“When we help countries to prosecute traffickers, we are strengthening the rule of law. When we bring victims out of exploitation, we are helping to create more stable and productive communities. When we stop this crime from happening in the first place, we are preventing the abuse of those who are victimised as well as the ripple effect that caused damage throughout communities into our broader environment and which corrupt global supply chains.”
These were the words of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, minutes before he recognised Guyanese Simona Broomes as one of the 2013 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes on June 19, 2013 in Washington, DC.
One day later, the U.S. embassy said Broomes has demonstrated extraordinary bravery and leadership in raising awareness of human trafficking in Guyana.
Challenges
After 25 years as a miner, the intrepid Broomes established the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) in 2012 to empower women miners and address unique challenges women face operating in remote areas. The organisation then proceeded to rescue several young women from sexual slavery in the interior to international acclaim, highlighting the appalling situation of women in Guyana’s gold fields.
Today, Broomes continues to brave the weather, rescuing victims of modern-day slavery despite many challenges. Since the start of 2014, GWMO has rescued five teenagers who were trafficked to Cuyuni, Region Seven. In 2013, the organisation rescued 29 women and girls, including one Trinidadian national. Of the 29, 16 were under the age of 18.
In the GWMO 2013 Report, released recently, Broomes said: “To date, our biggest achievement has been addressing social ills in the mining sector and confronting modern-day slavery in the form of Trafficking in Persons (TIP).”
There is no doubt that the GWMO has led the way in confronting this scourge in Guyana. “I am honoured to be here in this country, at this time, and as part of an organisation that will generate a wave of change against TIP while joining the chain of resistance around the world,” its head said.
Approximately 46,000 victims of trafficking were brought to light worldwide in 2012, compared to the 27 million that already exist, the U.S. TIP report revealed.
Exploitation
According to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the most common form of human trafficking (79 per cent) is sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls.
“Many governments are still in denial. There is even neglect when it comes to either reporting on, or prosecuting cases of human trafficking.”
Broomes has been a major critic of the Home Affairs and Human Services Ministries as well as the Guyana Police Force, owing to their apparent failure to rescue TIP victims, particularly women and girls who continue to be sexually exploited. Because of this, Broomes has been accused of “fighting for space in the newspaper”. She was even arrested on one occasion, after a shopkeeper before the courts for TIP accused her of theft and assault.
On August 26 2013, the GWMO President was placed on Gy$10,000 station bail for the incidents which allegedly happened at Puruni four months earlier during a TIP operation. Broomes told the press minutes after being released from police custody: “I know that it’s deliberate and I know it’s to send a message to me that I should stop. I expect it, I expect more and this is what I have to go through as a woman and a miner for standing up for children who are innocent.”
However, Broomes and her team have pledged to never give up.
