Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security and Peace, Ambassador Alison Stone Roofe, has called for Jamaicans to unite in the fight against human trafficking, stressing that public awareness must be matched by decisive action to protect the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
Ambassador Stone Roofe, who also serves as the chairman of the National Task Force against the Trafficking in Persons, warned of the growing threat of traffickers luring victims.
“Trafficking lures victims with fake job ads promising legitimate work abroad and instead they find themselves confined in illegal scam compounds, forced to run what we call romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud and other cyber enabled schemes. They are watched, threatened and kept in debt bondage with impossible quotas. It is a costly and cruel global crime. The International Labour Organization, the ILO, reports that forced labour and trafficking generates $236 billion in illegal profits annually,” she outlined.
The permanent secretary said Jamaica continues to progress in combating trafficking in persons through stronger legislation as well as several successful convictions.
While acknowledging these advances, Ambassador Stone Roofe emphasised that government action alone is not enough.
“Laws alone do not save people. People of God, we need you, we need your prayers, we need your alertness, we need your voices. We have trained social workers who are equipped to provide trauma informed care and guide survivors through restoration, and you can be trained as well,” she suggested.
She was speaking at a church service at Saxthorpe Methodist Church in St. Andrew on Sunday in recognition of Trafficking in Persons Week.
Trafficking in Persons Week is commemorated annually during the last week of July.