2017 Trafficking in Persons Report
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are often subjected to sex trafficking in Italy after accepting trafficking victims who were provided government shelter and JAMAICA promises of employment as dancers, singers, models, restaurant services, and increased awareness-raising efforts. However, the servers, or caregivers. Romanian and Albanian criminal groups government did not meet the minimum standards in several force Eastern European women and girls into commercial sex. key areas. The government did not hold complicit officials Nigerians represent 21 percent of victims, with numbers nearly accountable, publish a standard victim protection protocol, doubling in 2016 to approximately 7,500 victims. Nigerian or publish an annual report monitoring its efforts. women and girls are subjected to sex and labor trafficking through debt bondage and coercion through voodoo rituals. Men from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe are subjected to forced labor through debt bondage in agriculture in southern Italy and in construction, house cleaning, hotels, and restaurants in the north. Chinese men and women are forced to work in textile factories in Milan, Prato, Rome, and Naples. Children subjected to sex trafficking, forced begging, and forced criminal activities are from Romania, Nigeria, Brazil, Morocco, and Italy, particularly Romani and Sinti boys who may have been born in Italy. Transgender individuals from Brazil and Argentina are subjected to sex trafficking in Italy. Unaccompanied children RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JAMAICA are at risk of trafficking, particularly boys from Somalia, Eritrea, Vigorously prosecute, convict, and punish traffickers, including Bangladesh, Egypt, and Afghanistan, who often work in shops, any officials complicit in sex or labor trafficking; increase bars, restaurants, and bakeries to repay smuggling debts. Italian efforts to identify and assist victims of forced labor and sex men engage in child sex tourism abroad, including in countries trafficking, including sex trafficking of Jamaican children; across Africa, Latin America, and East Asia. dedicate adequate funding to implement the national action plan; fully implement government-wide standard operating The estimated number of trafficking victims in Italy increased procedures to guide police, labor inspectors, child welfare significantly due to the continued dramatic flow of migrants officials, and health workers in the proactive identification of and asylum-seekers arriving by boat from sub-Saharan Africa. local and foreign victims of forced labor and sex trafficking, Italy received 181,436 irregular arrivals by sea in 2016, added including children exploited in commercial sex in night clubs, to the 154,000 arrivals in 2015. More than one-half requested bars, and massage parlors; continue to support victims during asylum, demonstrating possible vulnerability to trafficking. One the criminal justice process whether the victim resides in international organization estimated more than 7,500 likely Jamaica or abroad to ensure the admissibility of testimony; trafficking victims arrived from Nigeria alone in 2016, compared implement the national rapporteur’s mandate to investigate to an estimated 2,800 in 2015. Most rely on smugglers at some reports of human trafficking, report on violations of the rights point during their journey and in some instances are subjected of victims, and provide an annual report to the government; to human trafficking en route or upon arrival in Italy. Although and continue efforts to raise awareness about human trafficking the government operated temporary centers throughout the of both Jamaican citizens and foreign nationals. country to house asylum-seekers, the system was stretched beyond capacity; international organizations reported increased incidents of labor and sex trafficking of asylum-seekers as a PROSECUTION result of the reception centers being unsuited for victims of The government maintained efforts to investigate, prosecute, trafficking and too accessible to traffickers who recruit victims. and convict traffickers. The government prohibits all forms of A shortage of shelters also resulted in less capacity to adequately trafficking through its comprehensive Trafficking in Persons monitor conditions. Under Italian law, asylum-seekers are not (Prevention, Suppression, and Punishment) Act. The sentence allowed to work while their applications are under review, and for trafficking in persons and conspiracy to commit trafficking migrants often sought illegal employment in informal sectors, is up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine, or both. The sentence increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. Of total arrivals in for aggravated trafficking in persons—in cases of serious injury, 2016, 25,846 were unaccompanied children, mostly boys and repeat offenses, or by a person in a position of authority a majority from Africa. Many went north to other European among other factors—is up to 30 years imprisonment, a fine, countries, while others looked for employment outside protected or both. These penalties are sufficiently stringent; however, shelters. Children remaining in Italy were particularly vulnerable when allowing for a fine in lieu of imprisonment, the prescribed to trafficking in the informal agriculture, hospitality, and punishment is not commensurate with those for other serious construction sectors, or were forced by traffickers into begging. crimes, such as rape. In April 2014, officials enacted the Criminal Justice Act, which may be used to prosecute traffickers who are members of a “criminal organization” with penalties of five to 15 years imprisonment or a fine or both. A number of new JAMAICA: TIER 2 laws, including most notably the Evidence (Amendment) Act of 2015, the DNA Evidence Act of 2015, and the Jury (Amendment) The Government of Jamaica does not fully meet the minimum Act of 2016, are expected to strengthen the judicial system’s standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making ability to admit relevant evidence in trafficking cases and significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated improve the jury system. The Jamaican cabinet approved an increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; amendment to the Trafficking Act to allow such cases to be therefore, Jamaica remained on Tier 2. The government tried by a judge rather than a jury; the parliament will consider demonstrated increasing efforts by securing two convictions, the amendment in 2017. prosecuting nine trafficking cases against 13 alleged traffickers, and investigating 40 potential new trafficking cases. The Authorities initiated 40 new trafficking investigations compared government developed a new victim protection protocol with 30 in 2015; 30 of these investigations led to police for health, labor, and child welfare officials, identified eight operations in search of traffickers, victims, and evidence. Officials 223 prosecuted three new trafficking cases and continued prosecuting difficulty securing witness testimony of victims who had been six trafficking cases against 10 alleged traffickers compared to repatriated and of those who feared reprisal. The government nine cases against 10 alleged traffickers in the previous reporting encouraged victim testimony by providing victims an orientation period. The government secured two convictions, compared to the criminal justice process and equipping some courtrooms to two in the previous reporting period. The primary trafficker for remote video testimony to enable testimony from abroad. received concurrent sentences of 16 years for rape, 14 years for Authorities provided 6.3 million Jamaican dollars ($49,220) for trafficking in persons, and 10 years for facilitating trafficking in victim assistance in 2016, compared with 13 million Jamaican persons and was ordered to pay two million Jamaican dollars dollars ($101,600) for victim assistance in 2015. In accordance ($15,630) in restitution to the victim. The other trafficker with Jamaica’s anti-trafficking law, the government provided received a three-year suspended sentence. The independent relief from deportation for one foreign national victim identified JAMAICA commission of investigations had authority to investigate all in the previous reporting period; this relief also included food, alleged abuses by police officers and government officials, but long-term shelter, education, and counseling. The government in practice does not pursue allegations of trafficking. The former coordinated with another Caribbean government in preparation deputy chairman of Jamaica’s anti-doping committee faced for the repatriation of a Jamaican victim, including by preparing charges of living off the earnings of prostitution, a crime under relevant documents. There were no reports of the government the Sexual Offenses Act; the prosecution remained ongoing at punishing victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result the close of the reporting period. of being subjected to human trafficking. The Ministry of Justice allocated $32.5 million Jamaican dollars ($253,900) for anti-trafficking efforts in fiscal year 2016-2017. PREVENTION The government trained 1,063 police officers on trafficking, The government increased efforts to prevent trafficking. The compared to 563 in the previous reporting period. The Jamaican national anti-trafficking taskforce, through sub-committees Constabulary Force (JCF) trained 70 judges and approximately on prevention, protection, and prosecution, continued to 2,000 justices of the peace responsible for deciding whether implement