Trafficking of Women and Children in Latin America

This article summarizes emergent themes related to social work and the trafficking of women and children in Latin America. A literature review revealed that empirical and scholarly work in this field is very limited, so a systematization of the literature – in English and Spanish, including internal community and organizational reports – is introduced here. Key themes include the recruitment, purpose(s), risk factors, consequences of trafficking on survivors' health, barriers to addressing trafficking, and the role of social work in this area. Women and children in Central America appear to be at particularly high risk due to geopolitical, historic, and economic issues.