Travelers Unite to Stop Child Sex Trafficking in Peru

Peru’s fascinating cultural heritage and Incan legacy are being eclipsed by a more sinister attraction. Young women and girls, as well as boys, are being exploited by a commercial sex industry fueled by increasing numbers of tourists who visit Peru to engage in sex with children.

A coalition of five non-profit groups has launched a campaign to highlight the plight of children in Peru’s sex trade. The effort, spearheaded by Berkeley-based Ethical Traveler, will send hundreds of letters from concerned travelers to Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Araoz. The letters will urge Ms. Araoz to use her influence to end child sex slavery in her country.

Sex tourism is a flourishing industry in Peru, where tourists have easy access to vulnerable children. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child estimated that there are up to 500,000 child victims of sexual exploitation and violence in Peru. But the Peruvian government’s efforts to eradicate the sex slave trade have been stalled by corruption, insufficient law enforcement, and apathy.

Ethical Traveler’s campaign against child sex trafficking in Peru is being waged in partnership with Global Exchange, Not for Sale-Peru, Generacion and Peruvian Net Against Child Pornography.