allegations of widespread sexual violence committed by staff in a government psychiatric facility; some of this abuse may comprise sex trafficking. Police, military, and elected officials have been investigated for paying children for sex acts, facilitating child sex trafficking, or protecting venues where trafficking occurs.
The Government of Guatemala does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.The government increased anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts—convicting more traffickers in 2014 than in 2013 and obtaining the country’s first convictions for labor trafficking. The Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, andTrafficking in Persons (SVET) enhanced government coordination on anti-trafficking initiatives, including through the establishment of department-level networks to raise awareness of trafficking.The government opened and fully funded two specialized shelters and increased funding for services for child sex trafficking victims, but the overall number of victims receiving assistance declined compared with 2013. There remained no shelter options for adults that permitted freedom of movement, and specialized services for male victims and labor trafficking victims were limited. Authorities did not prosecute or convict any government officials for complicity in trafficking crimes, and complicity investigations from previous years languished in the pre-trial phase.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GUATEMALA:
Improve access to specialized services for all victims, including for male victims; increase efforts to hold government officials criminally accountable for complicity in trafficking; pursue legislative changes that would permit adults access to open shelters, witness protection, and non-residential service options; continue efforts to vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, especially suspected cases of forced labor and domestic servitude, with the goal of convicting and punishing traffickers; increase training for judges, who under Guatemalan law have the sole responsibility to refer victims to care, to ensure all victims are referred to appropriate care facilities; provide reintegration and witness protection support to victims to increase their security after they leave shelters; sustain funding for specialized victim services, including those administered by NGOs; increase efforts to identify trafficking victims, particularly among vulnerable populations such as working children, returning migrants, individuals in the sex trade, and children apprehended for illicit gang-related activities; sustain existing child sex tourism prevention activities and increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict child sex tourists; target prevention activities toward the most vulnerable populations, including indigenous communities; and continue anti-trafficking training for relevant officials.

PROSECUTION
The government strengthened efforts to prosecute and convict sex and labor traffickers, but did not prosecute or convict any

public officials complicit in trafficking. The anti-trafficking law of 2009 prohibits all forms of trafficking, although it includes irregular adoption as a form of trafficking, and prescribes penalties from eight to 18 years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The government initiated investigations of 402 trafficking cases and prosecuted 62 individuals for “trafficking- related” offenses in 2014; the majority of cases involved sex trafficking, while an unknown number involved forced labor. Authorities convicted 20 traffickers, with sentences ranging from eight to 48 years’ imprisonment. In comparison, the government prosecuted 67 suspects and convicted 10 traffickers in 2013. Among the traffickers convicted in 2014 were four individuals who forced girls to work in bars, restaurants, and hotels; these represent the first labor trafficking convictions in Guatemala. Anti- trafficking police and prosecutors’ ability to conduct investigations outside of the capital, while improved, continued to be limited by a lack of funding. Some members of the judiciary lacked adequate proficiency to correctly apply the country’s anti-trafficking law. Local experts reported some prosecutors lacked adequate training, and at times charged suspected traffickers using laws that carry lesser sentences. Officials identified few cases of forced labor or cases that did not involve organized crime elements. Officials did not identify any cases of forced criminal activity. Guatemalan authorities held training sessions for prosecutors, social workers, and other officials. With international support, the government trained 219 labor inspectors, police, and migration officials on trafficking. The government cooperated with officials in Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua on trafficking investigations.
Trafficking-related corruption impeded anti-trafficking efforts. Police, military, and elected officials have been investigated for paying children for sex acts, facilitating child sex trafficking, or protecting venues where trafficking occurs.The government investigated one local official for purchasing commercial sex acts from a child in 2014. It did not prosecute or convict any officials for complicity in human trafficking during the reporting period, nor did it report any developments in four criminal investigations of complicit government officials from the previous year. High-profile cases involving officials complicit in trafficking crimes stalled; charges against the son of a late Supreme Court justice implicated in a child sex trafficking ring remained under appeal for more than a year, and there were no developments in cases against 16 other individuals implicated in this ring.

PROTECTION
The government made limited progress in protecting victims, but the majority of identified victims did not receive services, and the number of victims receiving services declined. Authorities maintained standard operating procedures for identifying sex trafficking victims, and labor officials implemented a protocol to identify potential sex and labor trafficking victims during labor inspections. The government identified 287 victims and NGOs identified an additional 50 victims, a decrease from 570 potential victims identified in 2013. Authorities did not provide complete statistics on the age and gender of victims or the type of trafficking they experienced; at least 90 were girls, 26 were boys, and 16 were women.
In 2014, the government adopted a protocol to guide government agencies in procedures to assist victims. Guatemalan law requires judges to make all referrals to public or private shelters; in 2014, judges referred 132 victims to shelters, a decrease from 196 in