ANEX CDW

Justice Minister , Jeff Radebe   introduced the much anticipated human trafficking bill  on the 16 of March 2010  in Parliament.  Civil society organisations and international organisations  active  in  the strife against this crime continue to face challenges, due to the limited resources  available to assist victims of trafficking.   The reality of not criminalising trafficking continues to  result in most cases of trafficking going unreported, unrecorded and the failure of service providers to assist the victim adequately. The concerns  around Human trafficking in South Africa  are  often closely associated  with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which is anticipated to result in a deluge of  human trafficking  cases. This may  be a harsh reality , however,  the crime of trafficking trafficking is not episodic  but is perpetual and much broader than anticipated.

As a children’s rights organisation  working to combat human trafficking, Anex believes that legislating this crime will ensure that specialised  resources will be allocated to assist survivors of this crime to ensure that  the  fundamental rights of the victim are upheld  from the point of rescue  till the  victim is safely reintegrated in a safe environment in their community, province or country of origin.  The Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Legislation, once  enacted and implemented, will  ensure and place both a civil and state obligation especially the relevant government departments  to directly  engage or support initiatives geared towards the identification, investigation and prosecution of cases of human trafficking.

Anex  supports  the progress and reassurance made by the Minister of Justice to take action against the crime as  this will ensure  accurate data and statistics of the crime. This will ultimately change the discourse around human trafficking to empower the victim to access services and support  and speak out openly  about what is currently viewed as a faceless crime.