how race and gender intersect with the theme of wealth and poverty

Many Americans would easily associate Blacks with poverty, but would just as easily
point to the income gains many Blacks have made and the growth in the Black middle
class in the past decade. And both assertions would be correct. But the problem is that
most poverty statistics don’t include asset poverty and wealth is different from income.
Wealth centers on asset holdings, such as homeownership, private pension plans, and
stock market investments. The Black middle class unfortunately is based more on income
than on assets.

Among some African Americans, there is a sad but true expression that
the difference between middle class and poor is one pay check. Middle class Black
households possess less than one-fifth of the wealth owned by white households and the
wealthiest Blacks have less than 30 percent of the level of wealth possessed by the richest
five percent of whites.

There is a preponderance of data that confirms the great disparity
in the net worth of black households at all points of the wealth distribution.
Despite the importance of wealth accumulation to the financial security of families, there
is very little analysis of wealth by gender and race. While there has been a great deal
written on the precarious financial situation of women, there has been relatively little
analytical work attempting to examine the factors that influence African American
women’s overall financial fitness and wealth attainment. Because wealth attainment
doesn’t occur all at once.

POVERTY MATTERS!!!

Ecuador's poverty benefit motivated by politics, not social welfare, claim critics

Government opponents say the expansion of a monthly cash scheme reflects growing poverty and a wooing of the poor vote

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María Fabiola Chaluisa of La Cocha, a Quechua-speaking, rural community in Ecuador, no longer has access to monthly benefit payments. Photograph: Irene Caselli

María Fabiola Chaluisa, 28, knows that $35 (£22) a month can make a difference. "At least it helps us buy a bit more food," says the newly single mother of three, who lives in a one-room hut in the Ecuadorean Andes.

Chaluisa resides in La Cocha, a Quechua-speaking, rural indigenous community at 4,000m (13,000 ft). The sprawling hamlet of slummy cement hovels lies just out of view of a main road that carries tourists through a picture-perfect landscape of steep, angular mountains covered in patchworks of crops.

Around 1.23 million people in the South American country of 14 million receive some benefit from the $35 monthly cash payment. Dubbed the Bono de Desarrollo Humano, or human development voucher, it was introduced in the middle of a financial crisis in 2000. It has more than doubled under the five-year-old leftwing government led by the economist Rafael Correa. Beneficiaries – households, rather than individuals – have increased by more than a third since 2007, making it a trademark instrument in Correa's efforts to temper poverty.

Yet the payment has also become highly politicised. In January, Chaluisa lost both her teaching job and the voucher. She believes she and others in La Cocha were cut off because of their support for opposition party Pachakutik.

Government critics say the expansion of the bono is indicative of stubbornly high poverty rates, and that it has been implemented to secure support from poor voters. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) union called it the "misery voucher" during mass protests in March. "I fear that the reason it's $35 is because the governing party's list number is 35, and if this were the case, it would be a terrible example of populism," says Mauricio Rodas, a political scientist who has launched an opposition political movement that promises to overhaul the scheme. "In other countries, the amount varies according to family composition, which is logical."

The government, however, says the idea the voucher could end poverty is a misconception, arguing it is only part of a broad package of social spending. The voucher is "a free insurance policy whose coverage will be expanded to include 100% of poor seniors", or 700,000 people in total, says Doris Soliz, the social minister, on 17 May, almost exactly eight months before the next general election.

According to Soliz's ministry, the voucher achieves its goal of family assistance principally by making it easier to buy food. This translates into improved health and education, because one of the preconditions for receiving the cash payment is to provide proof of school attendance and medical check-ups. Such conditions are standard for comparable schemes worldwide, and have proved to be particularly successful in other Latin American countries, including Brazil and Mexico.

