KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica continues to make advancements in tackling the scourge of human trafficking.

Manager of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Secretariat in the Ministry of National Security, Audrey Budhi, said among the achievements is the establishment of a specialised unit in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for the investigation of cases.

This unit, the Anti-TIP Vice Squad, is responsible for the rescue of over 125 victims of trafficking in Jamaica.

There has also been the creation of a specialised unit at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute cases, and the establishment of the Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons. The National Rapporteur, Diahann Gordon Harrison, reported to Parliament.

Other measures include the development of management guidelines and protection protocols to guide officials in treating with victims. A database also now exists for TIP, Budhi highlights.

“As children are among the vulnerable group who are trafficked, the Government has sought to educate them about the whole matter of TIP. With that in mind, a TIP curriculum was developed and introduced in secondary schools as well as the creation of a comic book for children under age 12,” she said.

Health care workers, police, immigration officials and labour officers also play a part in identifying if a person is being trafficked.

There are now Standard Operating Procedures to guide these individuals as they carry out their duties.

“TIP handbooks were also developed through the Child Protection Compact project through a grant from the United States Department of State and include screening tools, referral mechanisms, definitions and indicators,” Budhi stated.She noted that Jamaica has ensured that the issue of TIP is given direct attention with the backing of legislation.

Under the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression and Punishment) Act 2007 (with amendments in 2013, 2018 and 2021), the crime is punishable by 20 years in prison.

Aggravating circumstances, including the trafficking of a child, can result in an additional 10 years behind bars for perpetrators.

In 2021, the TIP Act was amended to empower the Minister of National Security, by Order, subject to affirmative resolution, to make amendments to monetary penalties stipulated in the Act.

Since the enactment of the legislation, there have been eight convictions and one appeal.

Trafficking in Persons, which is also referred to as modern day slavery, involves the recruitment, harbouring or transfer of a human being for the purpose of exploitation.

The most common forms of trafficking are sexual exploitation [including prostitution] or the use of victims for forced labour, such as domestic servitude.

Other forms of trafficking include forced labour, which can be agricultural work, manufacturing, janitorial services, hotel services, construction, health and geriatric care, working in hair and nail salons or dancing in exotic night clubs.

Trafficking in persons also involves forced marriage/sexual relationships, child pornography, forced begging, gang and/or criminal activities and trafficking for the removal of organs.

“It is important to note that the term ‘trafficking’ may suggest movement of some kind, but it does not require any kind of physical movement. Many or most trafficking victims are exploited against their will,” she said, noting that some “give their consent or actively participate in their own exploitation.”

The National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (NATFATIP) was established in 2005 as a multi-agency approach by the Government of Jamaica to strengthen Jamaica’s legislative, institutional and operational capacity to combat TIP.

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons will be observed on July 30 under the theme: ‘Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind’.

-JIS