As discussed briefly above, a survey of the trafficking laws in the region illustrates that in all countries, minors are afforded protection from trafficking, and in most countries, the penalty for trafficking at least some subgroup of minors is higher than that for trafficking adults. The main difference in the various countries statutes is that while some regard the trafficking of any minor as an aggravated offense, others only define a trafficking offense as aggravated if the minor is younger than a certain cut off age.
For example, Nicaragua does not consider
the trafficking of a minor to be an aggravated offense unless the minor
is under the age of 14. Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua have chosen
an even younger cut off age: under their trafficking statutes, a victim
who is a minor must be under 12 years old for the offense to qualify as
aggravated. By contrast, in Costa Rica, the trafficking of minors under
18 constitutes an aggravated offense.
The inclusion of these laws in the various penal codes of the
region represent improvements many of them recent over the
attention previously given to the issue of human trafficking in these
countries. It is important to mention, however, that by and large these
laws are rarely enforced, and even more rarely do they result in the
conviction of traffickers.
Criminal Legislation Against Procuring and Pandering
Individuals who traffic women and children for the purposes
of commercial sexual exploitation can also be prosecuted for their
actions under domestic pimping and pandering prohibitions. As with
the trafficking laws discussed above, these crimes focus almost
exclusively on acts connected to prostitution; unlike trafficking
legislation, they are concerned primarily with acts that do not involve
the crossing of international borders.
Procuring
The procurement laws within the region are quite similar from
country to country. While the exact language varies somewhat from
statute to statute, each of these laws have at their core the
criminalization of the acts of promoting or facilitating the prostitution
of another person. In all countries except for Belize, which limits the
application of its procurement law to situations where the person being
prostituted is female, the law applies regardless of whether the victim
(or would be victim) is male or female.
In all countries except for Guatemala, a conviction for procurement carries a possible prison term
(see table below for exact penalties). Just as Guatemala's penalty for
trafficking is the most lenient in the region, its penalty of a fine and no
prison term is the most lenient penalty for procuring that exists in the
sub region.
As is illustrated in the table below, all countries in the subregion
except for Belize contemplate increased penalties for the crime
of procurement when aggravating factors are present. While some
countries include these aggravating factors in the basic provision on
pandering, other countries have established a separate crime entitled
"aggravated procurement". The most common aggravating factors for
pandering include the following: where the victim is a minor (in
countries where prostitution is legal for adults); where deceit, violence,
abuse of authority, or coercion are involved; where the perpetrator is a
partner, close relative or guardian; and where the perpetrator is a repeat
offender or vested with public authority.