Human trafficking in Antigua and Barbuda
Encyclopedia
Antigua and Barbuda
is a destination country for a small number of women from Guyana
, Haiti
, Jamaica
, and the Dominican Republic
subjected to trafficking
in persons, specifically forced prostitution
. To a lesser extent, it is reportedly also a destination country for women subjected to involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Business people from the Dominican Republic and Antiguan citizens acting as pimp
s and brothel
owners subject foreign women to forced prostitution primarily in four illegal brothels that operate in Antigua as well as in private residences that operate as brothels. Some of these foreign women voluntarily migrate
to Antigua to engage in prostitution but are subsequently subjected to force or coercion and become victims of sex trafficking. After their arrival, brothel managers confiscate their passport
s and threaten the victims with deportation
until they repay the brothel owner for travel and other expenses they were not aware they had incurred. Some other foreign victims of sex trafficking enter the country legally with work permits as “entertainers” then are subsequently forced to engage in prostitution.
Despite limited resources and a relatively small number of victims, the government identified possible cases of human trafficking, provided training to law enforcement officials, provided victims with shelter and services, and continued to run public awareness and education programs. No trafficking offenders have been arrested or prosecuted, however, and law enforcement officers continue to treat some probable victims as criminals.
Existing statutes such as Section 18 of the Sexual Offenses Act of 1995 prohibit some sex trafficking offenses and related offenses, though these were not used to prosecute sex trafficking offenders during the year. Prescribed penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for forced prostitution are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes. There were no reported efforts to prosecute trafficking offenders under existing laws covering forced adult or child labor
. Labor officials reportedly inspected workplaces periodically, and reported no instances of the forced labor of children or adults. Law enforcement and immigration
agencies did not yet have sufficient training, funding, and equipment to effectively follow up on requests from the anti-trafficking coalition to investigate suspected cases of sexual
and domestic servitude. Immigration officers continued to summarily deport foreign women found engaging in illegal prostitution without first determining whether the women were possible victims of sex trafficking.
Under Antiguan law, it is a crime for employers to confiscate their employees’ passports or other identity and travel documents. Police helped probable trafficking victims to recover their passports and other personal documents that had been confiscated by their employers. No employers, however, were arrested or prosecuted for illegally depriving their employees of their passports or travel documents. Individual immigration officials were reportedly complicit in the sex trafficking of two women during the year. The Gender Affairs Directorate did not yet receive a satisfactory response to its 2008 request that the immigration department conduct a review of why immigration officials had issued work permits to foreign women who were almost certain to engage in an illegal activity such as prostitution, and who had indeed been subjected to debt bondage
and commercial sexual exploitation after they entered the country.
-speaking volunteers to assist with suspected cases of trafficking involving foreign nationals. Other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provided services such as health screening and assistance in repatriation
.
Unlike most other government officials, police and immigration officers made no effort to identify victims among vulnerable populations, such as foreign women in prostitution, and they continued to treat potential trafficking victims as criminals. As yet, Antiguan law does not allow time for immigration officials to investigate whether an illegal migrant is or may be a trafficking victim before he or she must be deported; some foreigners detained for immigration violations likely were trafficking victims. In most cases involving possible trafficking victims, foreign women without proper documentation were deported for immigration violations before officials attempted to identify whether any were trafficking victims and what kind of protection or care any potential victims may have needed. The government offered no legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they would face hardship or retribution. The government did not encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes.
groups, NGOs, and community activists and advocates. The coalition, under the leadership of the Gender Affairs Directorate, met at the end of every month to discuss suspected cases, formulate strategies to address them, and follow up with law enforcement to conduct investigations.
The coalition’s national action plan focused on educating immigrants, the general public, and front-line workers on human trafficking; established a spokesperson to represent the coalition; combined trafficking outreach and protection efforts with the Gender Affairs Directorate’s crisis hotline; and reviewed anti-trafficking legislation
and statutory instruments. The government also formed individual partnerships with regional and local NGOs, religious representatives and community advocates to better organize their anti-trafficking efforts and outreach. The government did not carry out or sponsor any programs to reduce demand for commercial sex during the reporting period.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
is a destination country for a small number of women from Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
subjected to trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
in persons, specifically forced prostitution
Forced prostitution
Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution, is the act of performing sexual activity in exchange for money on a non-voluntary basis. There are a wide range of entry routes into prostitution, ranging from "voluntary and deliberate" entry, "semi-voluntary" based on pressure of...
. To a lesser extent, it is reportedly also a destination country for women subjected to involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Business people from the Dominican Republic and Antiguan citizens acting as pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
s and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
owners subject foreign women to forced prostitution primarily in four illegal brothels that operate in Antigua as well as in private residences that operate as brothels. Some of these foreign women voluntarily migrate
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
to Antigua to engage in prostitution but are subsequently subjected to force or coercion and become victims of sex trafficking. After their arrival, brothel managers confiscate their passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s and threaten the victims with deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
until they repay the brothel owner for travel and other expenses they were not aware they had incurred. Some other foreign victims of sex trafficking enter the country legally with work permits as “entertainers” then are subsequently forced to engage in prostitution.
