by TONY BEST

DESPITE "SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS" to crack down on human trafficking, the lure of sex, money and jobs is making Barbados a magnet for pimps who peddle Caribbean women's flesh.

And while most of the victims were women from the Dominican Republic and Guyana, who end up working in strip clubs, brothels, massage parlours and even in private homes, men from China, India and Guyana are also being exploited in Barbados' construction sector.

That complaint was contained in the 2009 United States State Department's Global Report On Human Trafficking, which stated that while Barbados didn't "comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking", it was trying to do so.

The nation's anti-trafficking measures, according to the report to the United States Congress, ranged from boosting public awareness of the problem and cooperating with Caribbean neighbours, to drafting a protocol designed to end the abhorrent practice.

The State Department, which placed Barbados among the "Tier 2" nations, a grouping reserved for most states surveyed, including Jamaica, Japan, Suriname, Belarus, Honduras, The Bahamas and Argentina, traced the island's trafficking problem to reports in 2005 which showed that girls and women within Barbados and other Caribbean countries were being trafficked "for the purpose of domestic servitude" and other purposes, mainly sex.

But Barbados wasn't the worst offender. Guyana and St Vincent were the only two English-speaking Caribbean nations placed on the "Tier 2 watchlist" with about 38 countries worldwide, largely because there wasn't any evidence that they had vigorously moved against human trafficking on their shores.

In Barbados, the Government's efforts to bring charges against traffickers were described as "weak", despite the fact that existing laws could be used to haul offenders before the court.

"Sex traffickers, primarily pimps and brothel owners from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, lure women through newspaper ads for legitimate work in Barbados," it stated.

"Trafficked women tend to enter the country through legal means, usually by air. Traffickers later force victims to work in stripclubs, massage parlours, some 'private residences' and 'entertainment clubs' that operate as brothels."

The Bajan and Guyanese traffickers use notorious international methods to trap victims, once they are in Barbados. For instance, they seize their passport and threaten to injure them.

But that's not all.

"Traffickers use threats of physical harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts, psychological abuse, and confinement to force men, women and reportedly some girls to also work in construction, the garment industry, agriculture or private households," the report charged.

But the Government did get some credit from the State Department for its "moderate efforts to ensure victims' access to protective services". It funded several existing programmes to assist victims of other crimes but which could help those caught up in the trafficking nightmare.

For instance, non-governmental organisation shelters and the Salvation Army and counselling services for rape victims could also be used by people who suffered because of trafficking. In addition, the Bureau of Gender Affairs did try to sensitise Government agencies about the difference between smuggling and trafficking.

Interestingly enough, the report was quick to explain that there weren't any "reported cases" of Bajans being trafficked to foreign countries.

The State Department believes Barbados can do more to curb trafficking. For instance, it has recommended to the Government that it should enact and implement comprehensive anti-trafficking laws, vigorously investigate suspected cases, prosecute and punish perpetrators, and develop a national plan to identify, combat and prevent trafficking.