Sex Workers in Mexico Allege Abuse by Clients, Authorities, Gangs Mayela Sanchez - Global Press Institute
go to original April 9, 2013

The Women of Juarez - Short documentary on the women behind the "job." (luis saenz)

Sex workers in Mexico say they suffer frequent attacks from clients, leading to injuries and violent deaths nationwide. But human rights defenders say the abuse against them remains invisible because of a lack of data and access to justice based on their profession and gender. Sex workers also report abuse by authorities, a charge officials deny. Meanwhile, the workers fear that extortion by organized criminals will soon seep into Mexico City.

The Ley de Cultura Cívica made practicing or seeking prostitution a misdemeanor in the federal district of Mexico City last year. At the federal level, the sexual exploitation of women for prostitution and the prostitution of minors are both felonies. But federal law neither prohibits nor allows prostitution by adults, which keeps sex workers in a legal limbo.

This uncertainty lingers when it comes to statistics.

Brigada Callejera de Apoyo a la Mujer “Elisa Martínez,” a civil association that defends sex workers’ rights, estimates that there are more than 862,000 women engaged in sex work in the country. It based its estimations on data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, a federal government agency.

But there are no official figures on how many sex workers work in the country or the socio-economic conditions in which they live. Even less information exists about how many incidents and what types of violence they face.

Sex workers say they suffer abuse from clients, organized criminals and even authorities.

Read the rest at Global Press Institute

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