Traffickers hold children hostage to force women into sex work

In parts of the central Mexican states of Puebla and Tlaxcala, sex trafficking is usually a family-run business, and the children of victims become property of local gangs. Photo: VisualHunt

Human traffickers in Mexico often hold the children of women sold into the sex trade hostage in order to force the mothers to keep working, campaigners said.

Traffickers prey on young and impoverished mothers, sometimes posing as a victims’ boyfriend, and even marrying and having children with her, according to experts.