Prostitutes in Colombia unite against child abuse

Cartagena. Prostitutes have united in Colombia's port city and popular tourist destination, Cartagena, with the hopes of protecting children from an international network of pimps and sexual predators, AFP reports.

"I was a prostitute before I was even a woman.

I began when I was 10-years-old and I have experienced things you cannot imagine.

I know I cannot erase my past, but I can help stop other children from going through the same experience," said Damaris, who came together with four other prostitutes, ages 18 to 49, to speak to a group of taxi drivers.

The meeting was part of the campaign, "The Wall, it is me." The slogan refers to a famous wall that surrounds the historical town and is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The goal of the campaign is to encourage residents to protect children from paedophiles, particularly foreign paedophiles, and to engage the tourist industry in the fight against the international network of child prostitution.

According to the National Institute of Child Protection, as many as 35,000 children are forced into prostitution in this country of 46 million residents.