2,218 were men, 227 women, and 176 children. Because the government continued to lack a formal mechanism for authorities to refer victims to care, only nine of the 2,621 victims identified were placed in government-operated shelters.The government did not provide services specifically designed for trafficking victims, but victims could access support services for vulnerable people through nine multipurpose shelters, drop-in centers, and safe homes administered by the Ministry of Social Welfare. NGOs provided shelter and services specifically for trafficking victims; police sometimes referred victims to these services on an ad hoc basis.The government continued to operate shelters in its embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah for female Bangladeshi workers fleeing abusive employers; however, overall, officials lacked resources in destination countries to adequately assist labor trafficking victims. Bangladeshi migrant workers could lodge complaints and seek government arbitration on labor and recruitment violations, including allegations of forced labor, with the Bureau for Manpower, Education, and Training (BMET).The arbitration process provided victims with remediation, but rewards were often minimal and did not adequately address illegal activities, including alleged fraud by licensed  recruitment agencies.
The PSHTA provided for victim protection during judicial proceedings, including police security and the ability to testify via video, but it is unclear how frequently officials employed such protections. NGOs noted insufficient protection resulted in fewer investigations and prosecutions overall. The governments of Bangladesh and India coordinated the rescue and repatriation of child trafficking victims through established standard operating procedures; however, the PSHTA did not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims of trafficking to countries where they might face hardship or retribution. Unregistered Rohingya refugee trafficking victims may have been at risk of indefinite detention because of their lack of documentation.

PREVENTION
The government made limited efforts to prevent trafficking, and continued to allow BAIRA to set extremely high and legal recruitment fees and did not exercise adequate oversight to ensure BAIRA’s licensing and certification practices did not facilitate debt bondage of Bangladeshi workers abroad. In 2014, BMET canceled four recruitment agencies’ licenses, the same number as in 2013, and awarded compensation of 1,393,500 BDT ($17,800) to seven trafficking victims who received legal support to file against the recruitment agencies from a foreign government. In February 2015, the government signed a labor export agreement with Saudi Arabia dictating employers should cover migration costs, including plane fare and medical tests; however, the government did not stipulate the maximum cost or eliminate the processing fee that remained the responsibility of the migrant.The Ministry of Expatriate Welfare’s Vigilance Task Force continued to operate with a mandate to improve the oversight of Bangladesh’s labor recruiting process. The government continued to facilitate the migration of willing Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia under a government-to-government agreement that aimed to mitigate the impact of private recruitment agencies’ high fees and sometimes unscrupulous practices.The government continued to require a 21-day pre-departure training course for Bangladeshi women going abroad to work as domestic servants; the training focused on learning practical skills such as using household appliances, but also included modules on trafficking awareness and self-protection.

The government drafted, but did not finalize and launch, the 2015-2017 national plan of action.The Ministry of Home Affairs published its annual report on human trafficking.The government did not fund anti-trafficking awareness campaigns.The government trained military personnel to recognize and prevent trafficking in persons prior to their deployment abroad on international peacekeeping missions. The government did not demonstrate efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex or forced labor. The government provided anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel. Bangladesh is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

BARBADOS:  Tier 2 
Barbados is a source country for children subjected to sex trafficking and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Authorities and NGOs report foreign women have been forced into prostitution in Barbados. Foreigners are subjected to forced labor in Barbados, most notably in domestic service, agriculture, and construction. Legal and undocumented immigrants from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana are especially vulnerable to trafficking. Child sex trafficking occurs in Barbados. Authorities and NGOs also report parents or caregivers subject local and foreign children of both sexes to commercial sex.
The Government of Barbados does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government acceded to the 2000 UNTIP Protocol in October 2014, drafted amendments to its anti-trafficking law to prohibit all forms of human trafficking, and began developing a government-wide anti-trafficking manual. The government did not identify any new trafficking victims, but assisted previously identified trafficking victims during the reporting period.The government did not convict any traffickers; however, police investigated a government official for alleged complicity in sex trafficking crimes.

RECOMMENDATIONS   FOR BARBADOS:
Enact and implement amendments to the anti-trafficking law to prohibit all forms of human trafficking and prescribe penalties that are sufficiently stringent (without an alternative of a fine) and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape; convict trafficking offenders, including complicit officials, and provide appropriate sentences for their crimes; train law enforcement and prosecutors in proactively identifying, obtaining, preserving, and corroborating evidence to reduce dependence on victim testimony; train and encourage government officials to implement procedures to proactively identify labor and sex trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, such as Barbadians and foreigners in prostitution and migrant workers; provide adequate funding to organizations that assist trafficking

victims; continue to enhance partnership with Barbados’ NGO community to combat human trafficking; provide anti-trafficking training to its diplomatic personnel; and make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor.