Group tackles long walk against human trafficking

MEMBERS of the Open Door Crisis Centre and SAPS set off from the Durban City Hall last Saturday, on a week-long human trafficking awareness walk from Durban to Johannesburg.

The group will walk their way from Durban City Hall, through the Free State Province and finish at the Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg on 8 May.

At the send-off, Lt Gen Betty Ngobeni said this ground-breaking initiative was testament to the SAPS’s dedication and commitment to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking and ensure it raised awareness around concerns with regards to crime against women and children.

“We want to thank Open Door Crisis Centre for partnering with the SAPS on this campaign. I am so proud to see that we have strong women leaders at the helm of this initiative, because I know, as women, we are more apprehensive with the plight of our vulnerable members of society,” she said.

She said human trafficking has various other crimes rooted in it, such as organ trafficking, child labour, child pornography, prostitution, forced labour, illegal adoptions, arms dealings and money laundering.

“It is a worry as the majority of victims who are trafficked are women and children. We are told victims are hoodwinked through false recruitment drives as well as through the use of social media.

“Traffickers are well versed on the dynamics in South Africa and know how to trick South Africans. People are lured by exaggerated claims of riches and promises of better jobs. We need our community to come forward with any information they might have of suspicious activities which might be happening in their areas,” she said.