Some households "graduated" from the system because their incomes rose above the threshold. However, Chaluisa claims she was dispossessed of the voucher despite losing her $200 (£125) a month job as a temporary primary school teacher, which she says was barely enough to feed her family. "There's people with just one child and a car who do get it," she says. Chaluisa has not been able to resolve the issue because the regional office in Latacunga, the provincial capital, tells her she would have to travel to Quito, the capital, to discuss the matter in the ministry – a 12-hour round trip by bus.

The government will be encouraged by news that income-related poverty rates – which remained stubbornly high over the first half of the administration – dropped dramatically in 2010 and 2011. Close to 450,000 people crossed the $2.4 a day Latin American standard measurement of poverty (pdf) in each of the two years, according to the national statistics agency. At the end of last year, poverty had fallen to 28.6% from 33% in 2010, the steepest fall in almost a decade.

The government has shown the political will to increase social spending significantly, but the jury is still out on its efficiency, says Juan Ponce, economist at Flacso University in Quito. He says the real impact on poverty is the result of the channelling of domestic spending into public and private housing and other construction, helped by high oil prices: "In 2011, the construction sector grew almost 30% … [that] generates all kinds of employment." Economic growth translated into new jobs for unskilled workers has been the most significant contribution to the fall in poverty, he adds. Chaluisa agrees; rather than a subsidy, she says, her "biggest desire is to find a job again so that I can help out my children".

the contribution of the women

It is obvious that no society can achieve its maximum strength unless each individual
makes his or her maximum contribution. There is one group which exhibits feelings of
disenfranchisement in every region of the world—and that is women. Women all over the world
feel that they are second-rate and that only men can reach their full potential. This discrimination
begins while the baby is still in the womb, so that a female baby is often considered of less value
and the pregnancy terminated. This discrimination continues throughout the life of a woman.
This discrimination is confirmed by tradition, by educational institutions, by the legal system,
1
within the family, and, sadly, even by religion in many cases.
2
 As a result, women are often at a
disadvantage in terms of education,
3
 job opportunities, and economically.
Added to this, there are sufficient numbers of men who want to place women into sexual
slavery. This takes the form of rape,
4,5
 incest, involuntary marriages,
6
 selling daughters into
prostitution, and a variety of other forms of sexual slavery.
7,8
 In times of war, women are freely
raped. In this regard, at best, women are viewed as the spoils of war. At worst, women are the
means by which one group of men humiliate another. All of this is dehumanizing to women.
That we should have to enact a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women is a sad commentary on our world. If we are ever going to have
healthy societies, we must give to women the dignity God gave them, and help to remove the
shackles that they feel. We men are a large part of the problem. It is we men as a group that
make women feel second-rate. Therefore, we men must take the initiative to change the way we
view women and treat them. There are several issues we must deal with.
First, what is men’s view of women? Women are viewed by men as beings who have
something that men want—generally, affection. At the same time, men are afraid that women
will not voluntarily give this precious gift and they, therefore, attempt to deprive women of their
right to voluntarily give this gift—or to withhold it. The irony is that it is the tenderness of
women that adds to our lives, and yet it is their tenderness that we abuse in insisting on our own
way. Moreover, we men have too often attempted to get our way with women by manipulation,
deceit and, regrettably, even physical force. The justifiable resentment on the part of women has
led to a gender war. This war between the genders is difficult to break down in the warmest of
male-female relationships. As a result, both men and women have scars that are passed down
from generation to generation.
Men blind themselves to the fact that women have many strengths. We men fail to see the
many beautiful characteristics that are unique to women. We fail to listen to the cry of their
hearts.
9
 Instead, we are preoccupied with winning the gender war. Let me ask you two questions:
Can women reach their full potential in a male-dominated world? NO! This is obvious. However,
consider the second question: Can men reach their full potential in a male-dominated world?
NO! Men who insist on dominating women, thereby preventing women from
reaching their full potential, hurt their own selves. As a result, men live empty lives. Women
experience a second-rate existence. — How sad! Men live empty lives and women experience a
second-rate existence. Is this not blindness?
The second issue is: What is God’s vi

