In the entertainment industry, four processes of human trafficking for
commercial sexual exploitation were identified, with variations between
countries depending on the type of entertainment industry and the work
permit systems applicable. As commercial sex work is illegal in the region,
workers in the entertainment industry who are coerced into sexual relationships with clients face the real possibility of being detained and deported. The very notion of coercion in this industry was a controversial issue among key informants. Nonetheless, there are striking similarities in the mechanisms reportedly used to coerce identified victims, including physical confinement, non-payment for services, withholding of wages and manipulation of debt. Owners and managers of entertainment establishments, and sex brokers (pimps), do not hesitate to use threats of denunciation to the authorities and family repudiation, and actual psychological, physical and sexual violence, to intimidate their victims. The impossibility of leaving the exploiter is entrenched by the fact that women known to have engaged in sex work have limited opportunities to secure income by other means.