TIP task force to introduce SOPs for prosecution of offenders

The Ministerial Task Force for Trafficking in Persons has announced actions to launch Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the prosecution of persons associated with this offence, to ensure that the best practices are upheld.
Guyana Times understands that this involves interviewing both victims and suspects and investigating the crime with the intention of preserving evidence and building stronger cases.
In what was described as “modern slavery”, the TIP Act denotes the offence as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force”.
Through the task force, agencies under the Public Security Ministry have been monitoring the frequency of such cases and implementing strategies to curb this issue. It was noted that the subvention to Non-Governmental Organisations was increased and additional facilities for males were created.
“The Ministry of Social Protection has increased its subventions to Non-Governmental Organisations that manage victim care facilities, to ensure the protection and safety of victims and to guarantee that they are given the necessary counselling and other resources to move forward with their lives.  It has also increased overall, the number of care facilities, adding transitional facilities, and creating a space for male victims.”
One of these organisations is the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO), which has been helpful in identifying trafficking in the mining communities.
In the US State Department’s annual TIP Report for 2017, Guyana was elevated as a tier one status, which it retained in 2018.  This indicates that the country meets the minimum standard for eliminating human trafficking along with increased funding to assist victims.
However, Women’s Rights Activist, Karen De Souza had recently positioned that the country lacks the institutional capacity to assist victims of human trafficking.
The outspoken activist stated that financial and human resources are the most important aspects in building capability to effectively support persons who are liberated from trafficking rings. For her, those resources are still lacking to ensure that these laws are upheld.
“There are a number of areas that needs to be looked at more closely in relation to implementation of the law that exist and the resources also have to be provided for the full implementation of the law, as in how do you support a person that has been trafficked to retake their lives and put things together for a person to become a free, functioning and emotionally secure human being? I’m saying we don’t have all those resources at the moment.”