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09 June 2023 | Story Annelize Kruger | Photo Supplied
Annelize Kruger
Annelize Kruger, Lecturer at the Department of Occupational Therapy

The University of the Free State (UFS) is celebrating Youth Month by showcasing the positive influence of the institution on career development. As part of this initiative, we are sharing the stories of UFS alumni who are now working at the university.

Annelize Kruger, Lecturer at the Department of Occupational Therapy, shares her UFS journey:

Q: Year of graduation from the UFS: 

A: 2015 and 2020.

Q: Qualification obtained from the UFS: 

A: Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy.

Q: Date of joining the UFS as a staff member: 

A: 2022.

Q: Initial job title and current job title: 

A: Lecturer.

Q: How did the UFS prepare you for the professional world? 

A: The UFS gave me the foundation to be competent in my profession, and the ability to think critically and apply myself in different contexts.

Q: What are your thoughts on transitioning from a UFS alumnus to a staff member? 
A: It is an honour to train the future generation of occupational therapists, and exciting to be involved in research that drives our profession forward. It has been an overall positive experience. 

News Archive

UFS law researcher part of international project to produce human trafficking reference book
2017-03-17

Description: Human trafficking reference book Tags: Human trafficking reference book


Trafficking in Persons has been in the spotlight as an ever-growing crime around the world. Research being done in South Africa by various universities over the years has yielded results that are internationally recognised.

Part of this work has been done by Prof Beatri Kruger, Research Associate at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State (UFS), who has been involved in research that has created awareness around the world on various methods of human trafficking in Africa. She is currently working on co-authoring a chapter in the International Handbook on Human Trafficking to be published by Palgrave, the first of its kind and a major reference work in this field, with Marcel van der Watt, a lecturer at the University of South Africa (Unisa) Department of Police Practice. The reference book is a massive international project that will have more than 60 international contributors and will be published in 2018.

Contribution to international research
The chapter is titled: Breaking bondages: Methods to control victims, ‘Juju’ and human trafficking. It explores the methods used by Nigerian and other West African traffickers, namely “juju” rituals, to subdue their victims for sexual exploitation in various parts of the world. The chapter further charts various physical, financial and the psychological control mechanisms, essential in establishing an informed counter-trafficking global response.

The book and other research being done is a step in the right direction in further understanding specific practices, and can be used to augment international research, support the work of NGOs, law enforcement agencies and individuals who work with victims worldwide, to be able to understand the tools used by perpetrators, and to stop the crime from growing.

Prof Kruger said there were new opportunities at the research division of the UFS Centre for Human Rights to explore human rights violations that occur in human-trafficking scenarios, thus contributing towards more efficient strategies to combat this crime.

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