HUMAN trafficking is being placed in the spotlight as Red Light, an anti-human trafficking initiative and Durban North’s The Domino Foundation have joined forces to raise awareness during Human Trafficking Awareness Week, 3 to 7 October.
Considered the modern day form of slavery, human trafficking comes in many different forms: the sex trade, organ-trafficking and illegal debt bondage. In South Africa, child-headed households, single parent households and the realities of living under the ever-rising poverty line mean that many vulnerable women, men and children are turning to cheap labour and sex work for survival.
As one of the only second phase human trafficking programmes in the country, Red Light’s mission is to see exploited human-trafficked individuals restored to hope and dignity. Since 2008, Red Light has reached thousands of last-resort sex workers and identified and assisted human traffic survivors. By reaching out into Durban’s areas of high prostitution and exploitation, Red Light builds sustainable relationships with victims, helping to restore their identity.
One such story of hope is Tammy’s (name has been changed). As a teenager in a poor child-headed household, she supported her family by working in a Durban factory. When she turned 18, the factory could no longer exploit her for cheap labour and was unwilling to offer her a legal contract, forcing her onto the street with nothing. She felt she had no choice but to sell her body for money to survive and support her family needs.
With the help of Red Light, human trafficking survivor Tammy was able to free herself from the effects of modern-day slavery and was released from the Red Light project in 2016 with new hope and dignity. Through the project she received emotional, financial and spiritual support and completed her safety officer course with funding aid from Red Light partners and was able to open a feeding program in her community for vulnerable and homeless children.
By joining The Domino Foundation, an umbrella non-profit organisation that has a range of community social justice programmes, Red Light is able significantly to tackle some of the many social ills that lead to individuals from being exploited in the first place.
To find out more information and stories of hope about Red Light and human trafficking go to: https://redlight.org.za
