SWC human trafficking risk up
2010-03-24 17:08
Cape Town -The 2010 football World Cup will heighten the risk of human trafficking in South Africa, said a new study out on Wednesday which urged greater action against the crime.
"It's a strong surmise that this problem will be become worse in the host cities during the month of the Cup," Virginia Tilley of the Human Sciences Research Council, which published the research, told AFP.
"This is a natural magnet for traffickers because they figure they can make some good profits. The demand for sex and drugs really crest during these events on a large scale."
The exploratory study, commissioned by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), called for "intervention on all fronts" into the crime.
It found that South Africa was a destination and transit country for trafficking in persons from the world and Africa, while domestic trafficking was mainly from rural to urban areas.
Women were the biggest group of victims with a demand for under-age girls "a disturbing feature" fuelled by perceptions that they were less of an HIV risk and represented "youthful sexual desirability".
Albinos targeted
South Africa's main World Cup host cities Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth were believed to be main destinations for underage sex tourism involving children aged 10 to 14 years.
Other findings were that body parts were trafficked with albinos targeted due to the belief that white skin has potent powers, and that traffickers ranged from crime syndicates to family members.
Links to the drugs trade were also suggested, including young boys being trafficked to distribute drugs.
"There is a very real concern that the World Cup does put people at risk," said project leader Carol Alais from the University of South Africa.
But she warned against "alarmist statistics" - such as an estimate of 40 000 women that will be trafficked in for the tournament - in the absence of hard data.
"There's no evidence for these numbers at all," she said.
The research is the country's first comprehensive study into the crime with South Africa last week proposing its first direct legislation to target trafficking.
Under the new law, trafficking offences can be punished by maximum sentences of life imprisonment and a one million rand (R1m) fine.