Voices from the Frontline: Eradicating Labor Trafficking in Guatemala

Human trafficking in Guatemala occurs in various forms and places, many of which are hidden or hard to discern. Labor trafficking is especially difficult to pinpoint given that the fraud, coercion or force involved may be hidden in plain sight. From fields full of laborers harvesting sugarcane to solitary domestic workers, there are few visible signs to differentiate an at-will worker from a victim of trafficking. And the problem is growing - estimates of labor trafficking globally have increased by 10% over the past five years alone. Government and civil society groups in Guatemala have the contextual knowledge to identify and protect those victims. Our research finds that they lack the capacity, mandate, and resources to do so at scale. In this brief, 20 Guatemalan actors involved in addressing labor trafficking share their lessons learned and propose priorities for reducing risk for potential victims and holding those responsible to account.