Child sex-workers: Efforts to trace parents
2012-02-19 20:14
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Johannesburg - The KwaZulu-Natal police say they have yet to trace the families of some of the 16 child sex-workers rescued in Durban last week.
Spokesperson Colonel Vincent Mdunge said on Sunday authorities had managed to track down some of the girls' parents, but that finding the remaining families "would not be an overnight exercise, because the girls came from different parts of the country".
"The investigators have allowed the girls to undergo a debriefing session after which they will be filing sworn statements. Only then will re-introduction with families occur," he added.
The girls, eight of whom were minors, were used as drug mules and prostitutes, and were under the influence of drugs when they were rescued.
They were due to be shipped out of South Africa from Durban.
Four people have been arrested.
The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for social development, Weziwe Thusi, commended the police on the arrests.
"We must fight the existence of child trafficking and prostitution rings because they attack the very core of our existence. I would like to call on communities to assist the police in fighting this scourge," Thusi said.
- SAPA
