[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

PERU (Tier 2) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Peru does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Peru remained on Tier 2.  These efforts included investigating and prosecuting more traffickers, convicting a former public university official for sex trafficking crimes, and increasing training for law enforcement officials.  The government also increased reintegration services for older child and young adult victims.  However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.  Courts convicted fewer traffickers.  Services for adult victims, boys, LGBTQI+ individuals, and labor trafficking victims remained inadequate.  Government funding for anti-trafficking efforts remained inadequate, hindering implementation of its national policy to combat the crime.

Prioritized Recommendations

Increase funding to implement the National Policy Against Trafficking and allocate dedicated anti-trafficking budgets for member entities of the national multisectoral commission, as required by law. 

Increase funding for victim protection, including availability of services to meet the needs of adult victims, boys, LGBTQI+ individuals, and labor trafficking victims. 

Amend the anti-trafficking law to prescribe penalties for sex trafficking that are commensurate with the penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. 

Increase efforts to prosecute both sex and labor trafficking crimes, convict and punish traffickers, including complicit officials, and seek adequate sentences for convicted traffickers, which should include significant prison terms. 

Strengthen and institutionalize training for criminal justice officials on enforcing anti-trafficking laws, employing victim-centered, trauma-informed procedures, and awarding compensation to victims. 

Strengthen interagency cooperation to ensure law enforcement operations include arrangements for prompt transition to care and shelter for identified victims, and contingency planning to avoid holding victims in police stations. 

Increase and institutionalize reintegration services for child victims transitioning out of shelter care and other victims who decline or lack access to shelter accommodation. 

Increase efforts to proactively identify trafficking victims – particularly among vulnerable populations, such as working children, individuals in commercial sex, and displaced Venezuelans – and refer potential victims to comprehensive protection services. 

Improve data collection systems to collect and report comprehensive, harmonized, and disaggregated data on anti-trafficking law enforcement and victim protection efforts. 

Conduct outreach and prevention programs targeted to at-risk populations, including rural Indigenous communities, using culturally appropriate methods and local languages. 

Enforce laws against crimes that facilitate trafficking, such as fraudulent job recruitment, recruitment fees, illegal mining and logging, and counterfeit operations.