Sexual exploitation of children: the commitments that Chile has forgotten

OPINION COLUMN published in Bio Bio

Days ago the Specialized Unit on Sexual Crimes and Sexual Exploitation of the Prosecutor's Office warned of the factors associated with child sexual exploitation in the region of Valparaiso, also reported the large number of complaints that have been made from the Better Childhood Service in the area. This situation is not new and has been observed in 2018 by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

There are commitments of the State of Chile subscribed in successive frameworks for action that have not materialized. In five years, complaints have practically tripled at a general level, where half of them have been filed by Mejor Niñez. In the Metropolitan Region alone there are 133 complaints in force. Meanwhile, in the Valparaíso region, 35% of the residences have been investigated for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

The residential model does not have the technical tools or the therapeutic approach of specialists in complex trauma that are required for intervention in these cases. In fact, the supply, despite the explosive growth in demand, has remained in the same programs and coverage for decades, even the official figures - with respect to victims - are projections from the last study in 2004.

In other words, the prevalence of sexual exploitation may be underestimated. On the other hand, of the total number of complaints, 7 out of 10 are filed and of those that continue to be investigated, only 1 out of 10 leads to a conviction (www.actuaresurgente.org).

Strengthening prevention and specialized care

Rehabilitation of a victim requires specialized mental health devices that may involve specializations in various aspects, however, the outpatient offer of Mejor Niñez faces historical waiting lists that triple those existing in 2021 and that for mental health exceed 14 thousand children.

A significant advance was the criminalization of Sexual Exploitation, which came into force last year. However, it is essential to comply with the frameworks for action in force, generate updated information, expand coverage and comprehensiveness of specialized programs and do so based on evidence.

In addition, it is necessary to strengthen social prevention at the local level through local offices, contributing to the creation of protected spaces for victims, that legal representation programs are trained in the subject and are persistent in the investigation of complaints, that they have the necessary resources from the Public Prosecutor's Office for the expertise that contributes to the formalization and conviction of sexual exploitation networks.

It is also necessary to manage the offer outside the protection system as a matter of urgency.

Strengthen the family foster care model as an alternative to the residential model, with greater specialization of caregivers and resources for physical and mental health of greater complexity, as well as for the transition to insertion processes that require spaces such as educational reinsertion, labor intermediation, etc.

It is essential to effectively comply with Article 35 of Law No. 21,302, which establishes that the Accredited Collaborating Organizations of the Specialized Protection Service "Mejor Niñez" must adopt and implement models of organization, administration and supervision to prevent crimes that affect the life, health, integrity, freedom and sexual indemnity of Children and Adolescents (NNA).

The Government and guarantors must ensure compliance with the Law for the Integral Protection of Children and, in terms of alternative care, ensure the right to live in a family. There is much to be done. Action is Now!