Ecuador: Poverty and Wealth

Lately, I’ve been talking to my sister about my country, Ecuador. She recently, finished college and is now a Social Worker. She wants to help out the poor in Ecuador and be able to construct some kind of shelter for them. Keeping this in mind, I want to know more about poverty in Ecuador. Ecuador is a poor country, most people don’t have enough income to support there families. Poverty in Ecuador has made it hard for people to survive that is why a lot of people migrate to the United States. The way government has run Ecuador is one of the main reasons to why Ecuador is a poor country. Ecuador has had a corrupt government and its economy is affected by it. People are paid very little and the government hasn’t really done anything to try to boost up the economy. Ecuadorians are not able to succeed even with a college degree because they are not able to find a job. For example, an Ecuadorian diploma is not accepted in the United States because Ecuadorian education is lower. There are many other reasons to why poverty exists in Ecuador which is making it difficult for the country prosper.

Looking at this map, I can see that there is a lot of poverty on the west side of the country.An article states that there is more poverty in the rural areas of the country. “Poverty is more pervasive in rural areas of Ecuador, affecting almost 70 percent of non-urban dwellers (2000).

COMBATING SEXISM

an interesting video..


When they are not under-represented or invisible, women are often represented in the media in roles
traditionally assigned by society, portrayed as passive and lesser beings, mothers or sexual objects. These
sexist stereotypes in the media perpetuate a simplistic, immutable and caricatured image of women and
men, legitimising everyday sexism and discriminatory practices and establishing a barrier to gender equality.
Emphasising the positive role that the media can play in promoting gender equality, the Parliamentary
Assembly should invite member states to promote training, education and awareness-raising action and to
strengthen women’s visibility in the media. It should invite national parliaments to reinforce their legislation on
combating sexist stereotypes and penalise sexist offences. Media should favour a more balanced and nonstereotyped representation of women and men in the media and promote the gender equality dimension in
their regulatory and self-regulatory authorities and training programmes.

LENGUAJE MACHISTA

I do not think that language, whatever it is, may be considered sexist or not. It is the use people make of the language than it is. The meaning of the words has given the culture and / or society to which they belong. Therefore we should change society that would make these meanings of language quedasen obsolete. I also think that we should not take too literally the meaning, or at least stay with that. And vindicate more important things such as abuse, inequality in salaries. 


Today, it is society that is sexist, well in my opinion ... It's like a double standard there, man is celebrating both our cultures to be a flirt, a womanizer and winnowed, that when these adjectives hang them women, for poor loser .... And it's not worth anything! As when a man marries a woman under to him, as all good, is a Machazo, a scrubber! and when a woman marries a younger man, he is criticized can not forgive that a woman ... In this game of words loses macho women is that men can not stand the woman awakens from the trance and then bothering them and then hang these little words, but there are also women who like to hang with other adjectives like these ... and again we have to change society.


 Here some of the famous words:

Zorro: Héroe justiciero

Zorra: Puta

Perro: Mejor amigo del hombre

Perra:Puta

Aventurero: Osado, valiente, arriesgado.

Aventurera: Puta

Ambicioso: Visionario, Enérgico, con metas a seguir.

Ambiciosa: Puta

Cualquier: Fulano, Mengano, Zultano

Cualquiera: Puta

Regalado: Participio del verbo regalar

Regalada: Puta

Callejero: De la calle,urbano.

Callejera: Puta

Hombrezuelo: Hombrecillo, mínimo, pequeño

Mujerzuela: Puta

Hombre público: Personaje prominente.Funcionario público.

Mujer pública:Puta

Hombre de la vida: Hombre de gran experiencia.

Mujer de la vida: Puta

Rápido: Inteligente,despierto.

