In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, human traffickers have found various means to continue their trade and avoid detection by the police.
This was one of the points made at Friday’s observance of World Day against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) when the Guyana Association of Women Judges (GAWJ) in collaboration with the Justice Education Institute (JEI) held a webinar which sought to highlight the efforts being made by stakeholders to arrest the scourge.
Highlighting the role of the Guyana Police Force in TIP, Sergeant Ranatha McBean said that while the most important aspect for the Force in dealing with the crime in Guyana is to prevent it in the first place—this is not the reality—and is why law enforcement officers are tasked to ensure justice for victims. Presenting a background to the situation in Guyana, Sergeant McBean said investigators have over the years encountered different victims with a variety of challenges—with most of those challenges she said, involving victims from Venezuela and hinterland locations as “they are more vulnerable to this crime because of lack of education among other factors.”