Press Releases

The Bahamas Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) for 2007

(The Bahamas - Special Cases)

Released June 12, 2007

 

The Bahamas

Limited data suggest a possible labor trafficking problem in The Bahamas.  The Bahamas remains a special case for a second consecutive year, because the presence of large numbers of undocumented migrants in the country continues to raise concerns that there may be a significant number of trafficking victims in need of assistance.  To be more proactive, the goernment should consider enacting laws to prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, particularly forced labor of adults, and expand training for officials to identify and investigate potential trafficking situations.  Providing greatre assistance and legal protections for trafficking victims is an additional goal.

Scope and Magnitude

The Bahamas may be a destination country fro men, women and children trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation.  Apporximately 25 percent of the country's population consists of Haitian nationals, who are mostly in the country illegally.  Of the 20,000 to 50,000 undocumented Haitian immigrants in The Bahamas, some may be subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude.  Although these migrants arrive voluntarily in The Bahamas to work as domestic servants, gardeners, and in construction, local sources indicate that labor exploitation of these workers may be widespread; employers coerce them to work long hours for no pay or below minimum wage by withholding documents or threatening arrest and deportation.  ome commercial sexual exploitation of women and minors also has been identified in the country.

Government efforts

The government has established an interagency Trafficking-In-Persons task Force, which participates in public conferences and anti-trafficking training.  While reports of human trafficking in The Bahamas may be limited, the government has taken solid steps to prevent child labor and the commercial sexual exploitation of children by conducting outreach campaigns and establishing a national hotline for reporting abuse.

To further advance its anti-trafficking efforts, the government should acknowledge and investigate the potential scope of the problem and work with its legislature to pass a comprehensive law criminalizing all forms of human trafficking.  Under current Bahamian law, Title X of its statute Law can be used to prosecute traffickers for sexuak-exploitation offenses.  These provisions carry penalties up to eight years' imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties for rape and other serious offenses.  While The Bahamas has well-developed civil labor laws that guarantee workers a minimum wage, amximum working hours and other legal protections, it does not criminalize slavery or forced labor practices.  Moreover, migrant workers usually do not have access to labor protections under Bahamian law.  During the reporting period, the government did not actively investigate or prosecute any alleged trafficking cases.  However, Bahamian judges and prosecutors participated in anti-trafficking training, and the government works closely with U.S. authorities on international law enforcement efforts.

Victim protection efforts in The Bahamas are extremely limited.  The country has no specialized shelters for trafficking victims, although domestic violence services could be expanded to trafficking victims.  NGO's and faith-based organizations working with undocumented migrants have expressed a strong desire to help trsfficking victims.  The government also has no formal procedures for identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, such as persons detained for immigration violations.  The Bahamas has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Report.

 

Click here for the complete 2007 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report:   

(http://www.state.gov/g/tip/)