Child abuse in Argentina

[sergio]

Awhile ago someone posted a comment on this website about child abuse in the United States. The writer was trying to make the point that this is not a serious problem in Argentina. Doubting that to be true, I started to read the “Crime Beat” column in the Buenos Aires Herald. Here are just a FEW of the child abuse crime reports that I have come across in the last few weeks. How many such crimes are never reported?

“Some 15 people were arrested yesterday in different parts of the country on charges of being part of a pedophile network with worldwide connections. Police raided 25 locations after they managed to reach men who exchanged pictures and videos through internet sites where they showed children being raped and abused”.

“A 20 year old man was indicted yesterday in Esquel, Chubut, on charges of raping an 11 year old girl who gave birth to a child after the abuse...”

“A 50 year old woman left her common-law husband after telling him she had fallen in love with a 12 year old with whom she was now living...”

“A man in San Martin, Buenos Aires Province, was sentenced to five years in prison by an Entre Rios court for sexually abusing his nephews...”

“A fourteen year old teenager was yesterday accused of raping a four year old girl in Cerrillos, Salta.”

“A man was sentenced to 36 years in prison on charges of raping six girls...in a vacant lot in Jose Leon Suarez.” "A man who was accused of raping his 13 year old stepdaughter committed suicide on Wednesday while the police were on their way to arrest him in Las Vertientes, Cordoba".


These tragic reports go on and on...

 

[Elpanada]

Let me go on record here just to put my reply into context, I think that it's obvious that you Sergio hold a grudge against Argentina. Every reply you make here goes something like this: "This in Argentina is so bad but it's better in the USA or Europe."Before anyone tries to say that what I wrote here above is untrue or unfair do a search of Sergio on the bulletin board. And now lets put something else into context 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 examples mentioned of child abuse. Argentina a country of 40.300.000 people.Months since anyone said anything about child abuse on this forum.Child abuse is a worldwide problem and it's bound to happen anywhere where humans are found in large numbers. Nothing suggests that it is an especially serious problem in Argentina.

 

[Johny]

The claim that child abuse is less of a problem in Argentina is grossly ignorant. This is just another example of what I've been saying all along. There are some posters on this site who are totally oblivious to the reality of this country. Yet, they insist on making comparisons with the US. Obviously, these people have an obsession with trying to make Argentina look better than the US. They have no basis for their comments other than anti-american prejudice. This makes it clear that it is THEM who have serious issues and are in a state of denial over Argentina. These posters can't insert themselves onto a discussion without attacking people and talking trash and spewing nonsense that doesn't even have any logical trace of rationality or coherence. It's truly pathetic!

 

[Johny]

This link contains some information on the subject. It shows that child abuse is a serious problem in Argentina and that it has increased in recent years. It's in Spanish.
http://www.chicosdelacalle.org/news0203/masabusof.html

 

[Elpanada]

Nice attempt there at making a reply Johny you should however have followed my instructions and done that search cause your reply would then have been quite different. Absolutely nothing you wrote however suggests that pedophilia is a bigger problem in Argentina than anywhere else.
There do not seem to be world wide statistics available for pedophilia other related material is however somewhat available and one interesting thing to look at is http://www.icmec.org/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet , alot of faces and names pop up when one inputs Argentina.Another interesting thing to view is http://www.helpsavekids.org/country2.html what it says about Argentina looks outdated and is penuts compared to what it says about many other countries but it still suggests that there is a problem present. "ARGENTINA is
a Country of Origin and Destination.

Many babies were kidnapped from their mothers while their mothers were
held in military detention camps and sold to childless military couples.
Child prostitution is growing at an alarming rate while the age is decreasing.
Sex tourism is thriving in Argentina, especially for pedophiles."

 

[Johny]

"Nice attempt there at making a reply Johny you should however have followed my instructions and done that search cause your reply would then have been quite different. Absolutely nothing you wrote however suggests that pedophilia is a bigger problem in Argentina than anywhere else."

If you had read my post carefully, then YOUR reply would have been quite different. Elpanada, NOBODY suggested that pedophilia is a bigger problem in Argentina than in other countries. Actually, the opposite was true. Some ignorant poster made the claim that it is less of a problem here than in the US.
From your comments, I realize that you didn't even bother to examine the link I posted. Instead, you chose to distort our words to suit yourself.
Dear elpanada, look at the evidence, do some research with an open mind, then talk.

