I.L.O. says poverty is caused of sexual exploitation

Results of a two and half year project point to poverty as the main indicator for the sexual exploitation of children and adolescence. This was revealed at a workshop at the Princess Hotel in Belize City by the I.L.O. and IPEC’s Sub-Regional Project on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. The pilot project started in December of 2006 and the results further show that parents are well-aware of the exploitation of their children. YES, N.C.F.C. and other organizations have been working to build consciousness of the issue and to reduce the number of adolescents that are victims of the crime. Project Officer for Belize, Nidia Zuniga, says that the next step for the sub regional project is the release of a documentary on how to care for victims of sexual violence.

Nidia Zuniga, Project Officer, ILO Sub-Regional CSEC Project
“The project has like three dimensions. One was to strengthen the capacity of institutions, two work against CSEC to build a care model to care for of cause victims or those art risk and strengthen their families and a third one was to strengthen the law enforcement agencies and the laws against commercial sexual exploitation.”

Inda Waight, Project Coordinator, Y.E.S.
“The target for the project was a hundred victims—forty direct and sixty at risked. We got to reach that target and over. We actually got the opportunity to reach a hundred and nine children and adolocents who were under the age of eighteen and we assisted a few who were eighteen years old. Commercial sexual exploitation is the use of a boy, girl or adolescent for sex or sexual gratification with the exchange of money or gifts. And in some cases, a few parents were not knowledgeable that their children were involved in this activity and some were well knowledgeable that their child was involved in the activity, but poverty was the main indicator for the problem. I think that all the agencies are trying to strengthen their efforts in combating this crime. I know that the courts are making prosecutions for perpetrators and the Department of Human Services is trying to do better follow-up on cases as well as my organization, Youth Enhancement Services. We are trying to look at the gaps and the areas that we can strengthen.”

Nidia Zuniga
“The only thing that is still pending is the approval by the congress of the law bill and this is one of the main challenges that now that the project is ending the state is going to tackle and is willing to make all the advocacy necessary to make the law bill approved.”