The protection and care of victims through collaboration between the different agents involved is one of the axes that are being addressed in the presentation of the Advisory Vocal in the Technical Cabinet of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), Miriam Benterrak, in today's session of the III Conference on trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The Head of the Coordination Unit Against Violence Against Women, Laura Segura, has reported that today, in addition to the aforementioned presentation, it will have two tables, a table focused on the reality of women who are in prostitution contexts where they will take the word National Police, Civil Guard and organizations specialized in the fight against trafficking in sexual exploitation. And a second table on Legal Protection where specialized entities, local organizations and the College of Lawyers of our city participate.
“When we talk about gender violence, we talk about structural violence, systemic violence,” said Segura, who pointed out that this scourge “is perhaps the most widespread and persistent violence that exists in our societies.”
“In all societies around the world, women suffer from gender-based violence and it is therefore essential to approach this crime from this perspective, from a gender perspective because it affects women disproportionately,” he said.
As the Head of Unit explained, trafficking, exploitation and prostitution are immensely related to the inequality that exists in our society and to the position of women in these societies, as well as to the feminization of poverty.
Segura has made it clear that there is no profile of a trafficked woman or a profile of a female victim of sexual exploitation or prostitution. “Women can be victims of this crime and this is important to highlight because there is an awareness that it is a problem that can affect only certain groups,” he said.
However, as has been seen in these Days, there is a different approach and new realities that focus on the fact that, today, there are new means of recruitment, new social networks, platforms that put all women at risk of suffering these situations of violence.
Coordinated work
For his part, Miriam Benterrak, thanks to his experience for more than a decade in the Ministry of Equality, where they were entrusted with the promotion of interinstitutional coordination and cooperation in trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation as one of the basic axes to be able to work against this crime, has advanced that he will put on the table what are the challenges and challenges and what are the main criticisms of the form of cooperation that exists.
“Trafficking and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a form of violence against women that is globalized, that is cross-border, transnational and that is not conceived without the cooperation that involves many agents when it comes to preventing, attending, protecting, pursuing this scourge… but they cannot act in tight compartments,” she explained.
His experience, which dates back to 2009, when the First Plan to Combat Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation was approved, “has always consisted of working together and consensually”, he said and acknowledged that “we have evolved a lot” although “I believe that these situations of trafficking and sexual exploitation evolve much more quickly with the issue of technologies and social networks”.
Benterrak, in statements to the media, echoed the approval, by a large majority, this past September 14 of a resolution by the European Parliament “in which it was said that, despite the fact that there are common elements in the legislation and despite this whole process of cooperation, there are disparate legislations with consequences for the victims and when talking about the demand for prostitution, very different”. “We have to stop and analyze this and see where we can converge,” he said.
Child victims and prostitutes
Gloria Lozano, Technical Director of the Management and Projects Area of Fiet Gratia, entity that collaborates in the organization of these days, has stressed that the main objective is to make visible “this serious violation of human rights, such as the trafficking and prostitution of women, girls and boys”.
Specifically, in this edition, they wanted to focus on the new realities, “focusing on the use of new technologies that, in addition, especially introduces minors to this world both as victims and prostitutes.”
What is more, he has reported that the increase in underage victims is occurring throughout the world, as reflected by the United Nations, according to which in the last 15 years the number of underage victims has tripled, with one in three detected underage victims.
In these III Conference they focused on the reality of Melilla, “on how women are here, through the work that we carry out the different organizations of the civil field, approaching the reality of them and knowing first-hand their situation”, he said, as well as on the coordination of entities and public administrations.