Guatemala: Mothers and Grandmothers Accused of Selling Underage Daughters as Prostitutes

On July 22, 2013 EL Nuevo Dia Noticias reported that 75 teenage trafficking victims have been rescued in Guatemala so far this year, the same number that was recorded in all of 2012. According to Sandra Gularte of the Human Rights Office, in many cases the girls were sold by their own mothers and at times even grandmothers. The average age of the trafficked victims was between 11 and 13 years.

Gularte went on to describe one case in which the girl’s mother stayed in an adjoining room while the daughter was sexually exploited. In the victim’s testimony, the mom would charge the client 50 quetzals ($6.41) and used the money to buy car tires and for vacation. Read Article