Human trafficking in Argentina is the illegal trade in persons for purposes of reproductive slavery, sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal, or any form of modern slavery.
It is an international crime against humanity and a violates human rights. It is considered a modern form of slavery.[1][2][3] Worldwide it is ranked third among felony crimes, behind arms and drugs trafficking. It accounts for the movement of more than $32 billion worldwide.[4] A United Nations international protocol against human trafficking has been signed by 117 different countries, among them Argentina.[5] This treaty obligates the countries that are party to it to prevent and combat human trafficking and to assist and protect the victims of it. It also encourages countries to cooperate among themselves to achieve these objectives.
In Argentina this crime is punishable by law. There are many laws that cover this problem, but the crime continues to occur. An important legal development in this area was the enactment of Law number 26.364, that tries to achieve what this international protocol seeks.[6] And provides penalties of 3 to 15 years in prison.[7]
Despite being a serious felony, in Argentina there are no official statistics on this crime, only for cases prosecuted. But it is known that the country is a source, transit and destination for trafficking.[8] As a means of preventing trafficking, in July 2011 the government issued an order that banned the publication of explicit advertisements of sexual solicitation in the newspapers.[9]
A recent study from 2012 showed that trafficking for sexual exploitation is changing to evade the law, by allowing exploited women to keep their identification documents or allowing them to leave the location of exploitation, to make the trafficking more difficult to prove.[10]