Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Jamaica.htm
Jamaica is a source,
transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the
purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. The majority of victims are
poor Jamaican women and girls, and increasingly boys, who are trafficked from
rural to urban and tourist areas for commercial sexual exploitation. Victims
are typically recruited by persons close to them or newspaper advertisements
promoting work as spa attendants, masseuses, or dancers; after being
recruited, victims are coerced into prostitution. Jamaican children also may
be subjected to conditions of forced labor as domestic servants. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 Check out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you like
to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Social factors and
human trafficking jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070129/cleisure/cleisure1.html [accessed 15
February 2011] old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070129/cleisure/cleisure1.html [accessed 19
December 2016] In the context of
Jamaica's problem of violent crime, particularly homicides, human
trafficking, especially the internal movement of young women to work as
exotic dancers or prostitutes, may not be seen by many as a serious matter.
Indeed, many will claim that most of these people are free and willing
participants in an open market; except that too many of the participants are
minors whose ignorance is exploited. Having the laws,
therefore, is good. They must be enforced. But ultimately, a solution to this
matter of human trafficking, and its worst form, the exploitation, involves
other factors. Not least of these is to 'normalise'
Jamaica's murder rate so that people have a sense that there other crimes
worthy of prosecution. We also have to get the economy right so that people
have real jobs and incomes and don't so easily fall into the clutches of the
exploiters. And we have to fix education, that great social leveller and the best route to a decent life. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Jamaica U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/jamaica/
[accessed 11 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR The government did
not effectively enforce the law. The vast majority of violators were not held
criminally accountable; between April 2019 and March, two persons were
charged with labor trafficking, and there were no convictions. The country
continued to be a source and destination for persons subjected to forced
labor, including in domestic work, begging, and the informal sector. Gang members subjected boys to forced criminal activity (see
section 7.c.). Foreign citizens were compelled into forced labor aboard foreign-flagged
fishing vessels operating in the country’s waters. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Government surveys
estimated that more than 53,000 children ages five to 17 were engaged in child
labor, mostly in the informal sector. Government agencies did not inspect the
informal sector, limiting the government’s ability to enforce child labor
laws. Children worked in farming, fishing, and in public markets. Children
also worked as domestic helpers in homes or in street work such as peddling
goods, services, begging, and garbage salvaging. Some children were subjected
to forced labor in these sectors. Children were
subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. Girls, sometimes coerced by family
members, were subjected to sex trafficking by men who provided monetary or
material payment to the girls or their families in exchange for sex acts.
Local observers reported this form of child sex trafficking may be widespread
in some communities. Violent criminal gangs used children for forced begging;
as lookouts, armed gunmen, and couriers of drugs and weapons; and for lottery
scams. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/jamaica/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 8 July
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Residents of
neighborhoods where criminal groups are influential are at a heightened risk of
becoming victims of human traffickers. Because of the poverty in certain
communities and high-profile tourism industry, child sex tourism is present
in some of Jamaica’s resort areas, according to local NGOs. 2017 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2018 www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ChildLaborReport_Book.pdf [accessed 18 April
2019] www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2017/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 29 April
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 537] Jamaica is a
destination and source country for commercial sexual exploitation of
children. Jamaican children are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and forced labor to countries including the United States, the United
Kingdom, and Canada. (2) Sources indicate
that children, sometimes at the behest of parents or criminal leaders
referred to as “dons,” are forced into commercial sexual exploitation. (1)
Children also continue to be recruited by criminal organizations to engage in
illicit activities, such as gang violence, guns and drug smuggling, and
financial fraud, including lottery scamming. (1; 13; 16) Child domestic
workers may be subjected to domestic servitude, and some children are
subjected to forced begging. Many children are
reported missing in Jamaica; some of these children may be subjected to
forced labor. (17). 'Too good to be
true' - Job offers lead to exploitation www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080629/lead/lead4.html [accessed 15
February 2011] old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080629/lead/lead4.html [accessed 19
December 2016] The victims - Victims
of human trafficking are poor Jamaican women and girls, and increasingly
boys, who are trafficked from rural to urban and tourist areas for commercial
sexual exploitation. They are
typically recruited by family members or newspaper advertisements promoting
work as spa attendants, masseuses or dancers.
