ONLY ONE OF EVERY 100 HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASES IS KNOWN

At the national level, the black figure in the case of victims of human trafficking is greater than 99 percent, which means that for each case that is reported, there are one hundred that are not, reported Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, president of the Citizen Council for the Security and Justice of Mexico City.

The above, during the presentation of the annual report of the National Line against Trafficking in Persons 800 55 33 000, where he was accompanied by the director of Sin Fronteras, Ana Mercedes Saiz; the president of the Antonio de Montesinos Center for Social and Cultural Studies, María del Pilar Berrios; the Territorial Secretary of the Salvation Army, Ruth Cerezo and the coordinator of Rahamim, Carmen Ugarte.

Guerrero Chiprés indicated that Mexico has a great challenge in the matter of Human Trafficking since in most cases people do not know that they are victims of human trafficking and therefore they do not dare to denounce.

"It is important that we strengthen the network to combat this crime, as the Citizen Council we are already coordinating efforts with at least 160 national and international organizations, thanks to this alliance we have been able to reduce the number of reports that we did not know," he added.

He recognized that the work carried out through the LNCTP is essential since there is updated and real information on the behavior of the crime.

He mentioned in 2019, 575 investigation folders were started at the national level, of which the Citizen Council through the National Line against Trafficking in Persons, helped to integrate the folders of 65 cases.

Which means that it contributed to opening 11.3 percent of the research folders nationwide.

The report also indicates that, compared to January 2019, the crime of trafficking decreased by 55 percent in Mexico City, 60 percent in Nuevo León, 67 percent in Puebla and 50 percent in Oaxaca.

While Yucatan had an increase of 700 percent, Quintana Roo 400 percent, Guerrero and the State of Mexico 200 percent each. 

Most of the victims (87 percent) are women who were exploited under the modality of prostitution of others and other forms of sexual exploitation. 

"Information is a fundamental source, only in this way can we combat trafficking, a crime that is transnational," said Guerrero Chiprés. 

This coincided with Ana Mercedes Saiz, president of Sin Fronteras and María del Pilar Berrios, president of the Antonio de Montesinos Center for Social and Cultural Studies. 

Those who said that more data is needed and generate an information system that visualizes the real needs of combating the crime of human trafficking and access to justice. 

"Exactly what the Citizen Council does, which for us is very valuable, is to open paths to enter the justice that the victims deserve based on the complaint and its follow-up," said Ana Mercedes Saiz, president of Sin Fronteras. 

The full report is available here. 

The National Line against Trafficking in Persons 800 533 000 is a free service available 24/7. It is attended by specialists in the field.