Laying false charges is a crime

ORGANISATIONS working with human trafficking victims say the spate of hoax abduction claims are wasting valuable time and resources.

Natalie Ogden of Red Light, a non-profit organisation that assists victims of human trafficking, said their network groups had been spammed with multiple false claims in recent weeks.

“Much time and resources are spent trying to figure out if they are real,” said Ogden.

An 18-year old girl faces possible jail time after she claimed she escaped from two men who were trying to sell her.

The Vryheid teenager claimed she was taken by the men and held hostage in a house with five other girls. She said she managed to escape and was praised for her bravery.

However, less than a week into the investigations, police revealed that the girl’s story had been a lie. Sources revealed that the girl had been with her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, the two Ethiopian men arrested and charged for allegedly taking the girl have been released. They faced a charge of human trafficking.

Last month, KwaMashu was rocked by violent xenophobic attacks after reports circulated via social media that foreign nationals were kidnapping young girls in Durban.

A number of foreign-owned shops were looted and police were called in to calm tensions.

Heather Rorick, who works with rape and human trafficking victims, said there was a need to educate young girls about the dangers of human trafficking.

“Police and human trafficking teams are finding that there are cases of human trafficking happening around us, yet people are not taking this crime seriously. Community watches have been asked to provide awareness to members, especially parents.

“Working with actual victims of human trafficking, it is heartbreaking to see the fear in their eyes.

“There are many who use this as an excuse to get out of trouble, but little do they know that their false claims make it more dangerous for those who this is actually happening to because no one takes actual victims seriously,” said Rorick.

Police provincial spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said the police were appealing to community members to refrain from reporting false cases.

“The false reports are affecting service delivery. It consumes more time when the police officers should be focusing on more serious crimes. In these cases the time is consumed by attending to the false case. Those who report false cases will be dealt with harshly,” said Zwane.