“He invited me and didn't ask anything in return” Migration and Mobility as Vulnerabilities for Sexual Exploitation among Female Adolescents in Mexico
| Author | Marissa Salazar,Shira M. Goldenberg,Argentina E. Servin,Ricardo B. Vera‐Monroy,Sabrina C. Boyce,Teresita Rocha‐Jimenez,Jay G. Silverman,Kimberly C. Brouwer,Hugo Staines‐Orozco |
| Date | 01 April 2018 |
| Published date | 01 April 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12333 |
“He invited me and didn’t ask anything in
return”Migration and Mobility as
Vulnerabilities for Sexual Exploitation among
Female Adolescents in Mexico
Teresita Rocha-Jimenez*
,
***, Kimberly C. Brouwer*, Marissa Salazar*
,
***, Sabrina C.
Boyce*
,
***, Argentina E. Servin*
,
***, Shira M. Goldenberg*, Hugo Staines-Orozco**,
Ricardo B. Vera-Monroy*
,
*** and Jay G. Silverman*
,
***
ABSTRACT
Although human trafficking is recognized as a major human rights violation, there is limited
evidence regarding the vulnerabilities that contribute to female adolescents’risk of being
forced or coerced into the sex trade. Vulnerabilities such as gender-based violence, economic
and social inequalities have been shown to shape the risk of sexual exploitation among adoles-
cents. In-depth interviews (n=18) with current sex workers who reported being deceived or
forced into the sex trade as adolescents (<17 years old) were analysed to explore their experi-
ences of migration and mobility in Mexico. Driven by socio-economic and vulnerabilities in
home communities, adolescents often engaged in internal migration and mobility to other
Mexican communities and states. Migration and mobility further predisposed them to social
isolation, economic hardship and abuse, which were used as tools to trick them into the sex
trade. Policies that support safer migration for adolescents in origin, transit, and destination
communities are needed.
INTRODUCTION
In the past decade, globally and regionally, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation
has become a topic of great interest (Goldenberg et al., 2012; Servin et al., 2015; Silverman, 2011;
Silverman et al., 2006; United Nations of Drugs and Crime, 2014). The most recognized definition
of human trafficking is the 2000 United Nations Palermo Protocol, which defines trafficking as the
use of force, deception, or other fraudulent means for purposes of exploitation (e.g. sexual exploita-
tion). It also states that any recruitment, transport or use of force of a minor or adolescent (“minor
or adolescent”shall mean any person under eighteen years of age) for the purpose of exploitation
shall be considered “trafficking in persons”(United Nations of Drugs and Crime, 2000). Human
trafficking needs to be acknowledged as a phenomenon that is shaped by different socioeconomic
forces such as rapid demographic growth, stratification by gender, race, ethnicity; and social
inequality among other factors (Tiano, 2012). Across the world, these structural vulnerabilities
make women vulnerable to human trafficking (Barner, Okech, and Camp 2014).
*University of California, San Diego
** Universidad Aut
onoma de Ciudad Ju
arez, M
exico
*** Center on Gender Equity and Health, Division of Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego
doi: 10.1111/imig.12333
©2017 The Authors
International Migration ©2017 IOM
International Migration Vol. 56 (2) 2018
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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