TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS IN BELIZE - OAS

The prevention programs and educative actions should respect the
beliefs and the cultural diversity of the different communities. It is
then very important to identify the community leaders so as to
achieve the highest participation and integration to this initiative.
4. Recommendations in the area of victim protection and
assistance.
4.1 Victims and witnesses protection. The Department of Human
Services must have shelters and safety houses for those possible
victims of human trafficking that are waiting for a Police or
justice investigation.
4.2 Prevention of prostitution and exploitation. The Department
of Human Services will set up educative programs for women
involved in prostitution. These programs should offer alternatives
to the activity they are performing at the moment, displaying
cultural, informative and labor elements. These actions have
preventive effects as well because women who have been forced
and deceived into prostitution should find- in these educative
environments- someone to trust in that could help them to escape
from their situation.
4.3 Labor Inspection. Labor conditions should coincide with the
country’s legislation and international agreements. In order to
check this, the Labor Department needs to increase its human
resources, fundamentally in the area of banana, citrus and sugar
cane plantations, construction and tourism (hotels, nightclubs,
lounges, etc.). Officers should not only be motivated to perform
their task, but they should also have frequent training courses in
order to detect exploitation and abuse situations that could be
linked to human trafficking. When inspectors could be at risk
because the area is a difficult one or because the owners of the
working places don’t agree with inspections, it is recommended to
involve Police officers.
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