hair, and incredible legs; though she admits that she is ‘pretty macho’, and that, after all, she ‘has balls’.

She is ambitious and is currently studying English, though, perhaps disappointingly, this is more as a way to reach the tourists than as a way out. Foreigners and English people, she says, are more upfront, looking for an adventure; whereas Argentines are often more shy.

She worries about making money, and the cold in winter. She is afraid of getting diseases. “If I continue with this …[I] won’t live until I’m 35,” she says. With each point she ticks off, she gives a flick of her hair and a smile. She is incredibly defiant in the face of these problems.

Photo by Daniel Estrada

A report in 2006 by the association of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo surveyed over 300 transvestites. The report said that nearly 70% of these had died between the ages of 22 and 41. Of these, 62% died of HIV/AIDS, 17% were murdered and the rest committed suicide, were killed in traffic accidents, or were ‘the victims of drug overdose, illnesses or medical malpractice in cosmetic surgery carried out in unhygienic conditions’.

Ninety percent of those surveyed said they had suffered physical or verbal abuse because of their gender identity.

‘Precila’, the next girl along, wearily loiters, then eventually comes over and introduces a new topic. We discuss the ‘provincial girls’ from outside Capital Federal. Life outside Buenos Aires, I learn, is harder still; here at least the girls look out for one another. They have strength in numbers, and this is attracting many to the city.

This influx, however, means increased competition. After all, they are competing for clients in a supply-and-demand market. Zula Lucero, from ‘Las Mariposas’ website, articulated in blunt terms the market nature of the job, saying: “we are bodies on a corner which are consumed like a cigarette.”

Despite this constant objectification, Luna and Precila remain sentient, thoughtful and respectful. Precila tells me that as a youngster she was taught to treat people with respect, and that she always has done so as a result.

The travestis are developing a public profile. Argentina’s most famous transvestite Florencia de la V, has done a lot to make the public more aware. “People have become more tolerant,” she says.

A new magazine, ‘El Teje’, run by the Centro Cultural Rojas, is devoted to the transvestite community. Despite some teething problems (most of the community have little formal education), the first issue print run of 1,000 copies quickly ran out. They are currently looking to raise funds through advertising, and are hoping to develop the magazine in the coming months.

Photo by Daniel Estrada

This tolerance is allowing them a voice that they have lacked for so long. A draft law on transgender identity, which has been introduced in Congress, would allow transvestites to legally change their name and thus their official gender identity. This will allow them access to the public facilities which we often take for granted, and also applications to work.

The movement may be getting a reputation in court, but until they are allowed equal access to the porteño life, prostitution will remain their principle source of income.

Luna and Precila have quickly overturned my preconceptions. They are not scary or freakish; they are strong-minded, charismatic and funny. But they are badly misunderstood and vulnerable in their dangerous profession.

As we go to leave, someone screams ‘puto!’ from a passing car, as it booms out the obligatory boy-racer reggaeton. Luna shrugs again, puffs on her cigarette and struts over to their open mouths and wide eyes.

Bosques de Palermo: between Av. Libertador and Av. F.Alcorta. 11pm-6am.