The first report on the scope and nature of human trafficking in South Africa has revealed that the country is a source, transit, and destination for human trafficking, with some hotspots identified in Johannesburg.
The report was compiled by the US Agency for International Development and its research partners- and is aimed at providing evidence on the nature and magnitude of human trafficking in South Africa to policymakers.
Dr. Marcel van der Watt, a research fellow at the Free State Centre for Human Rights says, “There are often preconceived ideas- so the profile of perpetrators, we’ve got multiple nationalities involved in trafficking in South Africa but South African nationals still eclipses all the nationalities in terms of perpetrators.
“Gender – very interesting in successfully prosecuted cases – 38 women being convicted of trafficking, 39 men, so that’s very interesting when you look at male and female and the role that women have to also perpetrate and enable these criminal networks. We’ve got victims of trafficking from several African countries.”
In the video below Dr Van der Watt gives more details on the study:
