Sex slaves, R1 000 a piece
2005-11-29 12:54
Fred Katerere
Nelspruit - In the past 18 months, 84 foreign women and young girls have been rescued from sex slavery across South Africa.
Most of the women and girls came from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, said Karen Blackman, spokesperson for the Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme. The programme is part of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
"Most of the victims had been forced into sexual exploitation, some of them by people who employed them in their homes," she said.
She said some of the women and girls also came from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Bulgaria and Thailand and many were found in major cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
Blackman said because of the lack of legislation on human trafficking in South Africa, no arrests had been made.
"We find it difficult to have traffickers prosecuted because currently there are no laws in the country to prosecute human traffickers," she explained.
Women sold for as little as R1 000
An IOM report published in April revealed that Mozambican women and girls were trafficked into South Africa and sold to miners on the West Rand for about R500.
According to the report women from Mozambique were smuggled through the Lebombo border post with promises of jobs in South Africa.
Some were then sold to brothels in Johannesburg for as little as R1 000.
The organisation estimates that at least 1 000 victims from Mozambique are recruited every year and the traffickers generate about R1m annually.
Blackman said her programme helped to repatriate victims to their country of origin and teach them skills so they could escape prostitution.
'Together we can stop violence against women'
The programme was launched in January 2004 and will continue operating for the next three years. It is funded by the US Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration and the Norwegian government.
The programme covers Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
IOM has a toll free number where women can call for help and where information is provided about sexual exploitation. The number is 0800 555 999.
At the moment, the world is observing 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence.
The 16 days campaign was introduced following the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991.
It starts on the International Day Against Violence Against Women on November 25 and ends on International Human Rights Day, December 10. This year's theme is "Together we can stop violence against women."
- African Eye