Rápida: Puta

Puto: Que tiene muchas Novias

Puta: Puta

Women Confronting Poverty

The dramatic entry of women into paid labor force is both good news and bad news. clearly, it is a great of progress that women are striving towards economic and social independence. although impressive gains have been made, there is still a long way to go, in both the third world and the more industrialized nations as well.

but in part, the rise of women in the paid labor force is born of necessity due to changes in marriage, divorce, the rise of the single-mother family, and, i would add, changes in the labor market.

it is the necessity side of the equation that i want to address. despite the patriarchal norms of a prior age, poor women have always had to work in the paid labor force, and they have been stigmatized for that work.

let alone all that they have been through for so be strong and keep going forward. are women who deserve the maximum respect and recognition for what they do to survive and keep their children alive and proud. know that they think first of their children and long after them is extraordinary and we should be able to appreciate this effort and those that make you feel like every day, that motivation laying up and leave the world to conquer it, is unique and admirable.

THE COLOR PURPLE

The color purple stands for independence and liberation of one’s mind and feelings. It plays an important role in Celie’s and Shug’s life. When Celie can choose a dress for the first time in her life, she chooses a purple one. In her house Celie has a purple room. When Shug explains to Celie how important freedom is, she says: “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”

The Color Purple, a fascinating and interesting book. However, I didn’t realise what terrible things happened in Southern United States in the beginning of the 20th century. Soon I realised there was a lot of racial discrimination and in that time people found that woman were worth nothing. I was very shocked when I read this and the book made me almost cry. It is a touching novel.

The events are conveyed in the form of letters which this makes the novel very realistic. I find it very interesting to read about the terrible things which happened in Southern United States. I learned a lot about this book and it has given me a different look at the world. The events makes you think about that period and makes you aware of the terrible situation.

The language of Celie is very important. It makes the book more realistic, because you can tell that she is very poorly educated. I’ll give an example of Celie’s language: when she is pregnant, she says she is big. This makes the book more interesting, although in the beginning it was very hard to read, later it became a bit more easy. The style which A. Walker uses makes you feel sorry for Celie and makes you think about the book and the situation in that period. 

All the characters of the book have a relationship with each other. It makes the book interesting, but I found it very difficult. Many times I had to search and think about who that character was and what his relation was with that person. Another thing I don’t like about the book is that it was hard to get a good idea of what the characters look like, because A. Walker doesn’t describe the looks of the characters very well. At the end when Celie and Mr__ become friends I was very surprised, I didn’t expect that at all, I really like that part. But I also dislike the ending, It’s a bit too beautiful, it makes the end unrealistic. If I was the writer I would give the book a totally different ending. I wouldn’t bring Nettie and Shug back to Celie. 

Benedicto XVI cree que el matrimonio homosexual amenaza el futuro de la humanidad

El Papa insiste en que las políticas que suponen un ataque a la familia "amenazan la dignidad humana y el porvenir mismo de la humanidad".

El Papa Benedicto XVI dijo este lunes que el matrimonio homosexual es una amenaza contra la familia tradicional y que por tanto pone en riesgo el futuro de la humanidad, durante una audiencia con miembros del cuerpo diplomático acreditado ante la Santa Sede. En este sentido, ha destacado el papel de la familia "fundada sobre el matrimonio entre un hombre y una mujer" para la educación y, por tanto, ha insistido en que las políticas que suponen un ataque a la familia "amenazan la dignidad humana y el porvenir mismo de la humanidad".

Así, ha remarcado que ha recibido "con satisfacción" la reciente sentencia del Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea que prohíbe patentar los procedimientos que utilicencélulas madre embrionarias humanas, así como la resolución de la Asamblea Parlamentaria del Consejo de Europa que condena la selección prenatal del sexo.

El Papa ha alentado al mundo a mirar la crisis económica internacional como "un acicate para reflexionar sobre la existencia humana y la importancia de su dimensión ética, antes que sobre los mecanismos que gobiernan la vida económica" y ha propuesto que se den"nuevas reglas" que aseguren a todas las personas una vida digna y el desarrollo de sus capacidades.

Así, ha recordado que el mundo se ve afectado por las "graves y preocupantes" consecuencias de la crisis económica y financiera internacional que, según ha apuntado, "no sólo ha golpeado a las familias y empresas de los países más avanzados, en los que ha tenido su origen, sino que ha marcado también profundamente la vida de los países en vías de desarrollo".