Despite limited resources and a relatively small number of victims, the government identified possible cases of human trafficking, provided training to law enforcement officials, provided victims with shelter and services, and continued to run public awareness and education programs. No trafficking offenders have been arrested or prosecuted, however, and law enforcement officers continue to treat some probable victims as criminals.
Prosecution
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda made minimal progress in its anti-human trafficking law enforcement efforts over the last year. Authorities assisted probable victims of trafficking, but no trafficking offenders were arrested or prosecuted during the year. Antiguan law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, although forced and compulsory labor are prohibited in the Constitution.Existing statutes such as Section 18 of the Sexual Offenses Act of 1995 prohibit some sex trafficking offenses and related offenses, though these were not used to prosecute sex trafficking offenders during the year. Prescribed penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for forced prostitution are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes. There were no reported efforts to prosecute trafficking offenders under existing laws covering forced adult or child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
. Labor officials reportedly inspected workplaces periodically, and reported no instances of the forced labor of children or adults. Law enforcement and immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
agencies did not yet have sufficient training, funding, and equipment to effectively follow up on requests from the anti-trafficking coalition to investigate suspected cases of sexual
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
and domestic servitude. Immigration officers continued to summarily deport foreign women found engaging in illegal prostitution without first determining whether the women were possible victims of sex trafficking.
Under Antiguan law, it is a crime for employers to confiscate their employees’ passports or other identity and travel documents. Police helped probable trafficking victims to recover their passports and other personal documents that had been confiscated by their employers. No employers, however, were arrested or prosecuted for illegally depriving their employees of their passports or travel documents. Individual immigration officials were reportedly complicit in the sex trafficking of two women during the year. The Gender Affairs Directorate did not yet receive a satisfactory response to its 2008 request that the immigration department conduct a review of why immigration officials had issued work permits to foreign women who were almost certain to engage in an illegal activity such as prostitution, and who had indeed been subjected to debt bondage
Debt bondage
Debt bondage is when a person pledges him or herself against a loan. In debt bondage, the services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services' duration may be undefined...
and commercial sexual exploitation after they entered the country.
Protection
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda continued solid efforts to offer victims medical, psychological, legal, and social services. As the government lacked sufficient resources to build a permanent, secure shelter for trafficking victims, the Gender Affairs Directorate established a series of emergency safe havens. This network consists of several locations provided by businesses, churches, clinics, and private individuals where trafficking victims can be securely sheltered out of reach of their victimizers. The Gender Affairs Directorate received funds to coordinate the work of the National Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons and to provide legal, health, advocacy, and crisis services accessible to all victims of trafficking, regardless of nationality. The Gender Affairs Directorate continued to recruit SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking volunteers to assist with suspected cases of trafficking involving foreign nationals. Other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provided services such as health screening and assistance in repatriation
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
.
Unlike most other government officials, police and immigration officers made no effort to identify victims among vulnerable populations, such as foreign women in prostitution, and they continued to treat potential trafficking victims as criminals. As yet, Antiguan law does not allow time for immigration officials to investigate whether an illegal migrant is or may be a trafficking victim before he or she must be deported; some foreigners detained for immigration violations likely were trafficking victims. In most cases involving possible trafficking victims, foreign women without proper documentation were deported for immigration violations before officials attempted to identify whether any were trafficking victims and what kind of protection or care any potential victims may have needed. The government offered no legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they would face hardship or retribution. The government did not encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes.
Prevention
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda sustained modest efforts to prevent human trafficking and increase public awareness of this crime. The government continued to run awareness campaigns, many in English and Spanish, in the form of anti-trafficking brochures and radio spots. Country-wide anti-trafficking activities were coordinated by the National Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons, made up of the Ministries of Social Welfare, Social Transformation, Health, Labor and Gender Affairs, the Immigration department, and the Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force as well as partners from various civil societyCivil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
groups, NGOs, and community activists and advocates. The coalition, under the leadership of the Gender Affairs Directorate, met at the end of every month to discuss suspected cases, formulate strategies to address them, and follow up with law enforcement to conduct investigations.
The coalition’s national action plan focused on educating immigrants, the general public, and front-line workers on human trafficking; established a spokesperson to represent the coalition; combined trafficking outreach and protection efforts with the Gender Affairs Directorate’s crisis hotline; and reviewed anti-trafficking legislation
Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda
The Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda consists of:*HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda*The Senate *The House of Representatives -External links:**...
and statutory instruments. The government also formed individual partnerships with regional and local NGOs, religious representatives and community advocates to better organize their anti-trafficking efforts and outreach. The government did not carry out or sponsor any programs to reduce demand for commercial sex during the reporting period.