Chile is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Chilean women and children are exploited in sex trafficking within the country, as are women and girls from other Latin American countries and Asia. Men, women, and children β primarily from other Latin American countries, as well as Asia β are exploited in forced labor in mining; agriculture; construction; street vending; the hospitality, restaurant, and garment sectors; and in domestic service.
Authorities report Chinese immigrants may be vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor and Korean women are subjected to sex trafficking.
Chilean authorities identified children involved in illicit activities in , including drug trafficking and theft; some of these children may have been trafficking victims. Chilean men were reported to be transported to Peru for the purposes of labor exploitation and Chilean women to Argentina for commercial sexual exploitation. Some Chilean women may be exploited in sex trafficking in other countries. NGOs report brothels in small towns are often frequented by police officers, dissuading potential trafficking victims from reporting exploitation.
The government noted that traffickers, aware of law enforcement crackdowns on human trafficking, are changing their operations, including avoiding direct involvement in illegal activities, setting up work contracts for victims through third parties, and establishing shell companies to justify illicit gains. The Government of Chile fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Authorities convicted sex traffickers under child prostitution statutes, increased victim protection services to child sex trafficking victims, and created a separate fund to assist immigrants in vulnerable situations, including victims of trafficking.
In April , the government enacted a law to strengthen protections for domestic workers. Authorities increased training for front-line responders, including health workers and phone operators. Authorities did not prosecute internal child sex trafficking cases as human trafficking, which hindered efforts to penalize traffickers appropriately and accurately assess anti-trafficking efforts.
