A United States 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the United States State Department says taxis are used to transport sex workers including child victims to foreign tourists.

The report said human traffickers exploited domestic and foreign victims in Fiji.

“Traffickers exploit victims in illegal brothels, local hotels, private homes, and massage parlours, and traffickers sometimes utilise websites and cell phone applications to advertise victims for commercial sex,” the report said.

“Observers reported a practice where taxi drivers transported Fijian child sex trafficking victims to hotels in popular tourist areas at the request of foreign tourists seeking commercial sex acts.”

The report said some Fijian children were at risk of sex and labour trafficking as families followed a traditional practice of sending them to live with relatives or families in larger cities.