http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/243562.pdfTRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Tier 2 Watch ListTrinidad and Tobago is a destination, transit, and possible source
country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and
forced labor. 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 labor.
Victims have been subjected to forced labor in domestic service
and the retail sector. Immigration officials note an increase in
international criminal organizations’ involvement in trafficking, and
NGOs report young boys are coerced to sell drugs and guns.
In a break with common practice, 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. Economic migrants who lack legal status may
be exposed to various forms of exploitation and abuse indicative
of trafficking.
Trinidad and Tobago experiences a steady flow of
vessels transiting its territorial waters, some of which may be
engaged in illicit and illegal activities, including forced labor in the
fishing industry. 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 Government of Trinidad and Tobago does not fully comply
with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The anti-trafficking
unit sustained efforts to identify trafficking victims and refer them to
care. Despite these measures, the government did not demonstrate
overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts compared to the previous
reporting period; therefore, Trinidad and Tobago is placed on Tier
2 Watch List.
The government investigated trafficking offenses—
including potentially complicit law enforcement and immigration
officials—but initiated only one prosecution against a suspected
trafficker under its 2011 anti-trafficking law, a significant decrease
compared with the 12 prosecutions during the previous reporting
period. Immigration and police officers have been implicated in
facilitating sex trafficking.
The government has yet to convict any
individuals under its anti-trafficking law and did not develop a
national plan of action as mandated under the law.RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO: Prosecute cases investigated under the 2011 Trafficking in Persons
Act and convict and sentence traffickers, including complicit
immigration and law enforcement officials; continue to devote
adequate resources to the anti-trafficking unit to carry out
its mandate in the investigation of trafficking crimes and the
identification and protection of victims and ensure those resources
are effectively allocated; develop a national action plan to address
law enforcement efforts, victim care, and interagency coordination
related to trafficking crimes; formalize 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 labor.
PROSECUTIONThe government decreased its anti-trafficking law enforcement
efforts. The Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011 prohibits both
sex trafficking and forced labor and contains extensive victim
protections. It prescribes penalties of 15 years’ to life imprisonment,
with fines, for trafficking crimes.
The Children Act (2012)—which has yet to enter into force—prescribes penalties of 10 years’ to
life imprisonment for subjecting a child to prostitution, which are
sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed
for other serious crimes, such as rape. During the reporting period,
the government’s anti-trafficking unit investigated 35 possible cases
of trafficking and confirmed four of the 35 were trafficking, including
one forced labor and three sex trafficking cases.
The government initiated the prosecution of one suspected sex trafficker under
the 2011 anti-trafficking law, a decrease from the initiation of
prosecutions against 12 defendants in 2013. The government has
yet to convict a trafficker; all prosecutions from previous years
remained pending, though one defendant died.
The counter-trafficking unit led efforts to investigate sex trafficking and forced
labor in the country and included a deputy director, police and
immigration officers, a communications director, and a legal advisor;
the director resigned in 2014, and the unit was without permanent
leadership at the end of the reporting period. The unit trained
more than 100 government officials on trafficking indicators and
collaborated with authorities in Venezuela to investigate a suspected
trafficking ring.
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 regularize 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.
PROTECTIONThe government sustained efforts to identify and protect trafficking
victims. The government identified and referred eight foreign
trafficking victims to care—six sex trafficking and two forced
labor victims, seven female and one male victim—compared
with nine victims identified in 2013.
The counter-trafficking unit 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 Trinidad and Tobago
dollars ($157,000) on victim care and protection.
It 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 counter-trafficking unit established standard operating
procedures for reporting suspected trafficking cases. Immigration
officials reported using the operational guide for victim identification,
though procedures remained ad hoc in practice, and limited
interagency 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. The government
provided three foreign trafficking victims with work and residence
permits to remain in the country to assist law enforcement in
trafficking investigations, a best practice in victim protection and
reintegration.
Most foreign victims provided a statement prior to
repatriation. Victims that chose to participate in the trial process
were afforded witness protection and were able to return to their
home countries between court hearings. 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.
PREVENTIONThe government sustained limited efforts to prevent trafficking.
NGOs engaged in anti-trafficking work, however, reported a
continued lack of awareness among government stakeholders
and the general population. The government established an
inter-ministerial national taskforce on trafficking in accordance
with the anti-trafficking law.
The taskforce convened once during the reporting period and did not develop a draft national plan
of action, as mandated under its law. The counter-trafficking unit
drafted, but did not release, a public report on government
anti-trafficking efforts in 2014. The government did not launch a
sufficient country-wide official awareness campaign to educate
the public and officials about sex trafficking and forced labor.
In March 2015, the counter-trafficking unit launched a toll-free
hotline to receive reports of suspected human trafficking cases.
The government provided anti-trafficking training or guidance for
its diplomatic personnel. The government did not make efforts to
reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. Authorities did not
report any cases of child sex tourism investigated or prosecuted
during the reporting period
