Human Trafficking E-Learning Tool Is Game Changer – Dr. Chang

Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says the newly launched human trafficking e-learning tool is a game-changer in the Government’s efforts to combat the problem in Jamaica.

Speaking at its launch at the Terra Nova Hotel on February 28, Dr. Chang said it will reinforce the capacity of first responders and frontline officers.

“Having suitably trained and sensitised first responders, we will be better equipped to identify, investigate, apprehend and prosecute perpetrators. This tool will assist in equipping our people, and more importantly our children, to make them better able to identify these crimes, to know the appropriate actions to take, and the relevant persons to contact,” said the Minister.

The tool will be made available on stakeholder websites.

According to the Minister, the Government’s approval of the National Plan of Action 2018 to 2021 for Combatting Trafficking in Persons, provides a strategic framework to address human trafficking locally.

“Among the strategic imperatives, I will underscore that we are pursuing more rigorous law enforcement and trafficking in persons investigations, and enhanced policing, data collection and analyses,” he said.

Dr. Chang emphasised that it is important for citizens to recognise how socially and culturally accepted practices can take the form of human trafficking.

“In Jamaica, for example, it is common practice for a relative who has attained some amount of financial standing, especially after having relocated from a rural to an urban community, to assume guardianship of a family member who would ‘help out around the house’. If not carefully managed, practices such as these can evolve into forms of human trafficking, such as domestic servitude or labour exploitation,” he explained.

According to figures from the Ministry, last year the anti-Trafficking in Persons Vice Squad conducted 41 investigations of breaches of the Trafficking in Persons Act. Of this number, 32 cases were closed and 19 remain active. Six persons were also arrested and charged in relation to sex trafficking and forced labour offences.