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Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking in Southern Africa

Policy makers and senior government officials from Southern Africa meet on 22 April 2008 in Durban to address the urgent need to set up adequate protection mechanisms for victims of trafficking in Southern Africa.

The three-day meeting, part of the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA), is hosted by IOM and the Southern African Migration Project (SAMP). It represents the first regional effort to specifically address the unique needs of victims of trafficking and identify programmes, policies and legal frameworks to be put in place to ensure their protection.

“Because of the clandestine nature of human trafficking and because many countries in the region have not yet put in place comprehensive counter trafficking programmes and legislations, many victims continue to fall through the cracks, with little or no attention paid to their protection needs and overall wellbeing,” says Hans Petter Boe, Regional Representative for IOM in Southern Africa. “This meeting aims to raise awareness among key government officials and identify concrete recommendations to be adopted at a regional level to ensure the better protection of victims of trafficking.”

There are currently few national and regional mechanisms that address the specific needs of human trafficking victims in Southern Africa. Trafficked persons often find themselves enslaved in situations where their documents are confiscated, where they are held against their will, where they often suffer violent abuse, where their families are threatened with harm, and where they are bonded by a debt that they have little or no chance of ever repaying.

Because of their irregular status, they are usually afraid to seek help from law enforcement officials, who treat them as irregular migrants rather than victims of trafficking. The clandestine and often syndicated criminal nature of human trafficking also poses a threat to victims’ lives, even after they have been rescued.

Earlier this month, Mozambique became the first and only country to pass anti-trafficking legislation in a region that is experiencing both strong internal and cross-border trafficking. Through its Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme (SACTAP), IOM has over the past four years provided comprehensive assistance to 238 victims of human trafficking in Southern Africa.

Adapted from: "SOUTH AFRICA-Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking in Southern Africa." African Press Organization. 22 April 2008.