South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked men, women, and children.

South African girls are trafficked internally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. Women and girls from other African countries are trafficked to South Africa and, occasionally, onward to Europe for sexual exploitation.

Thai, Chinese, and Eastern European women are trafficked to South Africa for debt-bonded commercial sexual exploitation. Mozambican and Malawian boys and young men are trafficked to South Africa for agricultural labor. Small numbers of Swazi girls are trafficked to South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province for domestic servitude. Organized criminal groups and local gangs facilitate trafficking into and within South Africa, particularly for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.

The amount of attention gives this evil is far too low for the extent of the problem. It is time now, in 2008, to speak out and do something about it.The problem extends further than the borders of South Africa and needs to be brought to the attention of governments and effective legislation proposed and enacted. We cannot go on like this and something needs to be done about it!

Each year, on 2 December, we commemorate the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The purpose for this is to recall the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly of the United Nations, of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of Others (Resolution 317 (IV) of 2 December 1949). 

For many people 2 December this year will probably be a Sunday with family, or just around the home, having lunch, watching sport on TV or catching up gardening much needed since the heavy rains.

In other part of South Africa, Africa and our world, hundreds of thousands of people won’t even consider they have such choices.

Slavery is something many of us have read about that ‘used to happen in the past.’ Yet, it is alive and right at our doorstep. For the millions of woman and children across the world, and those tens of thousands in Africa – and, yes, those in South Africa it is very real.

Although we pride ourselves as being a civilised country with a growing economy – an example to our African neighbours – the dark side shows an evil most cannot confront. Selling of woman and children for sex or work is growing in South Africa as well as across the continent. Unless we confront and deal with the problem as a nation and as a culture, it will continue to grow.

Internet sites, such as HumanTrafficking.org provide the horror story about what is going on in our back yard.

In South Africa people are recruited, held and passed on to other countries. Molo Songololo, an NGO working in this field to expose and help authorities said a short while ago that 10 year of experience shows the situation in South Africa is not improved.

Legislation needs to be formulated to outlaw human trafficking. Although certain actions have been taken by government, it is still inadequate to make a statistical difference. With the many groups working to prevent slavery – SA Police as well as a number of NGO’s, an interface between these organisations and the government is sorely needed which does one thing. Brings the extent of the brutality, abuse and horrors to the awareness of the public. And thus through public pressure, government would be more inclined to act.

Many people would prefer not to know and prefer to remain blissfully unaware of the decline of society and the horrors that man afflicts on man. However, there remians a good percentage who will take action in whatever manner they are able to.

Kathleen Fitzgibbon, Senior reporting officer for Africa in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, US Department of State, Washington, DC. said, “Trafficking in persons is one of the greatest human rights challenges of our time and is the “underside of globalisation.”

More needs to be done about it.

This forum interfaces between the active groups and the public and government.

We look forward to your comments and if you are interested in more information about this forum, contact spotlightforum@gmail.com

Commemorating human trafficking once a year, with great speeches and intentions is not enough. This a a day to day, week to week and month to month battle we need to fight to turn the tide on the evil of slavery.