The Foreign Ministry launched its campaign against human trafficking on Wednesday with a social experiment and hidden cameras.
Candid cameras caught the reactions of an unsuspected public in Bogota and Cali, where actors were chained to street lights in public places, weeping. The Foreign Ministry released an edited video on Wednesday featuring some of the most poignant scenes from the experiment.
Colombia has long been recognized as a source and destination country for sex and labor trafficking, while rebel groups like the FARC and urban militias continue to forcibly recruit both adults and minors.
In June, the US State department released a report showing high rates of child sex trafficking in areas with tourism and large extractive industries, while NGOs reported that sex trafficking in mining areas sometimes involves organized criminal groups.
MORE: US downgrades Colombia for failing to attend human trafficking
The director of Colombia’s National Migration agency claims that the Colombian government identified close to 1,800 victims of illegal trafficking last year, according to Colombia’s Semana news magazine.Other organizations such as Insight Crime and Human Trafficking Search put the figure closer to 70,000.
MORE: Colombia declared ‘passage country’ for victims of human trafficking: govt
Sources
- Report Reveals Extent of Human Trafficking in Colombia (Insight Crime)
- Cancillería lanza campaña para combatir la trata de personas (WRadio)
- “Colombia Se Ha Convertido En Pais De Paso” (La Semana)