ST. LUCIA: Tier 2
The Government of St. Lucia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore St. Lucia remained on Tier 2. The government demonstrated increasing efforts by cooperating with Caribbean countries to exchange trafficking reports, conducting a series of public awareness campaigns, and training its personnel in measures to combat trafficking. The government sought international funding to build prevention and detection capacity. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government did not conduct any investigations, had yet to have a successful prosecution, had yet to convict a trafficker, and had not identified victims for the past two years. The government’s anti-trafficking law included sentencing provisions that allow fines in lieu of imprisonment, which was not commensurate with penalties for other serious crimes. Since 2014, the government had not completed standardized written procedures to identify victims, and did not have sufficiently trained personnel to identify victims. The government did not provide adequate resources to implement its national action plan.