A mother whose young daughter was trafficked for sexual
exploitation to the town of Huaral, a young man trafficked to Lima
for labour exploitation, and a woman in Piura who hears a
neighbour’s cry for help - all credit the IOM-managed hotline
(0800-2-3232) with securing the freedom for victims of human
trafficking.

An average of 1,000 persons, including victims, potential
victims and the general public, are calling the IOM-managed hotline
every month to ask for help and to obtain objective and up to date
information on the dangers of human trafficking.

The young man who became a victim of trafficking for labour
exploitation said he saw the IOM hotline number and used it to gain
his freedom, "Thanks to the hotline, the lady that had locked me up
in her house let me go, and I even received the wages that she owed
me."  The young man, from the town of Iquitos, threatened to
call the hotline if his "employer" did not allow him to leave.

"My dream has come true, my daughter is finally home," cries the
mother of the young woman who was being held captive in a
brothel.

Since the hotline opened for business last March, the calls
received have generated official charges against 30 human
traffickers.

In the town of Piura, the neighbour who heard the cries for help
marvels, "Only 20 minutes after calling the hotline, the police
arrived and the girls who were being forced to provide sexual
services were rescued."

IOM's Regional Representative for the Andean Region, Pilar Norza
said, "The calls to the hotline confirm that Peru is experiencing a
growing problem with internal human trafficking.  But these
cases, that fortunately had a happy ending, do not tell the story
of the thousands of others who are still being held against their
will."

Calls to the 7-day/24-hour hotline are free, and the information
provided is confidential to callers who can opt to remain
anonymous.

According to the US State Department Trafficking in Persons
Report for 2006 Peru is a country of origin, transit and
destination for human trafficking. Although trafficking in Peru
takes place at an international level, IOM research conducted in
2005 confirmed that eight out of 10 cases of human trafficking take
place inside the country.  It is estimated that thousands of
men and women are trafficked inside Peru for sexual exploitation,
domestic work, and for forced labour in the timber and mining
sectors.

IOM's partner in the hotline is the Department of Human Rights
of the Ministry of Interior.  The IOM counter trafficking
programme in Peru is funded by the United States Department of
State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

For more information on the hotline, visit the IOM Website class="paragraph-link-underlined" href=
"http://www.lineatrata.org.pe" target="_blank" title=
"">www.lineatrata.org.pe or contact:

Dolores Cortés

IOM Lima

Tel: + 51.1.2217209

Email: "mailto:dcortes@oim.int">dcortes@oim.int

Research Paper: " "/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/published_docs/books/Diagnostico_Trata.pdf"
target="_blank" title="">Trafficking in Women for Sexual
Exploitation in Peru" (Available in Spanish only)