The Guyana Women Miners Organisation on Friday announced that it had rescued five teenage girls from the Cuyuni mining area and efforts were being made to transport the suspected trafficking victims out of the interior location and hand them over to the Ministry of Human Services.
According to the organisation, one of the rescued girls is just 15-years-old while the others are 17-years-old. Members of the organisation were in the Cuyuni region as part of a Trafficking in Persons sensitisation project, when the young girls were discovered. It is suspected that the teenage girls were being used for prostitution purposes in mining camps.
Meanwhile, the group is also accusing the Human Services Ministry of failing the victims of human trafficking when they are put in the care of the Ministry. According to the GWMO, a number of human trafficking cases in the courts continue to fall apart because the victims were not being taken to court to provide evidence.
The organisation has called for a full investigation into the reported incidents.
The GWMO has been leading the charge against human trafficking in Guyana and its President Simona Broomes was honored by the U.S Secretary of State as a Global Hero in the fight against human trafficking.
The group has been calling for more support as it continues to reach out into the mining and interior communities to rescue suspected trafficking victims. The British Government through the local High Commission has given the group financial support and the US Embassy and Canadian High Commission have also been very supportive.
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