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03 April 2023 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied
Dr Marcel van der Watt is a Research Fellow at the Free State Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State.

Not only is human trafficking illegal, but it also constitutes a gross violation of human rights. The fundamental rights of trafficked individuals to make their own decisions, to move freely, and to work for whomever they choose are violated by traffickers, who treat them like a commodity.

The first report from a larger study on the scope and nature of human trafficking in South Africa was released at an opportune moment, as the country observes Human Rights Month. The study's recommendations will help to ensure that South Africans' rights are upheld and safeguarded. The evidence of the comprehensive study (to be released in March) will elevate data into a more prominent role in public-policy debates and bolster South African institutional capacity to participate in, and lead this process through partnership with United States institutions and engagement with the Government of South Africa (GOSA).

The report is a culmination of a comprehensive multi-year, multi-sectoral, and multidisciplinary Trafficking in Person (TIP) study conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with research partners, including Dr Marcel van der Watt, a Research Fellow in the Free State Centre for Human Rights (FSCHR) at the University of the Free State (UFS). 

The goal of the report titled: Research into the nature and scope of trafficking in persons in South Africa: Prevalence insights from the criminal justice system and relevant reporting mechanisms, is to educate policymakers in the GOSA, as well as development and implementing partners, service providers, and others about the scope and nature of trafficking in persons in South Africa.

According to Dr Marcel van der Watt, “the findings from the research confirm that sex trafficking continues to make up most of both reported cases and prosecutions of TIP, while labour trafficking prosecutions, similar to trends observed internationally, are severely lacking. Extreme violence is meted out by traffickers, while places where exploitation occurs are embedded in communities and operate for protracted periods without any meaningful law enforcement intervention. The prominence of consumer‐level demand for commercial sex was evident in potentially thousands of sex buyers who “used the services” of adult and child victims of sex trafficking.”

“Despite adequate laws to address this dimension of TIP in South Africa, sex buyers continue to exploit women and children with impunity. Several adult websites, some advertised on public roadways, are repeatedly implicated in ongoing and successful sex trafficking prosecutions, yet none have been prosecuted,” said the UFS Research Fellow. 

He added that the findings are but just some of those that paint a concerning picture, especially considering the proposed Bill by the South African government that will make brothels, brothel-keeping, pimping and sex buying legal in the country. The question we need to ask is: How will this play out in neighbourhoods and communities across the country? And how will this decision impact the issue of Gender Based Violence, the safety of women and children, and the problem of human trafficking in the country?

Findings and recommendations

The study's findings show that sex trafficking continues to account for the majority of TIP prosecutions and reported cases, whereas labour trafficking prosecutions are severely inadequate, in line with global trends.

The following recommendations were presented to the Government of South Africa:

  • Establishing an integrated information system to support effective monitoring and implementation of the PACOTIP Act and providing evidence on TIP prevalence, as specified in Section 41(1) (b)
  • Employ Section 7 of the PACOTIP Act and Sections 11 and 17 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 as legislative tools to reduce the demand that encourages trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation
  • Implement and abide by South African Police Service National Instruction 4 of 2015 to the letter, which is concerned with data integrity, the use of detectives in police stations, and the recording of TIP and associated information on the SAPS crime administration system.
  • In addition to financial investigations, asset forfeiture, and a counter-corruption strategy, establish specialised capacity for proactive, intelligence-led, and court-driven investigations.
  • In research and policy discussions pertaining to prostitution and pornography, gender-based violence, child abuse, labor violations, and irregular migration, give priority to the legally binding TIP definition and "abuse of vulnerability" as defined in the PACOTIP Act in order to accurately identify and prevent the undercounting of TIP cases among these phenomena.
  • Recognise the National Human Trafficking Hotline as an additional official South African reporting system that accepts TIP reports.

About the Free State Centre for Human Rights (FSCHR)

The FSCHR is an institution that focuses on the connection between human rights and transformation through its critical, interdisciplinary, and contextually involved research, advocacy, and legal practice. Research, advocacy, and litigation at the Centre concentrate on issues in the UFS, Bloemfontein, the Free State province, and Lesotho.

Human Rights and Impoverishment, Human Rights and Democracy, and Human Rights and Identities are the three main areas of research for the FSCHR. Courses offered by the Centre include the Interdisciplinary Masters of Human Rights, a Master’s Degree by Full Dissertation, and a doctoral programme in Human Rights, including Doctor of Laws (LLD) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). 

The Centre is primarily a research institution for academia, although it also engages in contextual work. In addition to its Research and Postgraduate Divisions, the Centre has a Legal Services Division that works as a Free State-focused public interest litigation unit in collaboration with the UFS Law Clinic and an Advocacy Division that advocates for transformation-related human rights at the UFS.

On the campuses of UFS and more broadly in the Free State Province, Lesotho, and all of South Africa, the Advocacy Division fosters transformation through advocating for and educating about human rights. The FSCHR's Legal Services Division is a strategic litigation unit for human rights that represents clients in court on their behalf or as amicus curiae in an effort to advance social justice, human rights, and transformation. 

The Division focuses on issues that arise in the Free State Province regarding evictions, socioeconomic issues, service delivery issues, accountability in municipal and provincial governance, and corruption. The South African Human Rights Commission, Free State Province, and the UFS Law Clinic cooperate with the Division's operations.

News Archive

Our Abe Bailey scholars are packing for the UK
2011-08-16

 

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb
Photo: Earl Coetzee

Academic excellence and strong leadership has become synonymous with our university, as our two Rhodes scholars for 2011, and the recent announcement of our two Abe Bailey scholars from the UFS have shown.

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb are two of the proud recipients of Abe Bailey Travel Bursaries and will be heading off to the United Kingdom on 26 August 2011, to visit several universities in England and Scotland. These two were chosen from hundreds of UFS applicants and will join Abe Bailey bursary holders from the rest of the country.

Both students are academic achievers, but also excel in other fields. This is what set them apart from the rest of the applicants for the bursaries.

Ryan (23), a Medical Physics honours student at our Faculty of Health Sciences, received the Senate Medal for the best bachelor’s degree student at the UFS. He was one of a hundred students at the Brightest Young Minds Summit this year and was one of the 2008 delegates to the World Youth Forum, hosted by the International Association for Poetry and Solidarity in Italy.

This young man is the founder of a group called Poets Anonymous, which provides a platform where poets, artists and dancers in Bloemfontein can express themselves.

Nida (21) is a very familiar face on our Bloemfontein Campus, as she served as the Deputy Chairperson of the Interim Student Council for the past year.

This fourth-year LL.B. student says she has known about the Abe Bailey bursary since her first year, but had to wait to apply, since the scholarship is only open to final-year students and junior lecturers. She applied last year, but did not even make it to the short list for candidates.

“I realise now that I was not involved enough then. Luckily I became much more involved in campus activities during the past year and also improved my academic performance greatly,” she says.

Nida and Ryan both hope to use the opportunity to learn new approaches to solving problems. Ryan says he is looking forward to the opportunity to network with other bursary holders and to share experiences with them, before returning to the UFS to implement what he had learned.

Nida says she also hopes to see how universities in First-World Countries operate, in order to apply that knowledge when she returns to the UFS.

 

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