 |
Minister of Health,
Maria del Rocio Saenz Madrigal |
| Courtesy Ministry of Health |
 |
| The Pacheco government has
made eradicating child prostitution and poverty
a top priority. By working to strengthen family
values, he hopes to get children off the streets.
|
| Courtesy Juan Jose Pucci |
In terms of advancing the cause of world peace,
human rights, and democratic ideals, the nation
of Costa Rica is a super star. The nation is home
to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the
Permanent Court of Arbitration in Latin America
and the United Nation’s University of Peace.
Let’s also not forget that this Central American
country has no standing army, in addition to a very
high literacy rate and life expectancy.
Given all this, it is almost surprising that one important
segment of the population seems forgotten about–
the 1,500 children living on the streets, half of
whom are drug users and one third of whom are engaged
in prostitution.
Costa Rica’s new president has taken the important
first step of acknowledging the problem. Assuming
the issue is seriously addressed soon, it may not
be too late to eliminate this unfortunate situation,
which is becoming more and more part of the everyday
scenery in Costa Rica.
According to the Minister of Health, Maria del Rocio
Saenz Madrigal, one way to attack this problem is
to strengthen families.
Many people are currently working hard to eliminate
child prostitution. One of these courageous personalities
is Ana Gabriela Alfaro, executive director of the
Chamber of Hotels. She recently initiated an “institutionalized
fight” against child prostitution, and her goal
is to make all prostitution illegal.
UNICEF-Costa Rica is also a leader in trying to end
the sexual commercial exploitation of children. Its
program is based on the 1997 UNICEF-Costa Rica study:
"Girls and Adolescents,” which marked the
beginning of UNICEF’s intervention into this
unfortunate issue.
Two years later UNICEF published a second study, "Sexual
exploitation in Costa Rica: an analysis of the critical
path to prostitution for boys, girls and adolescents."
This research showed how child sexual commercial exploitation
is the result of “an extremely difficult and
violent life, in which the child had experienced family
violence; school dropout; poverty; abandon, etc. since
an early age.”
Both studies were carried out to define strategies
to be followed and actions to be implemented in Costa
Rica to effectively protect children from these human
rights violations, said Silvia Frean of UNICEF-Costa
Rica.
The studies revealed that there are three types of
factors that cause children to become involved in
sexual commercial exploitation: the environment of
sexual commerce; the family context; and their life
histories, which make the children vulnerable to mistreatment
and victimization.
In regards to the environment, the presence of domestic
abusers as well as foreign tourists leads to three
major types of intermediaries: bar and hotels owners,
taxi drivers, and pimps. It is important to educate
people so as not to judge girls too quickly, based
on their appearance, as prostitutes. According to
Ms. Alfaro, this attitude and its side effects are
important aspects in the process.
In regards to family life, the primary factors in
making children vulnerable to sexual exploitation
were poverty and family violence. Various risk factors
come into play, including: a record of previous sexual
abuse, running away, staying on the street, paternal
neglect, abused mothers, and the consumption of drugs
and alcohol.
According to UNICEF-Costa Rica, child sexual commercial
exploitation is considered to be a severe violation
of children and adolescents, and it is recognized
as a national problem that manifests itself through
the sex trade, trafficking, and child and adolescent
pornography.
Moreover, it must be remembered that the boys, girls
and adolescents engaged in prostitution are always
the victims and the fault lies with the adults who
exploit children. It is important to ensure that those
who exploit children are fully penalized, says Ms.
Frean. In order to sanction any children's exploitative
conduct, a legislative reform on sexual crimes was
introduced into the nation’s penal code in 1999.
At the heart of UNICEF’s efforts at prevention
lies a comprehensive strategy to combat poverty and
violence within the family. It also includes satisfying
basic needs, expanding the community conscience and
social mobilization and employment opportunities for
families.
For this end UNICEF-Costa Rica has coordinated with
federal authorities, such as the Child Welfare Institute
(Patronato Nacional de la Infancia), in order to help
implement policies to prevent child sexual commercial
exploitation from the time of the first "warning
signs."
As a result of the joint efforts between UNICEF
and the Judicial System to guarantee the rights
of the victims of sexual crimes in the penal processes,
rules were formulated to minimizing child victimization.
The judicial staff has received, as well, information
on how to approach child sexual commercial exploitation,
as part of the regular training promoted within
the Supreme Court of Justice.
As result of the alliance with the Headquarter of
Migration, an action plan has been presented by the
Direction of Migration to the organization of the
Central America Migration Offices to assume, as a
part of their responsibilities, the protection of
the rights of the children and adolescents and to
encourage cooperation between Central American countries
on child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation
issues. In addition social intolerance activities
have endeavored to lay the responsibility of the crime
on those who pay for and benefit from the exploitation
of children. |
