VZCZCXRO2194
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHWN #1530/01 3481526
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141526Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5918
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1834
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 5881
RUHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAORD/CUSTOMS CARIBBEAN ATTACHE MIAMI FL
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL
RUEHCV/USDAO CARACAS VE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRIDGETOWN 001530 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPT FOR PRM-DENZEL 
DEPT FOR G/TIP-TAYLOR AND BRESNAHAN 
DEPT FOR DRL-MAGGIO 
DHS FOR CARIBBEAN ATTACHE-LEPORE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM PGOV ELAB DR ST XL
SUBJECT: THE SEX INDUSTRY AS A POTENTIAL AVENUE FOR 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN ST. LUCIA 
 
REF: BRIDGETOWN 263 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  Various government officials and NGO 
representatives are recognizing the possible existence of 
trafficking victims in St. Lucia, particularly in the 
commercial sex industry.  Most foreign prostitutes fulfill 
some technical elements of trafficking, even if they are 
willing participants who do not feel coerced or imprisoned. 
However, circumstantial and anecdotal evidence suggests that 
more serious trafficking may exist in more "underground" 
establishments.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (SBU) PolOff gained the following information through 
various meetings in October 2007 with the Gender Relations 
Division, HIV/AIDS outreach office, and Human Services 
Division, all in the Ministry of Health, as well as the St. 
Lucia Planned Parenthood Association, the Caribbean 
Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA), and 
members of the press. 
 
¶3. (U) Trafficking in persons appears to exist in St. Lucia's 
active sex industry, but might not meet the 100 victims 
threshold under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. 
Trafficking appears to occur in three different ways:  1) in 
"transparent" clubs of prostitution, where most employees do 
not see themselves as coerced or enslaved, 2) less 
transparent clubs where the trafficking is pushed 
underground, and 3) the participation of minors in 
transactional sex.  Although no cases are currently 
documented, anecdotal and historical evidence from gender 
issues experts is significant. 
 
TRANSPARENT CLUBS 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to various government officials and NGO 
representatives, formal prostitution is handled out of 
brothels, strip clubs, or similar venues for commercial sex. 
The vast majority of formal commercial sex workers are from 
the Dominican Republic, with a few from other Caribbean 
islands.  Even though prostitution is illegal in St. Lucia, a 
few clubs are open to government assistance and outreach for 
education on HIV/AIDS, condoms, and health awareness.  PolOff 
learned in a meeting with Gender Relations and CAFRA that 
these same clubs seem to consider their employees as an 
investment, enforcing the worker's right to insist on condom 
usage and not tolerating abusive customers. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Most women working out of "transparent" clubs have 
the characteristics of economic migrants, fully aware of and 
willing to do the work involved in order to support families 
in the Dominican Republic.  However, these commercial sex 
workers share a few characteristics with trafficking victims, 
namely the surrendering of their passports to their new 
employer until they are able to repay the transportation 
costs.  CAFRA, Gender Relations, and a press contact 
confirmed to PolOff that, in St. Lucia, this is not a source 
of long-term servitude.  Most women are able to repay the 
debt and retrieve their passports within a month or two, 
after which they are free to return home or even find work at 
a different club.  Gender Relations confirmed that at least 
one of these clubs expelled workers when learning the girls 
were under-aged. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In a meeting with CAFRA and Gender Relations, 
though, PolOff learned that not all women flown over from the 
Dominican Republic are aware of the work expected of them. 
Those who are unaware are also expected to repay their debt 
before returning home, clearly making these women trafficking 
victims for a short time.  In addition to the passport issue, 
workers must rely on their employers to extend their 
residence period with immigration authorities, a fact that 
demands considerable cooperation. 
 
THE DARKER CORNERS 
------------------ 
 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00001530  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶7. (U) A few of these clubs are open to outside assistance, 
but experts agree that the majority of clubs keep their doors 
closed to any outreach, rendering involved NGOs and 
government offices unable to evaluate conditions or the 
existence of trafficking.  Limited anecdotal evidence has 
lead a few experts to believe trafficking victims exists in 
this environment.  Gender Relations shared with PolOff a case 
from early 2007 in which an immigration official suspected 
irregular migration of women into St. Lucia.  As a result of 
her International Organization of Migration (IOM) training, 
the officer handed the women a phone number to call if they 
ran into a problem.  These women learned that the conditions 
and nature of work were not as they expected, called the 
officer, and received help getting out of the situation 
within 24 hours of arriving in St. Lucia. 
 
¶8. (U) There are also rumors and historical experiences among 
experts that prostituting minors, both male and female, has 
existed at the less transparent institutions.  Researchers 
are unable to glean information from workers susceptible to 
outreach because workers from the various clubs do not 
intermingle with each other or share information about their 
working conditions. 
 
TRANSACTIONAL SEX 
----------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Transactional sex also presents potential 
trafficking issues.  According to the experts on this issue, 
these cases tend to involve 15 to 24 year old women providing 
services to men over 40 for money, meals, jewelry, cell 
phones, and other goods.  There is no place of business to 
raid or manager to arrest in cracking down on this form of 
commercial sex.  Many participants are voluntary, making it 
difficult to find elements of trafficking, even if 
under-aged.  Others become dependent or enslaved in a 
transactional relationship, be it emotionally, financially, 
or through fear of abuse.  Various agencies, including Gender 
Relations, confirmed that there are also cases of 
impoverished parents pushing their children into 
transactional sex as a source of family income.  (Note: 
Transactional sex is common throughout the Eastern Caribbean, 
as are cases of participants becoming dependent and 
impoverished parents pushing children into such 
relationships.  End Note.) 
 
CURRENT PROGRESS 
---------------- 
 
¶10. (U) The Gender Relations Division, which heads the St. 
Lucian anti-trafficking coalition (reftel), is taking 
measures to identify victims and even help victims identify 
themselves as victims.  With assistance from IOM, funded by 
PRM, St. Lucia is establishing a hotline for trafficking 
victims and advertising it through various public service 
announcements.  Such a hotline is crucial in St. Lucia 
because sex workers generally do not trust police or 
immigration officers because members of these divisions tend 
to comprise a significant amount of customers.  Also, the 
GOSL recently funded a research assistant position in the 
Gender Relations Division, who will focus on gathering 
empirical data on possible trafficking victims. 
 
¶11. (U) Although PolOff's initial research focused on 
trafficking victims in the sex industry, the GOSL recognizes 
that more victims might exist in other labor sectors, such as 
construction, particularly with the recent increase of 
Chinese laborers.  The Gender Relations Division, as head of 
the government's anti-trafficking coalition, plans to 
research this issue, as well. 
 
COMMENT-HOW WE CAN HELP 
----------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) In the Eastern Caribbean, St. Lucia is one of the 
most proactive countries to identify and combat trafficking 
in persons.  The country has done considerable work in 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00001530  003 OF 003 
 
 
establishing methods of operation for handling potential 
victims.  However, its resources are limited, hampering the 
extent to which it can identify victims.  Assistance to 
identify victims, including empirical research, is the GOSL's 
chief request. 
HOWARD