National Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator chats to Stacey and JSbu
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The mass hysteria around these alleged cases of Human Trafficking of late in the media coupled with videos of young children, teenage women going missing have been circulating on social media. There still seems to be a lack of information and statistics around this issue however when it comes to the South African context with the burning question at the centre of the discussion being: "How big Human Trafficking really in South Africa?". Unfortunately it seems there is no definite answer to this question.
In fact, comment ranges from one extreme to the other. On one side, the prevalence of trafficking is seen by some to be presented quiet sensationally with a lot of guess work.
This creates a problem of credibility with the public and panic. On the other end of the spectrum, we have an equally concerning narrative which is driven by sceptics who disregard evidence-based data, thereby declaring that human trafficking is a perpetuated myth and not a serious problem compared to other well referenced societal issues.
According to the annual Trafficking in persons (TIP) by the State Department in the United States, Human Trafficking indeed a concerning reality in South Africa. he Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria reports that what is known about trafficking is largely based on ad hoc studies, questionable and outdated statistics, anecdotal information, and common myths. Furthermore, confusion around the actual definition of human trafficking means that it is regularly conflated with human smuggling and other forms of irregular migration.
There is no denying that there seems to be a pattern of young children being targeted for most of these alleged human trafficking cases.
Stacey and JSbu approached Marc Hardwick, the Managing Director of The Guardian which is the only Specialist Private Child Abuse Investigation company in South Africa and the National Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator, at the Salvation Army Carin Holmes about this matter.
In fact, comment ranges from one extreme to the other. On one side, the prevalence of trafficking is seen by some to be presented quiet sensationally with a lot of guess work.
This creates a problem of credibility with the public and panic. On the other end of the spectrum, we have an equally concerning narrative which is driven by sceptics who disregard evidence-based data, thereby declaring that human trafficking is a perpetuated myth and not a serious problem compared to other well referenced societal issues.
According to the annual Trafficking in persons (TIP) by the State Department in the United States, Human Trafficking indeed a concerning reality in South Africa. he Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria reports that what is known about trafficking is largely based on ad hoc studies, questionable and outdated statistics, anecdotal information, and common myths. Furthermore, confusion around the actual definition of human trafficking means that it is regularly conflated with human smuggling and other forms of irregular migration.
There is no denying that there seems to be a pattern of young children being targeted for most of these alleged human trafficking cases.
Stacey and JSbu approached Marc Hardwick, the Managing Director of The Guardian which is the only Specialist Private Child Abuse Investigation company in South Africa and the National Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator, at the Salvation Army Carin Holmes about this matter.
