U.S. Department of State 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report - Senegal

Senegal (Tier 2)

Senegal is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Boys are trafficked within Senegal for forced labor, particularly for begging by Koranic teachers called marabouts. Girls are trafficked within Senegal for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Boys are trafficked to Senegal from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Guinea for forced labor and begging. Women and girls are trafficked from Senegal to neighboring West African countries, the Middle East, Europe, and to a lesser extent, North America. They are also trafficked to Senegal from neighboring West African countries and from these countries through Senegal to the Middle East and Europe.

The Government of Senegal does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. To strengthen its trafficking response, Senegal should increase efforts to enforce its anti-trafficking law, coordinate inter-ministerial anti-trafficking efforts, and educate government officials and the public about trafficking.

Prosecution

The Government of Senegal showed increased law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking during the reporting period. In April 2005, the National Assembly passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking statute. As yet, there have not been any prosecutions under the new law. Two marabouts were convicted for subjecting boys to forced begging under child abuse laws, however. In addition, a foreign national was convicted for sexually exploiting a 15-year-old boy he had picked up at a home for destitute children. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but on appeal his sentence was reduced to three months. The Ministry of Tourism established a tourism police unit to investigate child sex tourism, but the unit is not yet operational. Senegal entered into a multilateral agreement with nine other West African nations and cooperated with Guinean officials to arrest two Senegalese traffickers in Guinea in February 2006. The government is collaborating with UNODC to establish local and regional "Houses of Justice" to resolve child exploitation cases through mediation.

Protection

The Government of Senegal sustained a strong commitment to protect trafficking victims during the reporting period. The government continued to operate a shelter that has a 24-hour toll-free hotline for children in distress, including trafficking victims. Between June 2003 and May 2005, the shelter received 4,137 children and 150,417 calls. The government cooperated with the Government of Mali and IOM to repatriate 54 child trafficking victims from Senegal to Mali. Under the new trafficking law, victims cannot be punished for unlawful acts that are a result of their being trafficked.

Prevention

Senegal demonstrated modest efforts to raise awareness about trafficking in persons. Senegal's President spoke publicly against human trafficking in April 2005 and the Family Minister publicly highlighted the threat of child trafficking numerous times. While the government continued to work with an NGO to assess the problem of child sex tourism, it has not yet conducted a study of the trafficking of adults for sexual exploitation. In collaboration with UNICEF, the Ministry of Education is planning a project to establish 80 modernized Koranic schools to help stop the exploitation of boys by religious leaders. Although the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the national anti-trafficking coordinator, established an inter-ministerial technical group against trafficking in 2005, awareness of trafficking among some key government officials remains low.

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