PROTECTION
The government made limited progress in protecting trafficking victims, though protection efforts remained inadequate and the majority of identified victims did not receive services.Twenty-five victims were identified in 2014, including 14 men, seven women, three boys, and one girl; this is an increase from 16 victims identified in 2013.Twenty-one victims were subjected to labor trafficking and four to sex trafficking. One repatriated victim was Panamanian, and the remaining 24 victims were from other Latin American countries. The government did not report identifying any children exploited in sex trafficking or any Panamanian victims exploited within the country. It did not have systematic procedures for the proactive identification of victims among vulnerable populations, such as people in prostitution and detained undocumented migrants; guidelines for victim identification and protection published during the previous reporting year were not implemented. In July, the government launched a dedicated helpline for reporting trafficking cases, and identified three cases as a result.The government did not provide or fund specialized services for trafficking victims. Authorities referred 10 victims to an office in the public ministry that provides social workers and psychological services to witnesses and victims of crimes. Of these, two received temporary shelter in a government facility for women victims of domestic violence, one was placed in a government shelter for vulnerable children, and two were referred to an NGO that paid for them to stay in

a hotel. There were no government or NGO shelters available to house adult men—the largest group of victims identified in 2014. Neither the government nor NGOs provided long-term services to any trafficking victims.
Panamanian authorities took written statements from victims and typically did not encourage them to participate further in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.While victims could file civil suits against traffickers, the government did not implement a 2013 law mandating the creation of a specific fund for assistance to trafficking victims. Panamanian law provided only short-term legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they might face hardship or retribution; five victims received permits to remain in Panama during the course of the investigations in their legal cases. While identified victims were not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking, insufficient efforts to screen vulnerable populations for indicators of trafficking may have led to some victims being penalized. Further, an NGO reported individuals forced to commit crimes were not identified as trafficking victims and were instead treated as criminals and during the year, a Colombian woman who may have been forced to transport drugs into the country was arrested for drug smuggling.

PREVENTION
The government sustained modest prevention efforts. Its anti- trafficking commission, responsible for leading implementation of the 2012-2017 national anti-trafficking action plan, began meeting regularly during the second half of the reporting period, but reported few notable outcomes. Interagency coordination remained weak, due in large part to the lack of standardized protocols for conducting and reporting activities across various agencies.Authorities conducted several events as part of an annual, month-long public awareness campaign and continued a campaign against sexual exploitation of minors.The government provided anti-trafficking training for its diplomatic personnel. Unlike last year, the government did not investigate, prosecute, or convict any child sex tourists. The government did not report efforts to reduce the demand for forced labor or commercial sex acts.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
Tier 2 Watch List 
Papua New Guinea is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Foreign and local women and children are subjected to sex trafficking, domestic servitude, forced begging, and street vending, and foreign and local men are subjected to forced labor in logging and mining camps. An estimated 19 percent of the country’s labor market is comprised of child workers—some of whom are subjected to forced labor or child prostitution.“Mosko Girls”—young girls employed in bars to provide companionship to patrons and sell an alcoholic drink called mosko—are vulnerable to human trafficking, especially around major cities. NGO sources indicate children in prostitution increased by 30 percent in 2013. Boys as young as 12 years old are exploited as “market taxis” in urban areas and required to carry extremely heavy loads for low pay; some may be victims of forced labor. Parents force children to beg or sell goods on the street as sources of income. Children, including girls from tribal areas as young as 5 years old,

are reportedly subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe.Tribal leaders reportedly trade with each other the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and to forge political alliances.Traditional customs permit parents to sell or give away their daughters for forced marriages—often to wealthy men and politicians—to settle debts or as peace offerings, leaving the girls vulnerable to domestic servitude.Young girls sold into polygamous marriages may be forced into domestic service for their husbands’ extended families. In urban areas, parents reportedly prostitute their children directly or in brothels as a means to support their families or to pay for school fees. High-ranking public officials allegedly condone, are engaged in, or benefit from sex trafficking.
Malaysian and Chinese logging companies and foreign businesspeople arrange for some foreign women to voluntarily enter the country with fraudulently issued tourist or business visas. Subsequent to their arrival, many of these women—from countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines—are turned over to traffickers who transport them to logging and mining camps, fisheries, and entertainment sites, and exploit them in forced prostitution and domestic servitude. Chinese, Malaysian, and local men are subjected to forced labor at commercial mines and logging camps, where some receive little pay and are compelled to continue working for the company indefinitely through debt bondage schemes. Employers exacerbate workers’ indebtedness by paying extremely low wages, which requires employees to purchase food and other necessities from the employers at usurious interest rates.
The Government of Papua New Guinea 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 gazetted the Criminal Code Amendment of 2013, which contains anti-trafficking provisions, and established a new anti-trafficking training program for front-line officers and judiciaries. The police initiated an investigation involving a Papua New Guinean who allegedly exploited a Fijian national. The government also created an anti-trafficking committee and drafted a national action plan to combat trafficking.The government, however, continued to lack a formal victim identification procedure or referral mechanism. Despite reports of trafficking-related corruption at the highest levels of government, it also did not investigate police officers and other government officials allegedly involved in human trafficking. Government officials reportedly continued to facilitate trafficking by accepting bribes to allow illegal migrants to enter the country or ignore trafficking situations and may have traded female trafficking victims in return for political favors or votes.