Gender-based violence and trafficking trends reported in Honduras and Colombia-Venezuela border

Reports highlight critical issues regarding gender-based violence and human trafficking in Honduras and the Colombia-Venezuela border region. In Honduras, between 2024 and August 2026, 32,277 complaints of violence against women were recorded. Victims face a difficult judicial process characterized by institutional weakness and a high risk of revictimization, where survivors often have to repeat traumatic details multiple times to various officials in insensitive environments.

In the Colombia-Venezuela border area, a report by the Corporación Mujer Denuncia y Muévete identified 630 cases of human trafficking between 2018 and 2026. The study found that 78% of adult female victims and 99% of underage victims are Venezuelan. Factors such as forced migration, extreme poverty, and the presence of armed groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents contribute to this vulnerability. Trafficking networks often operate through legal fronts like hotels and spas, or via digital platforms, using coercion, drug use, and document seizure to exploit victims.