For more information on human trafficking or to report a case, contact 10111 or 0800 222 777.Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Trafficking in Persons (TiP) involves the act of selling, recruiting, transporting, delivering, transferring, exchanging, leasing, harbouring or receiving a person and occurs over international borders as well as within a country.
This act- committed for thepurposeof exploitation- is done by means of threats, force, coercion, abuse of a person’s position of vulnerability, abuse of power, fraud, abduction, kidnapping, deception and payments.
South African legislation distinguishes between children and adult victims of TiP. In the case of adults, all three “elements” of the offence, ie the act, means and purpose, need to be present. However, in the case of a child only the act and purposeare necessary for an offence to have been committed. Therefore, if a child is found on the street and is involved in commercial sexual exploitation and “consents” to this exploitation by another person, the child would still be a TiP victim - there does not have to be any force, coercion, or deceit etc present. No child can consent to being exploited by another person.
TiP is a crime that ruthlessly uses women, children and men for numerous types of exploitation, including all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, sexual exploitation, forced labour, child labour, servitude, the removal of body parts and the impregnation of a female person against her will for the purposes of selling the child once it is born.
In addition to the above, the crime of TiP occurs where a person adopts a child - whether this is facilitated or secured through legal or illegal means or concludes a forced marriage with another person - for the purpose of the exploitation of that child or other person.
The trafficking of human beings can be described as one of the greatest scourges facing the world today and is fuelled by greed and corruption. It is increasingly due to the prevailing socio-economic conditions, porous borders, immigration patterns and flourishing organised criminal activity in South Africa.
For more information on TIP or to report a case contact 10111 / 0800 222 777 or go to:
Words: NdabaOnline
Image: Shutterstock