Human trafficking on the rise globally - and Gauteng is the main ‘hotspot’ in SA

Presenter John Maytham chats to Tershia De Klerk from the National Freedom Network.

• Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, according to the National Freedom Network

• The counter-human trafficking group says most of the country's exploitation hotspots are in Gauteng

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Anti-trafficking group, the National Freedom Network, says human trafficking is alive and growing in South Africa with an estimated 155,000 people currently enslaved.

According to the organisation, human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, generating more than R258 trillion per year.

It estimates that 2.8 out of every 1,000 people in Africa are living in modern day slavery. Of the trafficked victims recorded in Africa, 64% are children.

National Freedom Network spokesperson Tershia De Klerk says human trafficking encompasses sex trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced marriages, baby harvesting, organ harvesting, and forced illegal activities.

In South Africa, a number of exploitation hotspots have been identified in Gauteng but De Klerk says that trafficking could happen anywhere.

The organisation has launched a campaign, #TheTraffickYouNeedToKnow, to raise awareness about the prevalence of human trafficking in South Africa and how to keep safe.

The campaign focuses on the state of human trafficking in SA, a country that is a source, destination and transit country for human trafficking.

In Gauteng, Springs, Benoni, Fordsburg, Krugersdorp, Sunnyside, Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark have been named as recruitment zones.

Victims have been held in areas including Heidelberg, Springs, Hillbrow, Randburg, Pretoria.

According to De Klerk, it remains difficult to collect statistics on human trafficking because the crime is often hidden.

She says a very small percentage of trafficking victims manage to escape or get saved. "That is why preventative education is so vital", she tells CapeTalk.

Human trafficking is unfortunately a hidden crime. So, the best way to establish the extent of the problem is actually to refer to the people that are working on the ground.

Tershia De Klerk, Spokesperson - National Freedom Network

It's the second-largest crime in the world but in fact the fastest-growing organised crime in the world.

Tershia De Klerk, Spokesperson - National Freedom Network

Looking at the reliable stats of those working on the ground, we that in South Africa, approximately 155,000 people are trapped in human trafficking at any given time.

Tershia De Klerk, Spokesperson - National Freedom Network

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