The prostitution problem

The Prime Minister's attempt to change the conversation about the TT Coast Guard response to a boatload of migrants to one centered on trafficking and prostitution is ham-handed and pointless.

The circumstances that led to the shooting death of Ya Elvis Santoyo are still being investigated and that tragedy shouldn't be conflated with the criminal trafficking of women into this country for prostitution.

They are both problems that deserve attention, but not the same focus simultaneously.

Bundling prostitution into the issue of trafficking is also an avoidance of the nuances of both crimes.

People are trafficked for both forced labour and for sexual exploitation and the Prime Minister is correct to note that demand fuels increases in both crimes.

TT has earned a Tier 2 ranking for its efforts to meet the requirements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, but there's more to be done.

Along with calling for more concern from the Opposition in these matters, the Prime Minister must demonstrate a greater capacity for acknowledging the social nuances that lead to prostitution and the circumstances that encourage the monstrous crime of child prostitution.

In February 2018, a Morvant woman was held and accused of forcing her 13-year-old daughter into prostitution.

In March 2019, Chang Boa Wang was charged for harbouring 14 Chinese and five Venezuelans. Further investigation rescued a total of 19 Venezuelan girls between the ages of 15 and 19 from a house a Westmoorings.

Despite these small wins, in July 2020, the 18th Report of the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights related to migrants noted that between 2013 and 2019, there were 484 reports received of sexual exploitation against immigrants which resulted in zero convictions.

In response to a call by Ramona Ramdial in Parliament in July 2020 for the shutdown of three known brothels, Central Division police responded by noting that it was the function of the courts to shut down a business.

Apparently, once their bar licences are in order, what happens in the backrooms is outside the scope of policing.

Migrants who are in the country on either fragile or nonexistent authority are demonstrable prey for exploitation, particularly when their economic circumstances are fragile.

Prostitution is largely a result of vulnerability, an economic choice that results from diminished employment alternatives.

TT is a far from considering even the possibility of decriminalising prostitution, but the State must respond sensitively to the circumstances of women who are surviving in under-the-table economies that are characterised by low wages, poor working conditions and no contractual protection.

A non-judgmental, social intervention in these circumstances by NGOs and trained social workers might improve options and conditions and at the very least, remove at-risk children from the limiting oppressiveness of child exploitation.