Senate Passes Bill to Amend Trafficking in Persons Act

A bill to amend the Trafficking in Persons Act, 2021 was passed on Friday, November 12, in the Senate without objection. The changes will see the law being more pointed towards perpetrators as human trafficking thrives in the pandemic.

Senators on both sides used terms such as slavery, inhumane, and lucrative to describe the multinational business. Fines and prison time have been upgraded to punish those the law does not deter.

Making the case for the amendments to the Trafficking in Persons Act, Government Senator and Minister without portfolio for National Security, Matthew Samuda says Jamaica’s geographic location makes it ideal for trafficking.

He notes not only is it lucrative but preys on the vulnerable, women and girls and boys too. Minister Samuda say the International Labour Organisation estimates that globally trafficking in persons generates approximately $150 billion in profits each year.

He also notes that the global share of detected child victims have also tripled over the last 15 years. He notes the pandemic has worsened the transnational crime for those preyed upon. The Minister noted that in February 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; reported that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been an overall worsening in the human trafficking trend. Both sides of the house agreed the changes were timely and critical.

More in this CVM Live story from Neika Lewis: