Country Report: Chile

Country Background

Chile is an export-led free market economy in South America with a population of about 16 million. The country suffers from severe unemployment. The carabineros, the national police, are responsible for public order, safety, and border security, while the civilian Investigations Police conducts criminal investigations and controls immigration. Both organizations are known to have committed human rights abuses. Corruption within the police force allows for the condition of slavery to exist in Chile. Mistreatment by police forces remains a serious problem. The current government under President Ricardo Lagos has taken steps in allowing investigations into the "disappearances" and arbitrary killings that notoriously characterized the Pinochet regime, making an attempt to bring human rights issues to the front of the national agenda.

Slavery has a legacy in Chile. In the 1980s, during the former dictatorship, "dignity colonies" were operating. These were clandestine camps where many of the desparecidos (the 'disappeared' people) were sexually exploited and trapped in a system of forced labor. These were only recently discovered. The kinds of slavery that exist in Chile today also hardly receive any immediate media attention.

Causes of Slavery

According to the Protection Project, the problem of sexual exploitation of Chilean children originates in the home, where children often suffer from physical violence and sexual abuse. Children suffer from parental abuse in over 60 percent of homes in Chile. Chile is both a country of transit and destination for trafficking women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Although Chile considers it a crime to promote or facilitate the modern slave trade-trafficking in persons, there are no specific laws directly prohibiting this system. Prostitution is legal in Chile, making it more difficult for local NGOs to track down instances of exploitation and forced prostitution, i.e. slavery.

The Process of Enslavement

Chile is a destination for Bolivian minors who are lured into the country under false pretenses and promises of higher wages in a country economically more stable than Bolivia. Chile is also a country where human traffickers facilitate and promote the movement of people from Asia to American cities, such as Los Angeles and Houston, for the purposes of debt bondage and sexual exploitation.

Response on the Ground

The Chilean government has recently acknowledged that trafficking persists within its borders. The Carabinero Public Relations Department, for instance, seeks to educate the public about human trafficking and how to recognize it. Local NGOs, such as the National Service for Minors, work with American organizations to combat trafficking of women and children in Chile. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also works with local NGOs to track down instances of human trafficking.

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