Men and women migrated willingly from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines to work as domestic servants or low-skilled laborers.
Upon arrival, however, some were subsequently subjected to conditions of forced labor, such as restrictions on movement, unlawful withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse.
Some Kuwaiti nationals reportedly traveled to destinations including Morocco, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to engage in commercial sex acts.
Despite the availability of these statutes, the government did not report any prosecutions, convictions, or punishments of traffickers for forced labor, including fraudulent recruiters and abusive employers.
In addition, credible reports indicate that government officials are complicit in unlawfully selling worker visas to labor recruiters, thereby facilitating trafficking.
The government did not produce any public awareness campaigns during the reporting period to warn employers and workers about the risks of trafficking.
Kuwait also did not launch a public awareness campaign targeting citizens traveling to known child sex tourism destinations abroad.