After being recruited, victims are coerced into prostitution. Jamaican
children also may be subjected to conditions of forced labour as domestic
servants. Traffickers also invite
youngsters to live with families, go to school and get an education by word
of mouth, usually because they do not want to leave a trace. Ministry fighting
hard to combat human trafficking www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071001/news/news4.html [accessed 15
February 2011] old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071001/news/news4.html [accessed 19
December 2016] More than 150
youngsters, from WARNING SIGNS q Beware of
'modern-day slavery' or trafficking in children. q Does a job or other
opportunity sound too good to be true? q Are you being
promised lots of money, a great life, and lots of material goods? q Are you being
chosen because you are young, good looking, and of a particular sex? q Is it unimportant
that you have no skills or qualifications? q Will somebody get
travel and/ or identification documents for you? q If you are to go
abroad, will you be illegal in the other country? q Are you being urged
to lie if you are to travel abroad? Shelters for
Victims of Human Trafficking to be Established Soon in Jamaica www.caribbeanpressreleases.com/articles/2090/1/Shelters-for-Victims-of-Human-Trafficking-to-be-Established-Soon-in-Jamaica/Page1.html [accessed 15
February 2011] jis.gov.jm/shelters-for-victims-of-human-trafficking-to-be-established-soon/ [accessed 19
September 2016] Permanent Secretary
in the Ministry of Justice, Carol Palmer has assured that the establishment
of shelters for victims of human trafficking would be done in short order, so
that Jamaica can be "well in the reach" of a Tier One rating from
the United States Department of State by June 2008. "We are in the
process of coming up with shelters. Notwithstanding that, we are making
arrangements with the NGO community to provide support for our victims as we
get our shelters in operation," Mrs. Palmer informed stakeholders
yesterday. Companies
Trafficking Persons will not be Allowed to Thrive jis.gov.jm/companies-trafficking-persons-will-not-be-allowed-to-thrive-palmer/ [accessed 31 August
2014] Since April 2006,
nine victims of human trafficking have been rescued in A significant
measure in the national attack on human trafficking is the establishment of
the Trafficking in Persons Unit in the Jamaica Constabulary Force to handle
cases of human trafficking. A drive to
educate the public about the issue is considered as seminal to the success of
the effort. Consequently NATFATIP is collaborating with the Jamaica Library
Service to host a series of public education forums in libraries across the
island. The mass media is also being used as a platform to transmit messages
against human trafficking. Companies involved
in human trafficking Howard www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070428/lead/lead5.html [accessed 15
February 2011] old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070428/lead/lead5.html [accessed 19
December 2016] "There are
firms in NO NAMES - Mr. Nicholson,
who is also Attorney-General, did not name any of the companies, but said any
organisation that conceals, withholds, removes or
destroys documents relating to the movement of persons, will be penalised. He
added that the employee, once he or she can provide evidence of exploitation,
is eligible for retribution payment. Two men accused of
luring teenager into prostitution remanded The www.ziplaw.com/news/archives/000649.htm [accessed 15 February
2011] www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/106012_Two-men-accused-of-luring-teenager-into-prostitution-remanded [accessed 19
September 2016] www.ziplaw.com/news/archives/000649.htm [accessed 7 June
2017] Both were caught,
court documents said, selling a 14 year-old schoolgirl to an undercover US
investigator, who was posing as a tourist, for US$400 for the purposes of
prostitution. Arrangements, the court documents said, were also made to pay the
girl another US$500 for other sexual services. Human trafficking
warning! Gov't to go after parents who get children involved The At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 7
September 2011] Attorney General
and Minister of Justice A J Nicholson says his ministry has been examining
ways in which laws can be enacted to prosecute parents who knowingly allow
their children to become involved in human trafficking. Police shut down
sex auction in Culloden The At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 7
September 2011] The police have
effectively clamped down on the trading of exotic dancers in Culloden, where
young girls and women gathered weekly to be auctioned off to club owners, according
to Superintendent Devon Watkiss, head of the
Organized Crime Investigative Division. Caribbean Media
Corporation, 2005-06-10 www.libertadlatina.org/Car_Jamaica_US_Offers_to_Help_Fight_Trafficking_06-10-2005.htm [accessed 15
February 2011] Ms Owen said the
measures being proposed include the establishment of a small police unit to