"El momento actual está marcado lamentablemente por un profundo malestar y por diversas crisis: económicas, políticas y sociales, que son su expresión dramática", ha subrayado.

Ante esta situación, ha apuntado que la educación es "crucial" y ha recordado que lasleyes occidentales que "tantas veces no solo permiten sino que favorecen el aborto, ya sea por motivos de conveniencia o por razones médicas discutibles", se oponen a la educación de los jóvenes y al futuro de la humanidad.

Violence Against Women in Latinamerica

An Argentinean man is accused of soaking his 24-year-old former lover with alcohol then setting her on fire. She died of severe burns days later, and an autopsy revealed she was pregnant. 

The woman, Fatima Catan, became the latest victim of deadly violence against women --femicide-- in a country and region that has long struggled to rally against such violence. Catan was one of 260 women killed in Argentina last year – an alarmingly high number of them were burned to death and a larger number of them, or about 64 percent, were killed by ex-lovers.

Her death, and a sudden rise of femicide cases in Argentina as well as other parts of Central and South America, underscores the ongoing issues of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women in Latin America.

According to a 2010 report by Amnesty International, there were increased reports of domestic violence, rape and murders against women in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras the past few years.

Guatemala, where on average two women are killed each day, has long been talked about as being the worst example of crimes against women in the hemisphere. The laws are so weak that U.S. immigration lawyers have successfully blocked deportation orders to Guatemala simply because their client was a woman – and would be returning to a country with no safety net for women.

In the past decade, close to 4,000 women have been killed in Guatemala, which has a population of less than 15 million. About 800 women were killed in 2009 and 685 were killed last year, many of them women afraid to leave their abusive lovers. Some had sought help but were rebuffed by local authorities. Less than 4 percent of the cases were solved, according to Amnesty International.

Pressured by international groups like Amnesty International, the United Nations and Human Rights First, the country began passing laws that outlawed violence against women.

Yet, violence against women continues to be a major problem in Guatemala. In 2009, the first year the law was enacted, only three men were convicted and sentenced under the law, even though the first two weeks of that year 26 women were killed.

"Women in Guatemala are dying as a consequence of the State's failure to protect them," said Sebastian Elgueta, Guatemala researcher at Amnesty International. "High levels of violence and a lack of political will along with a track record of impunity, mean authorities are both unable to pursue perpetrators, or just don't care. Perpetrators know they will not be punished."

In Argentina, domestic violence hotlines are manned 24 hours a day and a slew of psychological, social and legal services are offered for battered women in need.

The country's Supreme Court reports that domestic violence cases rose 75 percent the past two years. In January of 2009, there were 375 cases and in January of this year there were 657 cases, according to María Pinto, the Supreme Court's business secretary.

The number of cases of women getting burned rose from six in 2009 to 11 in 2010. And the number of women getting killed increased by 30 percent the past three years, with 260 femicide cases in 2010.

"(Many women) learn to coexist with domestic violence because their mothers and their grandmothers lived the same situation," said Rico, of La Casa del Encuentro in Argentina.

But Rico said women are beginning to understand that they should report abuse, and they will get help if they seek it.

"It's important for them to know where to ask for (help)," Rico said. "Because they cannot escape alone from that hell."

As elsewhere in the world, women in the hemisphere are sometimes still afraid to report domestic violence incidents, some governments are still indifferent about it, and police departments are sometimes unconcerned when it comes to women's rights.

Yet, much has changed for the better as well in the past three decades.

"Years ago in Latin America, crimes against women was a private matter. That's the way marriage was, that's the way life was. Women's organizations strongly put the agenda in the public sphere," said Nadine Gasman, senior manager of the UN Secretary General's UNiTE Campaign to end violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since the 1970s, all countries in Latin America have imposed or strengthened laws to make violence against women a felony, thanks to women's rights groups, NGOs and international advocacy groups that successfully pushed for reform. Because of worldwide pressure, even countries like Honduras and Guatemala – long known for having some of the weakest laws protecting women – are starting to go after and penalize men who beat women.

