Cancún Schools Fight Child Exploitation with App

CANCÚN, Q. Roo — Following the revelation of prostitution cases at a secondary school in Cancún, the organization ECPAT México (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), led by Norma Negrete, has announced the intensification of its "En Busca de tu Identidad" (In Search of Your Identity) campaign in schools across Quintana Roo.

The strategy aims to empower girls, boys, and adolescents so they may know and protect their identity, in addition to fostering the prevention of child sexual exploitation in a safe school environment. The program, developed in coordination with the Secretary of Education, is implemented through a mobile application that teaches adolescents to identify risks of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. This tool also encourages early alerts to prevent potential crimes.

According to Negrete, the application has been in use for two school cycles, reaching more than 73,000 students in the state. The results, she said, reflect the project's relevance and its contribution to consolidating schools as spaces free from violence and exploitation.

The director of ECPAT México underscored the importance of maintaining collaboration with the State Attorney General's Office to reinforce preventive actions, as educational institutions can be vulnerable to infiltration by criminal networks.

“The objective is to guarantee that adolescents are protected and that their use of the internet does not represent a risk, thereby consolidating a safe educational environment free from exploitation,” she emphasized.