JAMAICAN OFFICIALS ADDRESS PREVENTION, PROTECTION, AND

UNCLAS KINGSTON 001014 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SOCI PGOV KTIP JM XL SUBJECT: JAMAICAN OFFICIALS ADDRESS PREVENTION, PROTECTION, AND PROSECUTION IN TIP CASES ¶1. On November 22 poloff spoke at a panel discussion on trafficking in persons (TIP) hosted by local NGO Woman, Inc. The discussion, one of several themed talks over a two-day trade fair/fundraiser for the NGO, featured Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Lisa Palmer Hamilton, Director of the NGO PACT Sheila Nicholson, and Jennifer Williams, an official in the Government of Jamaica's Bureau of Women's Affairs. The other three panelists discussed prevention of trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of perpetrators. Poloff explained the origins of the G/TIP Bureau, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA),and the tier ranking system for the annual TIP Report. The audience consisted of 30 or so persons, many of whom were local NGO activists attending the event to support Woman, Inc. ¶2. The Jamaican panelists highlighted efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, including NGO outreach to schools and editorials placed in local papers. In October, the Gleaner, a prominent daily newspaper, featured an article outlining the dangers of trafficking and advising parents on how best to protect their children. In addition, following the November 22 panel discussion, the Independent Actors' Guild performed a skit demonstrating the perils of trafficking. The group has performed the play at several venues around Jamaica. ¶3. In terms of victim protection, the GOJ has begun building two shelters to supplement the shelters run by Woman, Inc. and similar NGOs. Valerie Moodie, the president of Woman, Inc., is a member of the Jamaican national Task Force on TIP. In a private conversation with poloff on November 24, she said her organization and several others had offered guidelines as a model for the government shelters. During the November 22 panel, DPP Hamilton also noted that her office is working to implement a system of video testimony, which will allow trafficking victims to record their testimony for the court and not be forced to confront their abusers. ¶4. In a private discussion with poloff prior to the panel, Hamilton discussed the November 11 conviction of two men for conspiracy to traffic in persons. The men were sentenced to twelve months in prison each. The case, which was widely reported in the media, involved these men offering to procure a fourteen year-old girl for a foreign visitor. The tourist, who was conducting research on TIP, contacted the police's anti-TIP unit, and together they set up a sting operation to catch the perpetrators. According to Hamilton, the men were charged under the trafficking statutes of the Child Protection Act. She explained that the updated 2007 anti-TIP law could not be invoked because the crime occurred in 2006, so the new law could not be applied ex post facto. Nevertheless, she said, there are currently four other trafficking cases in the courts, and her office works closely with the police TIP unit to advise and bring accused traffickers to trial. JOHNSON