Women accused of prostitution leave the San Fernando Magistrates Court earlier this year. Photo: DEXTER PHILIP
Local police and immigration officers are involved in a sex trafficking ring involving Venezuelan women, according to the United States State Department’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, released yesterday, which gave Trinidad and Tobago a low grade, relegating the country to a Tier 2 Watch List.
The rogue officers are involved in regularising the immigration status of victims and providing protection for the operation, according to the Report, which stated that the case was under investigation by the National Security Ministry’s Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU).
However, the report questioned the effectiveness of the CTU, noting more than 100 people have been trained to help trafficking victims and track down suspects, but with limited success.
Government was also cited for not effectively allocating funding and resources to the non-government organisations (NGOs) and service providers tasked with helping victims. The Tier 2 Watch List designation means that this country does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
Last year, the Police Service had acknowledged the country’s upgrade in 2014 to Tier 2 status and credited it to the work of its Counter Trafficking Unit and State support.
In its latest report, Trinidad and Tobago was described as ?a destination, transit, and possible source country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour?.
?Complicity by police and immigration officials in trafficking crimes impeded anti-trafficking efforts. Law enforcement and civil society reported some police and immigration officers facilitated trafficking in the country, with some law enforcement officials directly exploiting victims. Anti-trafficking stakeholders reported some police officers had ties to sex trade establishments, which is likely to inhibit law enforcement’s willingness to investigate allegations of trafficking in the sex trade,? the Report stated.
?In December, the counter-trafficking unit identified a trafficking network in which immigration and police officers were implicated in facilitating the sex trafficking of Venezuelan women by helping to regularise victims’ immigration status and providing protection to the operation. The investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. The government did not report any new investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in trafficking offenses; prosecutions against three law enforcement officials for trafficking remained ongoing,? the Report stated.
The report found ?Women and girls from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels and clubs, with young women from Venezuela especially vulnerable. Economic migrants from the Caribbean region, especially Guyana, and from Asia are vulnerable to forced labour. Victims have been subjected to forced labour in domestic service and the retail sector.
?Immigration Department officials have noted an increase in international criminal organisations’ involvement in trafficking, and NGOs report young boys are coerced to sell drugs and guns.?
There are at least 12 cases in Trinidad where people have been charged with human trafficking since 2013, but no convictions, according to an Express tally and press statements from the CTU.
Meanwhile, there are 73 women from Colombia, Guyana and the Dominican Republic, arrested at a hotel and bar in Marabella in April 2013, who are awaiting trial for soliciting for prosecution. Last October, then National Security minister Gary Griffith said there were at least 110,000 undocumented people in Trinidad and Tobago, with more than 45,000 from Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, known human trafficking source countries.
The Report found ?some traffickers have recently allowed victims to keep their passports, removing a common indicator of human trafficking in an attempt to avoid detection. Many other traffickers continue to confiscate victims’ passports and travel documents?.
The annual report, which analyses trafficking in 186 countries and ranks them on how effectively they fight the problem, found that economic migrants who lack legal status may be exposed to various forms of exploitation and abuse indicative of trafficking. And due to the flow of maritime vessels through its territorial waters, some may be engaged in illicit and illegal activities, including forced labour in the fishing industry.
Victim protection
According to the Report, CTU referred eight foreign trafficking victims to care?six sex trafficking and two forced labour victims, seven female and one male victim?compared with nine victims identified in 2013, and partnered with NGOs to provide services to victims. NGOs reported deficiencies in the counter-trafficking unit’s ability to arrange assistance for victims, which they attributed to decreased engagement between the unit and service providers. The counter trafficking unit spent approximately $1 million on victim care and protection, and provided funding to NGOs that in turn provided direct care and assistance.
?However, experts reported the government did not effectively allocate funding and resources to NGOs and other service providers. After an initial security assessment by the government, victims were allowed freedom of movement while staying in NGO-run shelters.?
The Report noted that the CTU established standard operating procedures for reporting suspected trafficking cases. However: ?Immigration officials reported using the operational guide for victim identification, though procedures remained ad hoc in practice, and limited inter-agency coordination hindered progress.
?The government did not punish any identified trafficking victims for crimes committed as a direct result of a trafficking situation. However, unidentified victims were vulnerable to being inadvertently punished or charged with immigration or prostitution violations. Two of the victims identified during the reporting period, both Venezuelan women, were temporarily held in immigration detention after their traffickers released them. The counter-trafficking unit intervened for their release and referred them to care. Some NGOs raised concerns the counter-trafficking unit did not always adhere to best practices in victim assistance. The government partnered with an internal organization and victims’ home governments to ensure safe and responsible repatriation for victims.?
Recommendations
The Report is recommending that Trinidad and Tobago develop a national action plan to address law enforcement efforts, victim care, and inter-agency coordination related to trafficking crimes; formalise and widely disseminate procedures to guide all front-line officials in the identification and referral of potential victims, especially among foreign women in prostitution, migrant workers, and children; increase and provide adequate funding to NGOs to care for victims; continue training and outreach to educate officials about the manifestations of trafficking in the country; and implement a national public awareness campaign that addresses all forms of trafficking, including the prostitution of children and forced labour.