Criminal individuals, organisations and networks devise sophisticated means to lure children, while they themselves escape justice. Research has revealed that the majority of children caught up in these exploitation rackets are girls, some of them as young as nine.
Nedbank, the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the Corporate Responsibility to Eliminate the Sale of Children (CRES) have forged ties to put an end to the exploitation of children in South Africa. The initiative focuses on mobilising the private sector to play a major role in permanently disrupting one of the worst crimes against children today.
“We are glad to play our part in the fight against this horrific crime and to meaningfully contribute towards putting an end to the sexual exploitation of children. This forms part of Nedbank Group’s Human Rights Statement and our business philosophy to protect, respect and support remedial efforts with regard to human rights,” says Driekie Havenga, group ethics officer at Nedbank.
As an initial step, CRES is asking the private sector to take a stand by joining a common pledge of support. Nedbank is the first corporate member to take a stand with CRES.
“We are convinced that the criminality can be stopped if all actors of society dare to see, take a stand and work together. We hope that many companies will take a stand and pledge support for the elimination of sexual exploitation,” said Joanna Lundquist, Swedish children’s rights lawyer and co-founder of CRES.
