New Zealand has once again been found to be a destination country for forced labour and sex trafficking, and a source country for sex trafficking of children.
The 2018 Trafficking in Persons (Tip) report, released by the US Department of State in Washington today, said foreign women from Asia and South America faced the risk of sex trafficking here, and some international students and temporary visa holders were vulnerable to forced labour and prostitution.
It singled out men and women from the Pacific Islands, China, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Latin America as being vulnerable to forced labour in the agricultural, dairy, construction, viticulture, food service and hospitality industries.
"Unregulated and unlicensed immigration brokers operating in New Zealand and source countries, particularly in India and the Philippines, assist victims of labour exploitation in New Zealand obtain visas," the report said.
Some were charged excessive recruitment fees, made to work excessively long hours and had their passports retained and movements restricted.
"New Zealand girls and boys, often from minority communities, are at risk of sex trafficking," it said.
"Some children are recruited by other girls or compelled by family members into sex trafficking."