An IOM study on human trafficking in Chile launched this week in
Santiago, confirms that 87.7 per cent of victims of trafficking
identified by authorities were foreigners brought to the country
for labour or sexual exploitation.

The research, carried out in areas that account for more than 63
per cent of the country's population (Arica y Parinacota,
Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Valparaíso, Los Lagos, Aysen,
Magallanes y Antártica Chilena and the Santiago Metropolitan
area), reveals 36 cases of human trafficking, with a total of 147
foreign and local persons that had been victims of labour  and
sexual exploitation.

The Valparaiso area, located in the centre of the country and
the third most populated area with 1.7 million inhabitants, ranked
first in the number of trafficking victims.  The vast majority
were Chinese nationals victims of labour exploitation.

The Santiago metropolitan area, where more than 40 per cent of
the population is concentrated, ranked second with adult victims
transported to the city and forced to work in the sex trade.

Thirty per cent of persons interviewed said they had been duped
by false job ads in newspapers.  Others told IOM that they had
face to face contact with the recruiter.

The Chinese victims of labour exploitation, almost all of them
male, said they had answered employment ads that appeared in local
newspapers in cities in Sichuan province, which was devastated by
the deadly earthquake of 2008.  

The men entered the country legally, with transportation
provided by their employers, and were later forced to work in mines
and in restaurants.  The Chinese female victims also entered
the country legally and were forced to work as prostitutes in
massage parlours in the capital Santiago.

Other women brought to Chile for sexual exploitation were from
Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. 
All victims of sexual exploitation had been forced to work in
nightclubs and illegal brothels.

The underage victims identified in the IOM study were Chileans
who travelled inside the country and were put to work in brothels
and nightclubs.  The adolescents told IOM that when they
worked the streets they were always closely watched by the
traffickers; when they were working in brothels they were always
left in the care of an adult sex worker.

"We are distributing the study to all government and
non-governmental partners in the region working on human
trafficking," explains Gabriela Rodriguez, IOM Chief of Mission in
Chile. "The aim is to raise awareness and create or strengthen
networks that are committed to combating human trafficking."

For a copy of the study or for more information, please
contact:

Fernando Alarcón

IOM Chile

Tel: +56. 02 2746713

E-mail: "mailto:falarcon@iom.int">falarcon@iom.int