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The Plague Of Prostitution In The Bahamas And Caribbean
Related to country: Bahamas

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Prostitution rings a growing problem:
By JASMIN BONIMY, Guardian Staff Reporter -
Nassau, Bahamas:




More than two dozen illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported in the past six months for suspicion of prostitution, but officials admitted yesterday that it is just a glimpse into a much larger problem.

Director of Immigration Vernon Burrows told The Guardian that his department has received reports about non-Bahamian nationals participating in local prostitution rings.

"There is not a significant number," said Burrows. "The Department of Immigration has made some arrests ourselves of some 31 females, not all at once, but over a period of time, who might have been involved in prostitution. There is no significant number but we believe there is far more than we detected."

In the past year, two major busts involving prostitution dens that specialize in supplying 'johns' with non-residents have occurred in the capital. Most recently, a brothel on West Bay Street was shut down on Monday after a police and immigration raid.

Burrows said yesterday that three of the eight women taken into custody at the former Mayfair Hotel on Monday have been repatriated. Five Jamaicans and three Haitian nationals were arrested by police for allegedly working at the brothel, which operated less than 20 feet away from the Fort Charlotte Police Station.

ASP Oscar Sands, officer in charge of the Fort Charlotte Police Station, responded to criticisms that the prostitution ring was allowed to operate so close to a law enforcement agency. He told our news team that he was made aware of the illegal activities when he was assigned at the northern station just three months ago.

"We had to go through the necessary government agencies. As a police officer I didn't want to violate anyone's constitutional rights, so rather than doing that I did my homework with them, and all the while they thought they were getting away with it," said the police officer. "Once I had gotten the information that was necessary for me, I decided to go in and deal with the matter."

In the meantime, Burrows revealed that the Immigration Department has also shut down prostitution rings that operated out of private residences.

"We have some people that we arrested in various apartments that we believe might have been operating as a brothel," explained Burrows.

The Immigration official added that prostitution is not only plaguing The Bahamas. According to him, women are being brought into other Caribbean nations in order to sell their bodies for profit.

"When I speak with my CARICOM counterparts throughout the region, all of them are having serious problems with prostitution, with women being imported into their countries," he said. "In some countries there are Dominicans, South Americans, and even Russians. So it's happening throughout the region."

But on the local front, Burrows admitted that it is often difficult to pinpoint prostitutes or their place of operation.

"It's illegal so its not a publicized thing," he explained. "It's a clandestine thing - something that unless you stumble on it, or unless some conflict happens between the operators and the patrons, we will never hear about it, because they don't advertise that sort of thing.

"Also, ordinarily, if a person was to present themselves to us and they have a valid passport along with sufficient funds to support their stay and a return ticket - they meet the criteria for a visitor. So we have no way of knowing they would have entered The Bahamas for the purpose of prostitution. But then they probably get involved in a prostitution ring."

For this reason, Burrows said a stronger partnership between law enforcement and the public must be forged to weed out the illegal activity.

"The fact of the matter is we don't get assistance from our citizens," said Burrows. "We have to stumble on to these things. That is an ongoing appeal, for us to maintain the security in or country, our citizens must realize they are equal partners as well. So unless they are to come forward and unless they are to be our eyes and ears, nothing is going to be able to solve or prevent these things.

"We have gotten some reports that there are some American girls who would come on Fridays and leave on Sundays," he continued. "We've also gotten reports that the Jamaican girls come and stay for longer periods. So unless we have the intelligence to confirm that these are the individuals in front of us, there is no way for us to prevent their entrance into the country, since they qualify as visitors."

Leading psychiatrist Dr. David Allen has weighed in on the issue. He called prostitution an addiction and an archaic profession that has ensnared both men and women.

"We cannot divorce the treatment of prostitution. We must start from dealing with men - the ones that fosters or organizes the prostitutes," said Dr. Allen. "What they do now is prey on the poor women. Women are having hard times around the world. There is poverty, depression, [and] abuse. So when we focus on women I get very angry about that, because there has to be a holistic approach."

June 18, 2008 | 8:49 AM Comments  0 comments

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