"There is, possibly, more awareness in Latin America, and more women willing to report it. And the media is covering it much more than it used to," said Emilio Viano, a victim's rights expert and professor at the School of Public Affair at American University in Washington, D.C. "On the other hand, there's no question domestic violence is still common."

The does not mean the governments in Latin American, which have a growing number of women in political offices, have not tried to change the mindset.

Working with public health organizations like the United Nations, the World Health Organizations and the Pan American Health Organizations – as well as a growing number of women's rights groups – countries began providing social services for battered women.

Places like Brazil and Nicaragua began forming specialized police units, some of them with an all-women force, so victims could report the crime without fear of reprisal or disrespect. In Argentina and Mexico, battered women can get legal advice, financial assistance and medical and psychological help if they seek help and report abuse.

But, Gasman added, "although laws have changed, they still need to be implemented. And some places still have a long way to go."

ADVERTISING & GENDER

It is evident that advertising is a huge and pervasive industry.  Advertising has a powerful effect that goes well beyond the purpose of selling products to customers, it affects our culture and our views therefore it is extremely persuasive.  

                             

Media researchers explain that stereotyping involves presenting a group of people in an unvarying pattern that lacks individuality and often reflects misperceptions.  Courtney and Whipple (1983) produced a comprehensive list of female gender stereotypes in advertising which include the following:

             @   women in isolation

  @ women being depicted as obsessed with their physical attractiveness

    @ women in underwear and lingerie more than professional clothing

It is clear that sexist and stereotypical advert portrayals have severe negative impact and effect on women. Studies continue to reveal our cultures obsession with thinness as reflected in advertising.  Women are receiving many times more messages about thinness and body shape than men in prominent magazines and on television.  This behaviour of advertisers creates a widening gap between the weight of an average woman and the ideal.  The pressure to be thin is not as great for men as for women, which is evidenced by the higher number of average – weight and overweight male models in adverts in comparison with females.

Just as there are female stereotypes in advertising, male gender stereotyping also appears.  According to Ivy and Backlund (2004), male depictions in ads include:

• professional, knowledgeable

• Jock, who can perform in all sports

• handy man who can fix anything

It is evident that men seem to fit any role and can sell anything but women are more favourable for hygiene, beauty products and underwear.  It is worryingly clear that women today are still not taken seriously within society.

Advertisers overwhelmingly select positive, approved typifications so their product will be associated with a good image, [therefore] what we see are idealised characters using ideal facilities to realise ideal ends (Goffman, 1976).

Adverts are aimed at reflecting life as individuals wish to live it, including looking beautiful and achieving wealth and success.  This is an implicit promise that certain desirable benefits will accrue if one uses the right scent for example.  An advertiser not only can create product identification but can impel purchase if the vision hits its mark of personal desire.

Manca and Manca (1994) state that when advertisers target women they use complex, appearance related emotional appeals such as using science to ‘prove’ the benefits of a certain facelift cream.  This pattern characterises women as externally or “other” oriented and concerned primarily with men.  Conversely, when advertisers target men, they use simple, ego gratification emotional appeals.  These appeals stereotype men as internally or “self” oriented, concerned primarily with themselves.

Gendered differences are apparent, accordingly, gendered advertising beliefs, attitudes, values and consumer behaviour exist, therefore advertisers recognise them, understand them, and use them to design gender specific advertisements.  Advertising always involves a promise and is expected to fulfil its promise.  Consumer advertising most commonly associates products with symbols that exemplify values, group feeling, prestige, status, power, achievement or just plain hedonistic pleasure. 

This is why most organisations concerned with persuasion look for prestigious spokespersons to endorse their position and thus endow it with something for their own prestige.  People seek social approval from all others, but it is more valued when it comes from those higher up the social scale since it is less likely to be self-serving and considered more perceptive. 

