Durban - The Democratic Alliance Women's Network (DAWN) KZN, has handed over a memorandum of concerns to the station commander at the Phoenix SAPS.
Earlier today, the ladies held a picket outside the police station to highlight the increase of abduction, trafficking and killing of children.
According to the memorandum, while the exact number of children affected by this scourge remains uncertain, one child abducted, trafficked or murdered is one too many.
DAWN KZN Chairperson, Shehana Kajee, said the lack of effective border control in South Africa exacerbates the problem of child trafficking.
“Our porous borders make it extremely easy for traffickers to move children from our country into neighbouring countries, without being detected and probably never to be found again.
“What is also needed is an awareness campaign. Children need to be taught to be wary of known and unknown people who offer to take them out. Parents should be encouraged to educate their children about the dangers around them.
“It is important to note that there is no 24 hour waiting period before a child can be reported as missing. All instances of missing children must be reported to the authorities immediately.
Time, in instances of child abduction, is critical and may be the difference between life and death.”
Kajee, who handed over the memorandum of concerns to station commander Captain Bafana Ndlovu, said they will also study today’s crime stats and apply necessary pressure to get child abduction, abuse and murder stats down.
“We cannot have a country where crimes like murder, attempted murder, sexual offences, kidnapping and child abduction increase year on year. SAPS and other stakeholders must come to the fore and fight against this.”