Cape Town – Karoo women and children who fall victim to human trafficking are lured into addiction and exploitation by recruiters who prey on their vulnerability and sell them false promises of a better life.
Experts told the Weekend Argus of a bleak picture of exploitation involving young women and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who get transported between Western Cape towns as labourers and sex workers.
Although no data exists of how many women and children are affected by human trafficking in its various forms, NGOs in this sector agree it has reached crisis proportions.
Social worker and programme director at Activists Networking Against the Exploitation of Children, Claudia Burger, expressed concern. With a group of runners, she embarked on a #PutYourFootDown campaign against human trafficking this week.
She said women and children were first “tricked by a man into believing that he will introduce them to a better life. A lot of the time, it’s truck drivers, but also other men”.
“The focus in trafficking is to transport the victim to an unknown place where they do not know anyone they can contact. Most of the victims do not realise that they are being exploited because they have grown used to not having fathers around; that any male who shows interest in them, they fall for the deceit and will then be prepared to do anything for the attention,” Burger said.
As part of the campaign, Burger, along with Two Oceans Marathon vice-chairwoman and founder of Nantes Athletic Club, Caroline Peters, life coach Tiaan Roodt and accountant Hilton Murray ran from Rawsonville to Beaufort West, about 400km, over four days to raise awareness and “reclaiming the N1 for justice”.
“The aim is to make the N1 a safe route, and also to start a fund-raising campaign for a safe house for vulnerable children in Murraysburg.”
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said officers were not aware of women or children being trafficked in the towns identified by the campaign.
“No incidents of child trafficking were reported in any of the mentioned towns, and there are no such cases under investigation at this moment.”
However, Patric Solomons, director of NGO Molo Songololo, said he about at least seven cases of sexual exploitation involving children in the Karoo. Two of the cases, involving a 15- and a 16-year-old were before the courts, while the rest were being investigated, Solomons said.
“In one case, the child was trafficked from Beaufort West to Cape Town, and in another, the child was kept in the Beaufort West district. Both are now in places of safety.”
He said often children were recruited and “groomed” by people they knew and trusted, and were not aware of the exploitation that awaited them.
Van Wyk advised parents and guardians to report missing children and people to their nearest police stations.