What Law Protects Human Trafficking In South Africa?

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What Law Protects Human Trafficking In South Africa?

What Is Human Trafficking?

The Department of Homeland Security in America defines human trafficking as coercion, fraud, or force to obtain labor or commercial sexual acts. The transportation of victims is not a need for the crime of human trafficking. If they are being sexually exploited or used as indentured servants, they can stay put and be considered victims of human trafficking. Any person who exhibits sexual interest in or has sexual contact with at least one victim of human trafficking is considered a sex exploiter. Debt bondage is a type of indentured servitude in which a person’s legal guardian or family member(s) is paid in return for the person. To be released, they must work to pay off this obligation.

What Is Human Trafficking In South Africa?

As a practice of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation among imported and exported trafficked men, women, and children, human trafficking is prohibited in South Africa. Typically, South African boys are utilized in agriculture, street vending, and food service, while girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. Anecdotal information indicates that South African minors may also be required to perform unpaid labor for landowners in exchange for access to the land, a place to live, or the maintenance of labor tenancy rights. In any case, this kind of unpaid work has led to the labeling of human trafficking as a contemporary kind of slavery. Combinations of several variables, such as gender inequality, economic unpredictability, and political unrest, lead to human trafficking. All of these occur in Africa, making it a major hub for human trafficking. Many argue that a cultural change is necessary to diminish the prevalence of human trafficking by lowering the desire for sex and unpaid work.

Safety and Prevention Of Human Trafficking In South Africa

The lack of reliable data on human trafficking obscures the reality of the problem in South Africa. Since so little is known, evaluating and addressing the issue is challenging. In 2013, the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act were approved by Congress and signed by Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa.

However, little progress was made; only three traffickers were found guilty, while 12 suspects faced charges in the same year. South Africa was added to the U.S. Department of State’s Tier 2 list in 2008, designating it as a nation whose government is working to comply with the TVPA’s minimal requirements against human trafficking even though it does not yet fully meet them.

The government did not disclose enough information regarding investigations, prosecutions, convictions, or penalties related to trafficking offenses. Additionally, it continued to deport and prosecute suspected foreign victims without offering the necessary protective services and omitted information about its efforts to protect victims of trafficking. In 2017, the nation was ranked in “Tier 2” by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the U.S. Department of State.

In 2016, South Africa also collaborated with the Global Action against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling. Due to the frequency of human trafficking, 13 countries were asked to participate, with South Africa being one of them. The Sexual Offenses and Community Affairs Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority created a Task Force on Trafficking in Persons in 2012. (SOCA). This task force aims to gather information on trafficking in South Africa and develop strategies for curtailing its occurrence. The Child Protection Directorate assists victims of trafficking in returning home securely.