Cartwright Robinson said that prostitution in the Turks and Caicos Islands is a sore issue which the Government is seemingly turning a blind eye to. She noted that a more proactive approach with increased surveillance is needed to crack down on bars and other places that uphold this illegal operation.
She also said that human trafficking is seen as a direct link to prostitution in most cases in the TCI, since some victims find themselves in the prostitution ring after their travel documents are confiscated by perpetrators. Cartwright Robinson pointed out that the issue of prostitution often has several negative spinoff effects which gnaw at the social fabric of a nation. In December , the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force received the green light to be more proactive in putting prostitution and human trafficking on the front burner.
The bill will see penalties of unlimited fines being imposed or a term of imprisonment for a maximum of ten years being levied against those found guilty of offences under the bill.
He said it included "servitude, sexual explicit conduct, slavery, trafficked persons in particular, sexual exploitation which means compelling the participation of the person in prostitution. According to a US State Department Trafficking in Persons report, the Turks and Caicos Islands is a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. According to local experts, the large population of migrants in the TCI from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica are vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labour, with stateless children and adolescents especially at risk.
Local stakeholders, including law enforcement officials, have reported specific knowledge of sex trafficking occurring in bars and brothels and noted trafficking-related complicity by some local Government officials was a problem.