36 CASOS DE TRAFICO DE PERSONAS, SIN SENTENCIA EN IMBABURA

Imbabura está considerada como parte la ruta del tráfico ilegal de personas. Así lo revela un estudio de la Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (Flacso), elaborado en Ibarra, Otavalo y Cotacachi. La investigación señala que en estos dos últimos cantones se detectaron casos de explotación laboral. Mientras que en Ibarra hay explotación sexual. Pero lo que más preocupa, comenta María Isabel Moncayo, investigadora de la Flacso, es el alto nivel de impunidad que existe. En marzo del 2011, por ejemplo, 60 mujeres fueron rescatadas de cuatro clubes nocturnos de Ibarra. Una extranjera denunció ante las autoridades que permanecía retenida y era obligada a ejercer la prostitución. El operativo, en el que participaron 200 policías y fiscales, fue organizado en Quito. Según Moncayo, eso fue necesario porque cuando se planifica en Imbabura se filtra la información y se esconden a las víctimas. 

“Hay corrupción entre los funcionarios”. Además, ninguna de las siete denuncias presentadas, entre el 2008 y el 2011, por explotación sexual recibió sentencia, dice la investigadora. Ahí se incluye el caso de los clubes nocturnos de Ibarra, en donde se detuvo a dos presuntos involucrados en el tráfico de personas. Según denuncias, estos movilizaban desde Colombia a mujeres bajo la oferta de un trabajo digno y bien remunerado. Un agente fiscal, que pidió omitir su nombre, aseguró que la mayoría de denuncias es desestimada por falta de colaboración de las afectadas.

 En el último caso, la víctima de 20 años desapareció, por lo que este caso fue archivado, debido a la falta de acusación. Esa incursión policial fue parte de una investigación, que se inició dos años antes para ubicar una red internacional, que recluta, transporta y acoge a mujeres extranjeras para explotarlas”. Según Rogelio Bernal, director de la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones (OIM), entidad que apoyó la investigación, Ibarra es un lugar de tránsito y destino de víctimas de explotación sexual. “Este delito afecta a mujeres adolescentes y adultas de Colombia y Ecuador”. Bernal asegura que en el caso colombiano, a las afectadas se les contacta en ciudades como Armenia, Cali y Medellín.

 Desde esas urbes son trasladadas a las ciudades de Pasto o Ipiales para cruzar la frontera. Una vez en Ecuador, los tratantes instalan a las mujeres en centro nocturnos de Tulcán e Ibarra. Luego son movilizadas a otras urbes. La modalidad de trata que afecta a los cantones Otavalo y Cotacachi está vinculada a la explotación laboral en el exterior. Entre 2008 y 2011 se presentaron 22 denuncias sobre este delito. Para Soledad Coloma, investigadora de la Flacso, los afectados por este tema en su mayoría son niños y adolescentes indígenas. “Provienen generalmente de hogares con padres separados y de comunidades pobres y alejadas”.

Se presume que los menores salen de comunidades como La Compañía, Huiacopungo, Tocagón, vecinas del lago San Pablo. En Cotacachi, en cambio, salen de las comunas El Cercado, La Calera y del valle de Íntag. Los reclutadores son familiares o personas cercanas a las víctimas, explica Coloma. “En muchos casos, los padres entregan la autorización de salida del país”. Entre los destinos están Bogotá y Cali (Colombia), Sao Paulo (Brasil) y Chile. Pero hay casos de niños que han sido trasladados a Bélgica, España y Suiza (ver infografía). Allá trabajan elaborando o vendiendo artesanías, en labores domésticas o cuidando niños. Según Coloma, hay casos que son llevados con engaños o amenazas. Pero la investigación y sanción de la trata tiene dificultades en los dos cantones. “El delito en las poblaciones afectadas está naturalizado, por lo que no se denuncia. Eso solo sucede si los padres no recibe el pago acordado”.