SBU Summary: A researcher at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon states that there is a growing prostitution industry in Monterrey, which has transformed the city into a major sex tourism destination in Mexico. Traffickers lure women by promising legitimate employment and then violently coerce them into prostitution, cycling them between Mexican and U. End summary. According to him, traffickers lure impoverished women to the city with promises of high salaries and respectable employment, but then use harsh mental and physical coercion to force them into prostitution.
Most prostitutes that he interviewed in the city originated from southern Mexican states. Monterrey Becomes Sex Tourism Destination 3. SBU Monterrey gained international recognition as a result of the World Cultural Forum, Kumar explained, and the industry has gained momentum since then.
SBU According to Kumar's research, Monterrey is both a destination and transit point for sex workers. Prostitutes are cycled throughout Mexican and U. Most of the prostitutes entering from northern Mexico don't use visas to enter the U. Interestingly, he said some female students from the elite Monterrey Institute of Technology told him they occasionally perform sex for money in U.
Workers Start Young, Finish Young 5. SBU Kumar said traffickers often enlist women as young as nine. Around age 25, the prostitutes are considered too old and are eventually forced out of the business by the traffickers. In order to increase revenues, traffickers often force prostitutes to engage in high risk behavior, such as unprotected sex, or submit to violent acts, for which they charge a premium.
Societal Fix Needed 7. SBU Kumar opined that new legislation is not the answer to the problem. Indeed, Mexico already has anti-prostitution legislation and is a signatory to international human rights conventions. Instead, Kumar said that the problem could only be resolved by strengthening social institutions to provide better economic and educational opportunities along with improved health care to impoverished communities.
