THE Guyana Chronicle of November 27, 2013, reported on the rescue of three Guyanese teenaged girls in Suriname. According to the report, the three girls were held against their will and forced to perform duties as sex workers at a brothel located in the interior of that country. The report further stated that three people were arrested, including a Guyanese woman who owns the place.The Trinidad Express of October 31, 2013, carried a story with the headline: “Million-dollar sex trade in T&T.” The report was based on a news conference held after a meeting between Trinidad’s National Security and Justice Ministers and their Venezuelan counterparts. The officials from the two countries reportedly met to discuss initiatives to crack down on the illegal trafficking of humans, drugs and guns and protecting the borders of both countries.

At the same news conference, the ministers disclosed that women were trafficked into Trinidad and Tobago for the purpose of prostitution. They specifically mentioned 14 cases where women from Venezuela, Colombia and Guyana were trafficked to that country.
What is human trafficking?
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Trafficking in Persons refers to the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
From the above newspaper reports, it may appear as if “Trafficking in Persons” is confined to the Region, but that is not the case. Trafficking in Persons or Human Trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon, including Europe and the United States. The reason we don’t hear of more cases is not indicative of it not happening. It has more to do with it not being discovered as the people who perpetrate these crimes do it secretly. Victims are usually kept in confined spaces. And when they serve clients they are warned not to say anything as their family members may be harmed. For this reason, victims of “Trafficking in Persons” usually don’t tell anyone.
When cases are eventually discovered, it is usually found that the crime had often been ongoing for a period of time. Some cases are never discovered and the victims of these cases never get justice, allowing the perpetrators to get away with their crimes.
Most of those who end up as victims of Trafficking in Persons are recruited under false pretence. For example, they would respond to an appealing job offer, which appears in their local media. They are then usually transported to another town or country where their passports are taken away and they’re forced to have sex with multiple clients. Those who are rescued have a hard time recovering, as they often blame themselves for what they did or didn’t do.
Here in Guyana too there have been cases of “Trafficking in Persons.” In April of this year, local newspapers reported that a night club owner had been charged with human trafficking. The case involving an underaged Brazilian female who was allegedly held against her will at the business premise of the accused.
In another case, also dating back to April of this year, a serving member of the Guyana Police Force was charged with trafficking in persons. This case involved a 14-year-old girl who was reportedly taken to Kukuma in Region 7, where she was required to have sex with up to nine men.
Every year the United States State Department releases its “Trafficking In Persons Report” in which it ranks foreign governments, on their response to trafficking in persons in their countries. For several years the TIP report rapped Guyana for not doing enough to combat Trafficking In Persons. The Guyana government, using its own figures, has repeatedly rejected these reports, pointing to its public education and awareness campaigns.
However, we recognise that these campaigns may not be enough. What is needed is a concentrated multi-sectoral approach, such as what is being proposed for reining in interpersonal violence. There is a need for government to work together with NGOs such as the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO), an organisation dedicated to the welfare of women in the mining areas of the country.
According to the GWMO, exploitation of women is rife in the mining areas, but they are not getting enough support from the Guyana Police Force as well as the Ministry of Human Services. No one group or government department can stamp out Trafficking in Persons on its own. What is needed is a collective approach.