PROSECUTION
The government decreased its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. The Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011 prohibits both sex trafficking and forced labor and contains extensive victim protections. It prescribes penalties of 15 years’ to life imprisonment, with fines, for trafficking crimes.The Children Act (2012)—which has yet to enter into force—prescribes penalties of 10 years’ to life imprisonment for subjecting a child to prostitution, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. During the reporting period, the government’s anti-trafficking unit investigated 35 possible cases of trafficking and confirmed four of the 35 were trafficking, including one forced labor and three sex trafficking cases.The government initiated the prosecution of one suspected sex trafficker under the 2011 anti-trafficking law, a decrease from the initiation of prosecutions against 12 defendants in 2013.The government has yet to convict a trafficker; all prosecutions from previous years remained pending, though one defendant died. The counter- trafficking unit led efforts to investigate sex trafficking and forced labor in the country and included a deputy director, police and immigration officers, a communications director, and a legal advisor;

the director resigned in 2014, and the unit was without permanent leadership at the end of the reporting period. The unit trained more than 100 government officials on trafficking indicators and collaborated with authorities inVenezuela to investigate a suspected trafficking ring. In December, the counter-trafficking unit identified a trafficking network in which immigration and police officers were implicated in facilitating the sex trafficking of Venezuelan women by helping to regularize victims’ immigration status and providing protection to the operation.The investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.The government did not report any new investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in trafficking offenses; prosecutions against three law enforcement officials for trafficking remained ongoing.

PROTECTION
The government sustained efforts to identify and protect trafficking victims. The government identified and referred eight foreign trafficking victims to care—six sex trafficking and two forced labor victims, seven female and one male victim—compared with nine victims identified in 2013. The counter-trafficking unit partnered with NGOs to provide services to victims. NGOs reported deficiencies in the counter-trafficking unit’s ability to arrange assistance for victims, which they attributed to decreased engagement between the unit and service providers.The counter- trafficking unit spent approximately 1 million Trinidad and Tobago dollars ($157,000) on victim care and protection. It provided funding to NGOs that in turn provided direct care and assistance; however, experts reported the government did not effectively allocate funding and resources to NGOs and other service providers. After an initial security assessment by the government, victims were allowed freedom of movement while staying in NGO-run shelters.
The counter-trafficking unit established standard operating procedures for reporting suspected trafficking cases. Immigration officials reported using the operational guide for victim identification, though procedures remained ad hoc in practice, and limited interagency coordination hindered progress.The government did not punish any identified trafficking victims for crimes committed as a direct result of a trafficking situation; however, unidentified victims were vulnerable to being inadvertently punished or charged with immigration or prostitution violations. Two of the victims identified during the reporting period, both Venezuelan women, were temporarily held in immigration detention after their traffickers released them.The counter-trafficking unit intervened for their release and referred them to care. The government provided three foreign trafficking victims with work and residence permits to remain in the country to assist law enforcement in trafficking investigations, a best practice in victim protection and reintegration. Most foreign victims provided a statement prior to repatriation. Victims that chose to participate in the trial process were afforded witness protection and were able to return to their home countries between court hearings. Some NGOs raised concerns the counter-trafficking unit did not always adhere to best practices in victim assistance. The government partnered with an internal organization and victims’ home governments to ensure safe and responsible repatriation for victims.

PREVENTION
The government sustained limited efforts to prevent trafficking. NGOs engaged in anti-trafficking work, however, reported a continued lack of awareness among government stakeholders

and the general population. The government established an inter-ministerial national taskforce on trafficking in accordance with the anti-trafficking law.The taskforce convened once during the reporting period and did not develop a draft national plan of action, as mandated under its law.The counter-trafficking unit drafted, but did not release, a public report on government anti-trafficking efforts in 2014.The government did not launch a sufficient country-wide official awareness campaign to educate the public and officials about sex trafficking and forced labor. In March 2015, the counter-trafficking unit launched a toll-free hotline to receive reports of suspected human trafficking cases. The government provided anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel.The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. Authorities did not report any cases of child sex tourism investigated or prosecuted during the reporting period.

TUNISIA: Tier 2 Watch List       
Tunisia is a source, destination, and possible transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. According to a baseline study conducted in 2012,Tunisian youth are subjected to various forms of trafficking which appear to be consistent with previously reported patterns. According to the study, Tunisian girls, mainly from the northwest, work as domestic servants for wealthy families in Tunis and major coastal cities. Some child domestic workers experience restrictions on movement, physical and psychological violence, and sexual abuse. International organizations have reported an increased presence of street children and rural children working to support their families in Tunisia since the 2011 revolution; according to the baseline study, these children are vulnerable to forced labor or sex trafficking.Tunisian women have reportedly been forced into prostitution under false promises of work both within the country and elsewhere in the region, such as Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.Women from West and East Africa may be subjected to forced labor as domestic workers. Migrants fleeing unrest in neighboring countries continue to be vulnerable to trafficking. Security officials report organized gangs force street children to serve as thieves and beggars and to transport drugs.
The Government of Tunisia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Despite these measures, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore, Tunisia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year. Tunisia was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and it has committed to devoting sufficient resources to implement that plan. Parliament did not pass draft anti-trafficking legislation. The government reported investigating potential trafficking crimes in 2014 and using existing laws to prosecute trafficking offenders for crimes related to trafficking. It did not, however, provide precise data on the number of convictions or the length of sentencing. The government did not fully implement victim identification guidelines and the national referral mechanism. In a positive change from the previous reporting period, in 2014 the government identified trafficking