Carolina Lapierre of the Office of the First Lady – Itapúa presents the awareness-raising materials to the public in Encarnación, Itapúa on June 22, 2021.
As countries continue their vaccination campaigns and we learn more about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, findings highlight the negative consequences of this public health crisis. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) forecasts that global economic losses could range between $1.7 and $2.4 trillion in 2021. Additionally, air travel between March and December 2020 was reduced by 80% compared to the previous year.
While the global economy, tourism, and countless other international networks have sharply declined in the midst of the pandemic, trafficking in persons (TIP) persists. COVID-19 has inflicted a series of burdens and setbacks upon the fight against TIP at a global level, especially in countries where the efforts and resources destined to combat this evil have been reappropriated to efforts focused on medical and economic recovery.
The practice of TIP is unfortunately resilient, making it difficult to effectively identify and prevent. Perpetrators often work in networks and are difficult to prosecute due to insufficient legal capacity. Information about TIP in Paraguay, particularly related to tourism, has been abundant, in part thanks to the efforts of Partners of the Americas (Partners) and its stakeholders.
Included in these efforts is the U.S. Department of State-funded Ñande Ko’ẽ project (“Our Sunrise” in Guarani), which aims to strengthen Paraguay’s capacity to prevent and process cases of TIP and protect its victims. Among our most active partners is the Government of Itapúa, who from the beginning of the project has been determined to make the most of what Ñande Ko’ẽ’s methods have to offer for the benefit of their community.
In an interview with members of our project, Verónica Stéfani, Secretary of Tourism of the Departmental Government of Itapúa, shared the journey that her team embarked to prevent TIP and educate the people of Itapúa on TIP in the context of travel and tourism, with the support of Ñande Ko’ẽ.
Carolina Lapierre of the Office of the First Lady – Itapúa and Ñande Ko’ẽ Project Director Jaime Torales present the awareness-raising materials to the public in Encarnación, Itapúa on June 22, 2021.
According to Stéfani, the opportunity to work with Ñande Ko’ẽ has provided Itapúa with the opportunity to add to its value as a tourist destination by improving quality and safety. TIP crimes and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents pose significant security threats and devalue a destination, and many families may decide not to choose that location.
In this case the Department of Itapúa, a popular destination with an economy driven by tourism, the local population and industries suffer. Stéfani highlighted that, through the training courses and workshops implemented by Ñande Ko’ẽ, 23 people have been trained on the prevention of TIP in Itapúa.
Officials and employees in the tourism sector who received these trainings are now better able to recognize and identify suspected cases of TIP or situations that may be dangerous for potential victims and their communities. As a result, tourism service providers know where to report suspected TIP cases, if necessary.
Having more officials and stakeholders trained in TIP prevention allows for the protection and safety of victims and improves the quality of the destination, allowing it to continue being a safe and reliable option for families, visitors, and businesses.
Stéfani discussed how, as a result of the trainings provided by Ñande Ko’ẽ, the Itapúa Departmental Government has managed to implement several activities focused on raising awareness on TIP. Some of these activities were carried out in public spaces, such as the delivery of leaflets and other awareness-raising materials that shed light on the specific dangers that TIP presents to Itapúa, as well as how to identify, report, and prevent these risks.
TIP awareness-raising kits consisting of folders, face masks, teacher’s field notebooks, leaflets, “dangerometer” rules, crosswords, and word search puzzles.
“The more citizens are able to recognize or identify potential TIP situations, the safer vulnerable people will be, and the reputation of this tourist destination will improve,” Stéfani said.
Ñande Ko’ẽ has worked closely with the Itapúa Departmental Government and with the Abre tus Ojos contra la Trata de Personas (“Open your Eyes Against TIP” in Spanish) initiative of the Office of the First Lady – Itapúa and the Itapúa Volunteer Network. Ñande Ko’ẽ assisted in the development of an awareness-raising campaign entitled, “#EstateAlertaDeTrataSeTrata” (Spanish hashtag for “Be alert: It is about TIP”).
The campaign was implemented on June 22, 2021, to promote the understanding of TIP with different awareness-raising materials aimed at high school students, principals, and teachers of public educational institutions. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of potential cases of TIP and sexual exploitation to high school principals, teachers, and students through the distribution of informational toolkits. It is expected to reach over 700 people in the Department of Itapúa.
Delivery of TIP awareness-raising materials by Grupo Luna Nueva’s Project Coordinator Raquel Fernández to teachers of the Colegio Nacional Dr. Absalón Arias in San Juan del Paraná, Itapúa, Paraguay.
For Stéfani, the technical assistance received by Ñande Ko’ẽ has been fundamental in reinforcing her commitment in the fight against TIP and the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the context of tourism. She concluded that with the experience she has gained, she can confirm that prevention is the best way to eradicate the dangers associated with these crimes, particularly for those most vulnerable populations.
To learn more about Partners’ efforts to combat trafficking in persons, subscribe to our newsletter and read about all our projects in our Annual Report
