As concern continues to mount about the high number of human trafficking cases in Guyana, the Guyana Women Miners Association has once again gone to the rescue of teenage girls who have found themselves in human trafficking situations in the gold mining district working as prostitutes.
On Saturday, officials from the Women Miners group moved into the mining community of Mahdia in Region 8 as part of their continuing efforts to stamp out human trafficking. Four young girls, a 14-year old, two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old were rescued from different shops in the mining area where they were being used for prostitution purpose.
The 14-year-old girl complained that she first traveled to the community in search of a job but was badly beaten by the shop owner she started working with and forced to seek employment at another shop where she found herself granting sexual favours for money from miners.
The other three young girls were found in the brothel type shops and are also believed to be alleged sex trafficking victims. The four young ladies are from different parts of the country, one from Region 4, another from Region 3 and the two others from Regions 9 and 10.
On Sunday, the GWMO hired special transportation to ferry the young ladies out of the area to the city where they are expected to file official complaints and be interviewed and housed by the Human Services Ministry.
President of the Women Miners Organisation, Simona Broomes told News Source that there is need for more government help in the fight against human trafficking and there is also a need for more support from the Police. She explained that in one of the cases, the alleged victim sought help from the Police in the Region 8 area but was turned away and allowed to return to the brothel shop where she lived and worked in prostitution.
Broomes said there must be more support from the Human Services Ministry and other Governmental groups to assist the victims. She said under the law, alleged victims of human trafficking are guaranteed “certain entitlements” but those entitlements are still to be passed on to many of the alleged victims.
She said once her organisation hands the young women over to Human Services, the Ministry ought to be taking better care off them.
The Women Miners group has been moving into several interior locations where cases of human trafficking are believed to be prevalent. A number of young ladies have been rescued over the past year and their alleged captors have faced serious charges in the courts.
The United States has placed Guyana on its Tier 2 watch list as a country where human trafficking takes place. The U.S State Department has also recognized the work of the Guyana Women Miners Association by naming its President as one of its International Heroes in the fight against human trafficking.
The Government of Guyana has been consistently critical of the U.S human trafficking report and the picture it paints of Guyana.
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