Peru's First Indigenous Radio Drama Tackles Slavery - FreedomUnited.org

Peru’s First Indigenous Radio Drama Tackles Slavery

  • Published on
    March 8, 2019
  • Written by:
    Jamison Liang
  • Category:
    Human Trafficking, Prevention
Hero Banner

Peru’s indigenous women and girls from poor communities are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking, ending up in domestic servitude, forced sex work, and debt bondage.

But the government is trying to prevent this from happening by raising awareness of human trafficking through a radio soap broadcast in Quechua — Peru’s most common indigenous language.

Take Action: Pledge to Join the Fight for Freedom For Girls

“Traffickers take advantage of their vulnerable situation. There are circumstances and channels that have made them come to this,” said General Oscar Gonzales, head of Peru’s national police human trafficking and migrant smuggling department.

Voice of America reports:

The new soap opera — told in eight five-minute stories — seeks to warn of the dangers of trafficking in a more creative way, and by describing the crime in ways that make sense to indigenous people in their own language.

The words for human trafficking do not exist in many indigenous languages.

Peru’s interior ministry also launched radio talk shows in Quechua and the Aymara indigenous language in 2017 that discuss the high risks of trafficking that indigenous communities face.

“This is a clandestine crime … it’s invisible in the eyes of the general population,” said Cristian Solis, a coordinator at the interior ministry’s anti-human trafficking unit.

Last year around 1,000 cases of human trafficking were reported in Peru. Most involved women who were trafficked for sexual exploitation. Indigenous women and girls are seen as prime targets for traffickers who promise them well-paying jobs.

Around one in eight people of Peru’s 32 million people are indigenous, but they may only speak basic Spanish, making anti-trafficking hotlines and campaigns in Spanish difficult to access.

Take Action: Build A World Without Slavery

Mexico is one country that has made an effort to translate guides on human trafficking into 21 indigenous languages to help raise awareness of labor and sex trafficking among indigenous communities.

Freedom United is interested in hearing from our community and welcomes relevant, informed comments, advice, and insights that advance the conversation around our campaigns and advocacy. We value inclusivity and respect within our community. To be approved, your comments should be civil.

stop icon A few things we do not tolerate: comments that promote discrimination, prejudice, racism, or xenophobia, as well as personal attacks or profanity. We screen submissions in order to create a space where the entire Freedom United community feels safe to express and exchange thoughtful opinions.

guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

This week

Migrant workers jailed in Qatar over demands for owed wages

Five months on from the World Cup final, migrant workers continue to report exploitative labor practices and mistreatment at the hands of Qatari authorities. Three former security guards have been jailed in Qatar for four months following their repeated requests for unpaid wages from their employer, Stark Security Services. Though lauded by FIFA as an opportunity to improve Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, workers who toiled to make the world’s

| Friday May 26, 2023

Read more