PROTECTION
The government sustained some efforts to identify and assist trafficking victims. The government did not systematically track data regarding trafficking victim identification, but reported working with NGOs to reunify more than 250 child domestic workers in exploitative situations with their families. Haitian authorities identified five potential foreign victims and 17 potential Haitian victims and worked with an international organization to facilitate the voluntary return of foreign victims. In 2014, Haitian officials removed some children from vulnerable situations and placed them in appropriate care; however, NGOs noted some children placed in transitional homes did not receive adequate assistance. Authorities did not adopt stand-alone, government-wide procedures to guide all front-line responders in the identification and referral of potential victims. Observers noted officials’ ability to identify victims, in the absence of such guidelines, varied widely. The government also did not have standard protocols to conduct forced labor inspections. The government improved referral by establishing eight child protection and eight women protection referral networks, which include referral for trafficking victims.
NGOs provided the majority of victim care services without government funds. Labor and social welfare inspectors often lacked basic materials and reliable transport.The budget for the Institute for Social Welfare and Research (IBESR) was insufficient to cover the basic protection needs of children throughout Haiti, including trafficking victims. Two state institutions provided care for vulnerable children, some of whom were at risk of becoming trafficking victims, but authorities did not report if any trafficking victims were housed at these facilities in 2014.The government did not offer any specific services for adult victims.The government did not have a formal program to assist victims who returned to Haiti. In preparation for potential increased migration across the border after the June 15 deadline for registration of migrant workers in the Dominican Republic, the government began coordinating efforts with international organizations and NGOs to receive potential expellees. Concurrently, the government continued to work with the Government of the Dominican Republic to ensure

that any expulsions were conducted in a measured and humane manner. The 2014 anti-trafficking law establishes formal victim protection policies to encourage trafficking victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenders and prohibits penalizing victims for crimes committed as a direct result of being subjected to human trafficking. However, observers reported law enforcement officials sometimes detained children before they were transferred to social services.The law provides immigration relief for foreign victims of human trafficking; however, authorities had not used the provision because the identified foreign national victims chose to return to their country of origin.

PREVENTION
The government sustained efforts to prevent trafficking. Authorities adopted a national anti-trafficking action plan spanning March 2015 through 2017. An informal inter-ministerial working group to coordinate governmental anti-trafficking efforts met during the reporting period, as did the national commission for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. With foreign government funding, the government launched a national anti-trafficking awareness campaign as a series of radio spots on the 2014 anti-trafficking law, trafficking indicators, and sanctions for traffickers. The government managed a social services hotline, and authorities conducted 52 investigations stemming from hotline calls, including four for potential trafficking.The government also continued a campaign to raise public awareness about child labor, child trafficking, and other child protection concerns. IBESR closed five residential care centers in 2014 that were operating in violation of international standards, and removed children from exploitative situations where they were exposed to a high risk of human trafficking. The government also continued a partnership with community representatives to monitor night clubs for sexual exploitation.The 2014 anti-trafficking law includes sanctions for individuals who knowingly procure commercial sex acts from trafficking victims, but authorities had not used the sanctions to hold purchasers accountable and did not report efforts to reduce the demand for forced labor.The government did not provide anti-trafficking training for its diplomatic personnel. Authorities did not report any convictions for child sex tourism.

HONDURAS:  Tier 2 
Honduras is principally a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; to a much lesser extent, it is a destination for women and girls from neighboring countries subjected to sex trafficking. Honduran women and children are exploited in sex trafficking within the country and in other countries in the region, particularly Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the United States. LGBT Hondurans are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking. Honduran men, women, and children are subjected to forced labor in agriculture, street vending, and domestic service in Honduras and forced labor in other countries, particularly in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. Indigenous Miskito boys from Honduras are vulnerable to forced labor; there has been at least one case in recent years of forced labor on a fishing vessel. NGOs report criminal organizations, including gangs, exploit girls in sex trafficking, force children into street begging, and coerce and threaten young males in urban areas to transport drugs, commit extortion, or act as hit men. During the year, there were increasing reports of children being subjected to sex trafficking on the streets of large

cities, particularly the economic center of San Pedro Sula, under the guise of street begging. Honduras is a destination for child sex tourists from Canada and the United States. Some migrants to the United States are subjected to forced labor, forced criminal activity, or sex trafficking en route or upon arrival. Latin American migrants transit Honduras en route to northern Central America and North America; some are subsequently exploited in sex trafficking and forced labor. Prosecutors reported some local police provided protection to brothel owners or tipped them off about impending raids, and security officials have been investigated for purchasing commercial sex acts from child trafficking victims. There was one media report of a child sex trafficking ring in Tegucigalpa that allegedly operated with police and high-level government protection.
The Government of Honduras does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During the reporting period, the government launched a dedicated helpline for identifying trafficking victims and established an “immediate response” team to refer identified victims to NGOs for services. Authorities continued to prosecute traffickers, though they did not obtain any convictions. Law enforcement efforts were inadequate, with a focus limited primarily to child sex trafficking. The government relied on civil society organizations to provide the vast majority of services to victims and lacked guidelines to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable  populations.