The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development says the four women who were rescued from an upmarket Durban North house are receiving counselling.
They were part of a group of five women between the ages of 19 and 27 from Johannesburg, who were lured to Durban with promises of lucrative jobs at a call centre.
After they were brought from the Durban bus terminus to the house in Durban North, the women say they were told they were going to work in the sex trade.
Social Development acting Chief Director in the eThekwini cluster, Bilo Ntombela says the women are still emotional after the ordeal.
“When we found them they were very emotional so we are rendering services in terms of psycho-social support and also trauma containment and we are rendering trauma debriefing. The process is going smooth because when we found them they do have contact details for their families we’ve contacted their families and they are in touch with their families and then we are assessing their state that now they are calm they are ok then we can link them with their families.”
Ntombela says the high rate of unemployment makes young women vulnerable to human trafficking.
“Human trafficking happens considering that there is a high rate of unemployment. People will be promised luxurious jobs that’s when we are doing awareness programs we just create that picture that these are the elements that you need to guide against if you find a person promising you that they found you a job you are going to be paid so much and this is what is going to happen that we are taking them through that they guide against one two and three.”
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