Child Prostitution Reaches Alarming Levels in Colombia

At least 35,000 children fall prey of prostitution in Colombia, chiefly in the country´s major sightseeing locations, and the picture could get even blurrier as the social scourge threatens to sneak up on every nook and cranny of the South American nation, official sources indicated.

Orlando Escopeta, head of research at Colombia´s Institute of Family Wellbeing, told NOTIMEX news agency that over 35,000 infants are victims of prostitution, though he hinted at the possibility that those figures could be much higher.

Mr. Escopeta noted that authorities do not rely on accurate numbers to assess the real scope of the problem. On the other hand, parents and relatives of those kids are unaware of their right to denounce the crime before law enforcement officers.

For Bogota Mayor Angel Cabrera, authorities in the nation´s capital alone have detected some 15,000 cases. "And this is only the tip of the iceberg," he told the Mexican wireless service.

"In a number of cases, the crimes are not reported to the authorities because parents themselves are the ones behind this problem or just because we´re talking about homeless kids that strut the streets and fall into the claws of prostitution," Mr. Escopeta went on to say.

A considerable amount of prostituted kids in Colombia -both boys and girls- are dragged into this infamous trade by transnational companies that advertise the country´s sightseeing cities as great sexual destinations.

A case in point is the Caribbean city of Cartagena, painted by many an international agency as a sexual tourism getaway and a huge hub of child prostitution.

A recent report issued by the Family Wellbeing Institute points at the Caribbean beach of Santa Marta as just another place hit hard by child prostitution. According to local officials, the number of cases there has doubled over the last couple of years.

The same report indicates there are at least 6,000 children, with ages ranging from eight to twelve years old, stuck in the prostitution business in Santa Marta alone.

The massive inflow of well-heeled tourists and a bustling seaport activity -mainly coal and manufacturing industries- have also boosted the development of sexual tourism in those cities.