Argentina is considered a country of origin, transit and destination for human trafficking, for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced labour. The southern region of the country is considered to be a destination, given its well-developed tourism industry, oil and gas industry activities and port regions. There is a low rate of conviction for human trafficking-related crime, and in general traffickers have earned the complicity of police forces and political power. Statistics in this field are difficult to compile because a low percentage of cases reach the courts.
Traffickers use information and communications technologies ICTs to communicate with each other, as well as to communicate with potential victims.
ICTs are used to advertise women, and traffickers can share information about accessing victims over the internet. The protocol also introduced the difference between children and adults as regards trafficking and established the requirement for the victim to prove non-consent for an act to be considered trafficking. The discussion around the protocol was bitter and broke feminism in two worldwide. In April , Argentina approved and enacted Law In this system, the prosecutor in the public ministry keeps records of phone calls and text messages received for no less than ten years, so that the authorities have a database to help in the investigations.
After a trial with copious evidence against the defendants, they were all acquitted, causing outrage and calls for justice. Today the case is emblematic in the fight against the trafficking of women. In July , the government enacted Presidential Decree , which forbids the publication of sexual services advertising, mainly in the print media newspapers, magazines, etc.
In order to enforce the decree, an Office for the Monitoring of Advertisements and Publications in the Sex Trade [12] was created. This initiative was adopted as a model by UN member countries. Since the enactment of Law This can be seen in the same complicities between police, the judicial system, political actors, etc.