 

[sergio]

I don't know if there is more or less child abuse here than in the US. I know that there is child abuse. The crimes cited by the BA Herald (over about two weeks) suggest that there is a problem. In addition to sexual abuse, there is another kind of abuse that is quite common here: the use of children on the streets to beg for money. These kids are controlled by some sort of mafia. They don't go to school and they are surely going to wind up criminals. I don't care what some people on this site may say, this is not a problem in the US or the UK. Kids in those countries may be truant from school or they may get involved in gangs partly due to negative social pressures however the state makes every effort to keep these kids in school and to extend a helping hand through a myriad of social programmes. The private sector too does its part. I see little of that in Argentina. These poor, dirty kids who stand outside shops and restaurants asking for coins are being denied their basic human rights and this is a form of abuse, if not sexual abuse (and the latter may be a factor as well). Elpanada, I have no grudge against Argentina. I look for the truth. I could write about the great natural beauty of Argentina and the charms of Buenos Aires. We all know about these things. I prefer to call attention to the injustices and problems of this country in which we live. Of course there are problems in the US, the UK and other more developed countries but not to the same extent as here. In any event, any comment regarding a social problem in Argentina need not be met with a condemnation of the US or any other country. The comment some time ago that child abuse is not a problem here but is in the US I really doubted that. Why cover up the reality in Argentina? If you ask me about Bush I will tell you that he is a moron who should be in jail. Blair is not a moron but he did Britain no favour by backing Bush. As I said, I am more interested in reality and truth than some anti US polemic that disguises the reality.

 

[bigbadwolf]

In addition to sexual abuse, there is another kind of abuse that is quite common here: the use of children on the streets to beg for money. These kids are controlled by some sort of mafia.

I don't doubt you but how do you know this? I've seen this phenomenon in other countries, where good begging locations are prized, where criminal elements control both the locations and the beggars found there, and where there is inevitably some police complicity. In some places, the children are physically disfigured -- e.g., an arm or a leg cut off or mangled, or the child blinded -- so as to arouse pity, and by implication, a few coins.

 

[TatanBsAs]

Well, I am certainly not going to speculate on where issues such as pedophilia are worse. In my opinion one case is at least one too many.

I think that there is a larger issue that plays a role...... that being media. If you want to talk statistics you could reasonably make the case that there were next to no cases of pedophilia, spousal abuse, neglect, incest, etc. until recent years in the EEUU. In my opinion these were issues that simply were not discussed at one time. Deeply dark and personal family issues were not subject to public disclosure; and I am sure, unfairly so, many women and children in particular put up unnecessarily with years of abuse not having a means to "speak up".
I used to be a funeral director and in reviewing old records you soon noted that most people died because their heart stopped. There was only one aging disease at one time that people referred to: dementia, the list goes on. Moving forward into the twenty-first century the sensationalism of the media in the USA is making a lot of issues seem new that are not. And I wonder that here in Argentina, they simply do not have the same journalist focus on the darker side of life.
One thing seems clear to me as a pretty passive viewer of this site for several months, there seems a lot of bashing along ethnic lines. While I am from the United States and am always sad to read what I consider unwarranted harsh criticism of myself and my country....... I must admit that I am horrified at some of the comments I hear about the Argentines.
I have lived from coast to coast in the States, growing up in Dallas and living in outside Boston and in L.A. and the San Francisco East Bay Area. I have worked in over forty states and have been to all except Alaska and I feel I have a pretty well rounded perspective on the North American mentality. Yes there are issues at home; yes our political system seems hell bent on imperialism and a systemic breakdown of civil rights at home. Yes, we are often times ill-informed regarding international issues (most are regarding national ones as well), and of course we can seem arrogant. Yes, issues with both parents working and large numbers of single unwed parents has led to a decline in the traditional family unit, which in turn I think has led to increased activities such as gang banging..........
Typically these are the kinds of things I hear about Americans that are derogatory. I also hear that people who do not know voting is not compulsory in my country think we all support George W., the "boy who would be king" and that is simply untrue. He has managed to whip up the "religious right" into a frenzy that has driven them to the polling booths in unprecedented numbers while the larger portion of the population has either become nihilistic of simply afraid and do not get out and vote.
All that being said, I am not trying to be confrontational, but again, the kinds of things I see written regarding Argentines on this forum is quite frankly shocking as well as embarassing. The simple fact of the matter is that there are always going to be cultural differences when you go to a new country. For me that was at least some of the point of coming here. I could have clicked my heels together and returned to Kansas if I merely wanted another dose of the "same old thing".
I find being an expatriate that I do feel out of place often. I do think the Argentines think of us as arrogant people with no sense of family or loyalty to friends. Yes, I think we have a reputation for being cold, distant, and at times unkind. However when we move to foreign lands and gravitate to forums where we refer to the locals as "butt ugly" well.............. one sort of gets a sense of why we have a bad reputation. [/quo This is the best post I have seen on this website. I congratulate you. You have just proved your own point about generalizations not necessarily being accurate. You are american, you are not arrogant, you are cultured and from what I have read have a broad perspective on different issues. Thanks for your post.