35 families benefit from anti-trafficking outreach in Mahdia

Thirty-five families in Mahdia, Region Eight, were the focus of an anti-trafficking outreach conducted by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) Unit, in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force.
The four-day exercise, held from August 26 to 29, 2025, aimed at raising awareness and building community capacity to prevent exploitation.
Held under the theme “Building the Bridge and Bridging the Gaps”, the interactive sessions engaged households on strengthening family life through effective parenting techniques, monitoring children’s use of cell phones, fostering positive parental influence, and creating open and supportive home environments.
In addition, capacity-building sessions targeted Government officials and representatives of the Guyana Defence Force, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and other regional agencies. Training covered the definition and forms of human trafficking, how to identify indicators of exploitation, referral pathways, and procedures for reporting suspected cases.
Overall, the collaborative effort sensitised more than 1200 people across the region, significantly boosting awareness and strengthening local capacity in the fight against human trafficking.

In 2024, Guyana recorded 416 victims of human trafficking, despite a goal to reduce the number of reported cases to 250 in 2025.
According to the US State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, Guyana identified 407 victims – comprising 274 women and seven girls in sex trafficking, and 116 men and 10 boys in labour trafficking – highlighting gender-specific vulnerabilities across both sexes.
National data reveals that 87 per cent of trafficking cases in Guyana involve female victims, many of whom are foreign nationals, particularly from Venezuela.
Notably, Guyana has sustained a Tier 1 ranking from the US Department of State for its efforts to combat human trafficking for the seventh consecutive year – a testament to the Government’s consistent efforts in victim identification, awareness raising, and proactive investigations.