“It’s not a fairytale – it can happen to anyone, anywhere”
South Africa ranks among the 10 countries in Africa where human trafficking is worst, with over 30 000 people reportedly being trafficked in and out of the country annually.
TRICKED, transported, trapped and used for sex – these are the brutal realities that women, young girls and young boys face when they become victims of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, said Thora Mansfield, director of The Open Door Crisis Care Centre in Pinetown.
The country commemorates Human Trafficking Awareness Week from 2 to 9 October.
“The innate right of humanness is stripped from a victim, and if they survive to tell the tale, it’s a narrative of despair, pain and anguish. Trafficking victims find themselves in a helpless position.
“I’ll never forget the words of a Cape Town brothel owner: ‘There are situations when you have to use force, abuse or torture to make girls have sex – when she begins to fear for her life, she stops resisting and starts working’,” said Mansfield.
Human trafficking remains an under-reported crime and an international human crisis. But official statistics are elusive. The United Nations and NGOs around the world gathered statistics and have reported that 12 million people are ‘enslaved’ worldwide, 80 per cent being women and children, 50 per cent being minors.
South Africa ranks among the 10 countries in Africa where human trafficking is worst, with over 30 000 people reportedly being trafficked in and out of the country annually.
Trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world, outranked by drugs and firearms, generating $7-billion to $10-billion around the world annually.
“We’re an officially recognised human trafficking victim support centre, and based on my years of experience, trafficking can eventually become the largest criminal industry in the world. Unfortunately, human commodity is a low-risk, high-profit business. Women and young children can be used over and over again for sex on a daily basis.
“We need to create awareness within our communities. It’s not a fairytale – it can happen to anyone, anywhere. People aren’t just being trafficked across international borders; I’ve dealt with cases where the victims were transported from one province to another, even here in Durban. We’re all vulnerable and young people must learn to look beneath the surface,” said Mansfield.
The human trafficking process involves ‘spotters’ – men or women who seek out vulnerable people and children, usually within poverty stricken areas. These ‘spotters’ recruit their victims through force (kidnapping), fraud (false promises of a better life or free education) or through coercion of job offers.
When the victim has been trapped, they are transported and exploited for profit.
WATCH: ‘Dear Sister’, a Media Village production about human trafficking.
“When human trafficking victims are rescued or somehow manage to escape, they are referred to us by the police as well as the International Organisation of Immigration and we accommodate them in undisclosed locations. The healing process for the victims is long and traumatising; a lot of counselling and medical care is required before we can assist the victims with reintegration back into their communities and families.
“Most of these victims are put on drugs, have unprotected sex, contract STDs and/or HIV/Aids or have botched abortions. There are multiple ripple effects that come with the issue of trafficking people,” said Mansfield.
All control is taken away from the victims. The Prevention and Combating of Trafficking of Persons Act (7 of 2013) aims to empower victims and work towards eradicating this international human crisis.
“We need to talk about it in schools, within the communities and even around our dinner tables. The more people we reach with this human trafficking message, the better,” added Mansfield.
