Human trafficking in Central America has taken center stage since the late 1990s. This increase in public attention has been driven by U.S. initiatives, such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), as well as the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, commonly known as the Trafficking Protocol. The United States has the reputation of being the leader in the fight against trafficking in Central America, using the TVPA and the Trafficking Protocol as primary mechanisms for anti-trafficking efforts.

Despite these efforts, trafficking remains rampant in Central America. Although trafficking in the region also occurs for purposes of forced labor and illegal adoptions, this essay focuses on the problem of sex trafficking. U.S. Trafficking in Persons Reports show that eighty percent of all trafficked persons are female, up to fifty percent are minors, and the majority are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation (Chuang, 2006). These women and children are drawn into the region’s illegal migration flow as a result of economic necessity. Women are increasingly assuming sole financial responsibility for their families, and consequently, children are more and more responsible for their own well-being. The lack of employment options at home contributes to their vulnerability to trafficking. Offering false promises of lucrative employment and opportunity, deceptive traffickers ultimately manipulate their victims into a life of sexual exploitation.