Human trafficking in Belize
Encyclopedia
Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

 is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children
Trafficking of children
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receiving of children for the purpose of exploitation....

 subjected to trafficking 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...

 and forced labor. The most common form of trafficking in Belize is the forced prostitution of children, particularly situations where poor families push their school-aged daughters to provide sexual favors to wealthy older men in exchange for school fees, money, and gifts. This “sugar daddy
Sugar Daddy
"Sugar Daddy" is a hit single for Motown quintet The Jackson 5 in late 1971.The song, which peaked at #3 on the R&B singles chart and #10 on the pop singles chart in the beginning of 1972, was one of the Jackson 5 hits produced by The Corporation: Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, and...

” phenomenon occurs in Belize and other Caribbean countries, but often is not recognized as a form of human trafficking by local communities or law enforcement personnel. Men, women, and children, particularly from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, migrate voluntarily to Belize in search of work; some may fall victim to forced prostitution in bars or to forced labor. In addition, young girls from Guatemala are involuntarily brought to Belize to work as prostitutes. In Belize, San Pedro there is a bar owner that regularly goes to Guatemala in search for young girls and bring them to work as prostitutes at their bar.In recent years, migrants from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 have been subjected to conditions of forced labor in Belize. Child sex tourism
Child sex tourism
Child sex tourism is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, that is commercially-facilitated child sexual abuse...

 has been identified as an emerging trend in Belize.

The Government of Belize does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Despite these efforts, notably the continued provision of assistance to foreign trafficking victims first identified in 2005 and 2008, the government did not convict or sentence any trafficking offenders last year, and did not make adequate efforts to systematically identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations. In spite of existing anti-trafficking legislation
National Assembly of Belize
The National Assembly of is the bicameral legislature of Belize. It is divided into the House of Representatives, with 29 members, and the Senate, with 13 members.- History :...

 and victim facilities, the government did not demonstrate appreciable progress in combating trafficking; therefore, Belize is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year.

Prosecution

The Government of Belize demonstrated considerable, but incomplete, efforts to apply law enforcement measures against trafficking offenders during the past year. Belize’s government prohibits all forms of trafficking through its Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Act of 2003, which prescribes punishment between one and five years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. These penalties are sufficiently stringent, but are not commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes such as rape, which carries a penalty of eight years to life imprisonment. Authorities conducted five anti-trafficking law enforcement operations during the reporting period; no cases of human trafficking were identified during these operations, but individuals were arrested for immigration offenses. Two prosecutions of labor trafficking offenses are pending before the courts; in both cases, the victims were adult males. There were no trafficking convictions during the reporting period, and there have been no trafficking convictions since 2005. Some international organizations describe Belize’s judicial system as dysfunctional: human trafficking cases are typically handled in lower courts and often dismissed. An anti-trafficking committee, formed of various government agencies and several NGOs, led the government’s efforts to combat trafficking, including coordination of investigations and prosecutions of trafficking offenders. There were no confirmed cases of trafficking-related complicity by Belizean officials, although an NGO reports that some officials may have accepted bribes to ignore potential trafficking activity.

Protection

The Government of Belize maintained adequate protection services for trafficking victims last year. During the reporting period, the government revised standard operating procedures for official dealings with human trafficking cases to improve victim identification and conducted training on these procedures. Immigration officials who had received government-sponsored training on human trafficking identified four sex trafficking victims in March 2010: while initially incarcerated for immigration violations, once identified the victims were removed from jail and placed in protective care. Ten foreign labor trafficking victims, all adult males who were first identified in 2008, received shelter assistance, victim services and work permits last year, and two were offered permanent residency
Permanent residency
Permanent residency refers to a person's visa status: the person is allowed to reside indefinitely within a country of which he or she is not a citizen. A person with such status is known as a permanent resident....

. Three sex trafficking victims first identified in 2005 continued to receive legal, health, and rehabilitation services from the government during the reporting period. Child victims of trafficking could be placed in government institutions for children or referred to local NGOs, which receive limited funding and in-kind support from the government; the Government of Belize provided services to one child victim, including foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....

 and funding for legal, health, and rehabilitation services. The government operated two shelters for adult trafficking victims and provided access to medical care, counseling, and integration assistance. One of the shelters cannot accommodate both male and female victims at the same time. Authorities in Belize encouraged victims to assist with the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. There were no reports of victims being jailed or penalized for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Authorities provided temporary residency for foreign trafficking victims participating in court cases. In collaboration with the Mexican government, the government assisted in the 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...

 of several Indian labor trafficking victims. The anti-trafficking committee conducted training in trafficking victim identification for police officers, immigration officials, labor officials, social workers, and health care workers during the reporting period.

Prevention

The Government of Belize maintained efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking during the reporting period. The government continued to air public service announcements in multiple languages and distributed posters and anti-trafficking materials. The government maintained partnerships with international organizations and NGOs, particularly regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery....

, and hosted a workshop in 2009 to raise awareness of this issue. Authorities registered 13 new cases of children at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation and provided them with education assistance, counseling, and other services. Although there were no reported investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of child sex tourists during the reporting period, government officials continued to work with Belize’s tourism industry to promote a code of conduct to prevent child sex tourism. In an effort to reduce the demand for commercial sex, courts convicted three individuals for commercial sexual exploitation of children using carnal knowledge
Carnal knowledge
Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. The term derives from the Biblical usage of the verb know/knew, as in the King James and other versions, a euphemism for sexual conduct...

 and indecent assault
Indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in many jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime.Indecent assault was an offence in England and Wales under sections 14 and 15 the Sexual Offences Act 1956...

statutes. No specific efforts to reduce demand for forced labor were reported.
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