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Contact:
Claudia Monlouis
Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - The Division of Gender Relations in the
Ministry of Health, Human Services and Family Affairs has underscored the need
for Saint Lucians to be further educated on the scourge of human trafficking.
Two recently convened workshops by the Division of Gender Relations, held in the
north and south of the island centred on human trafficking. The workshops
addressed the roles that the public and private sectors and members of the
society can undertake in order to curb the growth of human trafficking.
Gender Relations Officer Charms Gaspard says as regional borders become less
defined, it becomes more pressing for persons to understand such issues. “This
is being done by raising awareness and boosting information dissemination on the
scope, characteristics and the risk of trafficking particularly among vulnerable
groups, government agencies and civil societies in general. We are also working
on building local capacity to identify and assist victims of trafficking.”
Ms. Gaspard says locally human trafficking is not being viewed as a significant
problem. However she says there is cause for concern in several circles. “There
are several push factors such as unemployment, the prospect of higher earnings
in another country among others which makes us vulnerable as a country of
origin. Where unsuspecting individuals can be trafficked out of the country or
may travel to another country and fall victim to human trafficking.”
The workshops were held on October 13th and 20th and were reportedly very well
attended.
Meanwhile the Division of Gender Relations is continuing its quest to sensitize
the nation on the dangers of human trafficking. Following on the workshops to
sensitise key persons to impart such knowledge to the general public, Gender
Relations Officer Charms Gaspard says educators and the media should assist in
disseminating factual information.
The department says the public should be trained to look out for the red flags,
including carefully crafted advertisements used as a means to attract would be
victims. These are usually presented through the Internet and other media. Ms.
Gaspard says this is why the issue of advertisements or commercials was
addressed at the recent workshops. “We presented persons with very attractive
advertisements and basically had them to tell us how they impacted on them and
to gauge their reaction.”
While legislation against human trafficking is still in the pipeline, the Gender
Relations Department views information as the best tool to go hand in hand with
the law. “Immigration officers and law enforcement officers were among those
expressing concern about the lack of legislation to deal directly with the issue
of human trafficking. However although there is not legislation pertaining to
trafficking specifically, there are other areas that persons can be prosecuted
under our criminal code; for example for labour, servitude or slavery,” says
Gaspard.
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