What is Child Trafficking?
What is Child Trafficking?
Child trafficking is when a person exploits a child or adolescent for benefit.
A child or adolescent is a victim of human trafficking when they are recruited, taken somewhere, kept somewhere, or offered things (like money, food or gifts) and then exploited to benefit someone else. This might be jobs they are too young for, sexual activities, or committing crimes such as selling drugs. Sometimes a trafficker threatens or harms the child or adolescent to force them to do these things. In other cases, traffickers treat children and adolescents with love and affection in order to trick or manipulate them. People who exploit children are committing a serious crime.
Child Trafficking in Costa Rica
When a victim is under age 18, there is no legal requirement to show or prove that the trafficker used tactics (“means”) to exploit them.
In practice, there may be force or coercion or manipulation of the child or adolescent trafficking victim – there very often is – but it is not necessary for these tactics to be present for a child or adolescent to be a trafficking victim.
An individual may be a victim of child trafficking even if they and/or the case are not identified until after they are older than 18. Being under age 18 at the time that the person was recruited , transferred, transported, harbored, hidden, retained, delivered or received for the purpose of exploitation is, by itself, sufficient for a situation to be child trafficking. Even if an individual is now an adult (over age 18), if they were under age 18 when the exploitation occurred, the case can be charged as child trafficking.
Child trafficking can happen anywhere. Movement or crossing borders is not a required element of the crime of child trafficking. Some child trafficking cases may be transnational but many are not. Many trafficking victims are Costa Rican children and adolescents who are exploited within Costa Rica.
Child trafficking can happen in the victim’s own neighborhood or home. It occurs in cities and in rural areas. It occurs in every province of Costa Rica.
It is against the law in Costa Rica to hurt or abuse children or adolescents in any way.
Even if someone is not a victim of trafficking, they may be a victim of another form of abuse or exploitation.
Map of Available Services for Children and Adolescent Victims
All children and adolescents in Costa Rica have the right to be protected and receive help. There are different services available to all children and adolescents, regardless of whether or not they have been trafficked. The IACT Program created a map of available services for child and adolescent trafficking victims in Guanacaste, Puntarenas, and San José, Costa Rica (updated as of June, 2024).
Do you know someone who may be a victim of trafficking?
Learn more about trafficking in persons on the Practitioner Platform
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