Human trafficking was the bone of contention during the closure of a provincial 16 Days of Activism campaign on No Violence Against Women and Children at Indwe in the Chris Hani District Municipality.
Human or child trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer or harbouring of children for the purposes of sexual exploitation, organ removal, child labour and other forms that are related to those. The Department, as the champion of this campaign decided to take the closing event to Indwe because of a concerning rate of human trafficking in that area. Six cases of human trafficking on girls aged between sixteen and twenty have since been reported to the Department. The victims have since been reunited with their families through the intervention by the Department, working together with South African Police Service.
It is understood that signs of human trafficking are not widely known in the province, particularly in Indwe. So the Department went to that area to raise maximum awareness about this inhuman practice. Job promises are understood to be the common method that is been used by the traffickers to lure their victims.
Minister of Social Development Mrs Edna Molewa, accompanied by MEC, Ms Nonkosi Mvana was the keynote addressor during the event. “Through the National Crime Prevention Strategy, we explicitly condemn any form of violence inflicted on women and children, because we consider such acts of violence and abuse as a violation of human dignity and human rights,” Minister said. She also added that violence against women was a global development issue, a dangerous driver of the HIV epidemic, disintegrated families and retarded our country’s development.
Issued by: Department of Social Development, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
17 December 2009
Source: Department of Social Development, Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.socdev.ecprov.gov.za/)
