The government of The Bahamas fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, according to the new US Trafficking in Persons (TIPS) Report, but some concerns were raised, including that the Bahamian courts easily granted bail even to defendants accused of violent crimes, and law enforcement did not have the resources to fully uphold the law.
The report said NGOs reported that although the country adopted appropriate laws and procedures, lower-level police, immigration officials, and labor inspectors did not implement them because of a failure to understand them, neglect, or complicity.
"Observers also noted some immigration officials may have solicited Haitian migrants for bribes to prevent detention," it added.
The annual report - a requirement of the United States' Trafficking Victims Protection Act - assesses governments' effort around the world to combat human trafficking.
It highlights strategies to address human trafficking and protect victims.
Again this year, The Bahamas received Tier 1 ranking, meaning it fully meets the minimum standards for elimination of severe forms of trafficking in persons - though Tier 1 ranking does not mean a country does not have any trafficking.
"The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore The Bahamas remained on Tier 1," the report said.
"These efforts included convicting and sentencing a trafficker to imprisonment and making efforts to provide restitution to a repatriated foreign victim.
"The government also adopted legislation to allow victims to testify remotely, including from overseas; provided continued support for foreign victims repatriated abroad; and cooperated with a neighboring country to repatriate three victims.
"It also trained high-level officials, including five new members of the Trafficking in Persons Task Force and new labor inspectors; carried out more awareness raising; created new hotlines to report trafficking cases; and solicited feedback from underserved groups on anti-trafficking policies.
"Although the government meets the minimum standards, it did not initiate any prosecutions, continued to identify few victims, and did not provide investigative data."
The report said the government did not report data on investigations, compared with initiating one sex trafficking investigation involving two suspects in 2021, 13 cases (11 for sex trafficking and two for labor trafficking) in 2020, and 16 investigations in 2019.
It added the government did not initiate any new prosecutions for the second year, compared with two prosecutions initiated in 2020 and 2019.
The government continued prosecution of five alleged sex traffickers in three cases from previous reporting periods, compared with continued prosecution of one alleged sex trafficker in 2021, the report said.
The government reported two cases were awaiting trial in the Supreme Court and one case was awaiting trial in the Magistrate Court, compared with seven suspected traffickers awaiting the start of their trials in 2021.
The government convicted one Bahamian male sex trafficker under the TIP Act and other laws in a 2021 case, the same number as the past two years, the report said.
The chief magistrate sentenced the trafficker to penalties consistent with a plea agreement, including 12 months' imprisonment, three years' probation, restitution in the amount of $10,000 each for two victims, and counseling, the report also informed.
Courts dismissed a case from 2020 against a Jamaican female defendant after the three Jamaican victims refused to testify, reportedly out of fear of the suspected trafficker.
The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government officials complicit in trafficking crimes.
Under "trafficking profile", the report said traffickers recruit migrant workers, especially those from Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, People's Republic of China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, the Philippines, and the United States through false offers of employment, through advertisements in foreign newspapers and social media.
"Upon arrival, traffickers exploit victims in sex trafficking and forced labor, including in domestic service and in sectors with low-skilled labor," the report said.
"NGOs reported sex trafficking victims were more likely to come from Jamaica or Latin America, whereas labor trafficking victims were more likely to be Haitian in situations of debt bondage."
It added, "Unaccompanied migrant children, individuals lured for employment, those involved in commercial sex and exotic dancing, undocumented migrants, stateless persons, LGBTQI+ individuals (particularly from outlying areas), and migrants displaced by Hurricane Dorian have been trafficking victims or are particularly vulnerable to trafficking.
"In particular, irregular migrants living in informal settlements on the Hurricane Dorian-ravaged islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, as well as those who fled to New Providence after the storm, exist in what observers call "dark spaces," which deter them from reporting abuse."
The report also lists a number of "prioritized recommendations".
They include: "Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including officials complicit in sex or labor trafficking, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms; improve efforts to identify victims and refer them to services, particularly among vulnerable groups, including underserved stateless persons; migrants and asylum-seekers from Haiti, Jamaica, and Venezuela; LGBTQI+ individuals; and Cuban nationals working on government-sponsored programs."
Among other recommendations, the Americans urge The Bahamas government to provide a dedicated shelter for trafficking victims; include representatives of LGBTQI+ groups, Haitian and stateless persons, and foreign diplomatic missions as appropriate in discussions with the National Trafficking in Persons Inter-Ministerial Committee (Anti-Trafficking Committee) and improve regular investigative data collection and record keeping.
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