Human trafficking grows

Public asked to become familiar with signs to create more awareness

HUMAN trafficking in the province is increasing and the government and various organisations are calling for more vigilance in combating it.

Today is World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2019, and according to local NGO Men Against Prostitution and Trafficking of Women, human trafficking in the form of sex work and forced labour is considered particularly prevalent in the Western Cape because of the vulnerability of women and children and the well-organised system of human trafficking.

Co-founder of the organisation, Ronny Rammut la, said: “Many vulnerable individuals are trafficked to the Western Cape and are introduced to sex work under the false expectation of receiving a job in the city.

“Many of the prostitutes I’ve helped are from rural areas such as the Eastern Cape. They leave their homes with hopes of finding better opportunities and then become victims of the human trafficking system.”

MEC for community safety Albert Fritz encouraged the public to familiarise itself with signs of human trafficking to create more awareness.

“Targets of human trafficking are typically people who are the most vulnerable in our society. They may be lured through false job advertisements, sold by family, seduced, abducted, trafficked by a ‘friend’ or through false immigration.

“Less than 2% of individuals trafficked are ever found.”

René Hanekom, spokesperson for a 21 organisation which aims to rescue victims, said trafficking in the form of sexual exploitation (prostitution, escort agencies, massage parlours) and forced labour (fishing, agriculture, domestic servitude, trafficking of organs) are more common in the Western Cape, and the porous borders contribute to the high number of cases.

“Victims are often hidden in plain sight, engaged in seemingly legitimate businesses within our local economies.

“The control exerted over them can be subtle, financial or psychological, as well as brutal and physical. This can keep the crime and their plight invisible to an unknowing public.

“Our organisation’s helpline assisted 102 victims of trafficking in South Africa over the past three years. Between November 2018 and the end of June we had 18 rescues, of which 13 were in the Western Cape.”

Hanekom confirmed there was a high prevalence of human trafficking in the province, and said the number of victims saved depended largely on the public’s role in identifying victims and the victim’s ability to identify trafficking.

Fritz said if someone was offered a job which seemed unfamiliar or too good to be true, it was best to validate it through the Department of Labour.

To report suspected cases, call the South African National Human Trafficking Resource Line on 0800 222 777.