monitor the trafficking of persons and public outreach campaigns. "Last year we did send out an action
plan to Human trafficking
in Caribbean Net News, www.caribbeannewsnow.com/caribnet/2005/03/18/trafficking.shtml [accessed 15
February 2011] Human trafficking
is a reality in Testimony of
Professor Mohamed Mattar Co-Director, United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary, July 7, 2004 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 7
September 2011] Based upon the analysis
conducted by The Protection Project on these cases, which the Department of
Justice kindly made available, I can say that the majority of victims that
are trafficked into the U.S. come from countries in Africa, especially
Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Tonga; Latin
America, especially Jamaica, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala; Asia,
especially South Korea, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Thailand and China
and Russia. They are trafficked to
different states, in particular, California, Florida, New York, Hawaii,
Georgia, Alaska, Texas and North Carolina. Mounting concerns
about sexual exploitation of children John Myers Jr., www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040613/news/news4.html [accessed 15
February 2011] old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040613/news/news4.html [accessed 19
December 2016] Frequent reports of
children's involvement in Jamaica's sex trade has forced advocate groups back
to the drawing board to devise new strategies to combat the problem of sexual
exploitation of the under-aged.
"We recognise that it is a growing
problem of (under-aged) children being involved in the sex trade. We (are)
talking about go-go dancers, in brothels, massage parlours,
clubs and bars," Child Care and
Protection Act Strengthens Government's Resolve Dionne At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 7
September 2011] Passed in both
Houses of Parliament in March this year, the Act is intended to protect
children from abuse and neglect. It also makes persons accountable for the
children left in their care. Sex tourism as
economic aid The Guardian, July
12, 2003 www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/11/1057783358449.html?oneclick=true [accessed 15
February 2011] Middle-aged women
jetting into Many white Western
women come to Negril for precisely that. Negril, like some
resorts in the Those who admit to
coming to Negril for sex believe they are helping the men and the local
economy by giving them money and gifts. Report on the
Situation Of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children And Adolescents in
the Report to the
Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) by Dr. Ariel
Gustavo Forselledo, Coordinator of the Program on
the Integral Promotion of Children's Rights, www.iin.oas.org/Congreso%20Explotation%20Sexual/Inform_IIN_ing.PDF [accessed 29 April
2020] INTRODUCTION - In June 1999,
the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), at its twenty-ninth
regular session, held in Guatemala, adopted a resolution (AG3804/99) “to
instruct the Inter-American Children’s Institute to deal systematically with
the problem of the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the
region (...) in coordination with other organs, agencies, and entities of the
United Nations system and other relevant organizations, in such a way as to
propose the development of strategies and plans of action aimed at preventing
and combating this scourge.” Concluding Observations
of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 6 June 2003 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/jamaica2003.html [accessed 15
February 2011] [54] The Committee
is concerned at the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children,
including street children, and the lack of accurate data and adequate laws
and policies in this regard. Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch [accessed 15
February 2011] ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61733.htm [accessed 9 February
2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– The country was also a transit country for illegal migrants moving to the The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/jamaica.htm [accessed 15
February 2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - A 2001 study funded by ILO-IPEC found that children
as young as 10 years old are sexually exploited and engaged in prostitution,
catering to tourists. Young girls are
hired by “go-go” clubs or massage parlors.
Children are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation and
pornography. CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - The Child Care and Protection Act of 2004 prohibits
the sale or trafficking of any child; however, the term “trafficking” is not
defined, resulting in difficulty enforcing the statute. Assault, immigration, or customs laws may
also be applied to prosecute cases of child trafficking. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
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