PROJECT: INTERNATIONAL WORLD DAY AGAINST TR*FFICKING IN PERSONS - 30 JULY 2025
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- Jul 30
- 7 min read
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This year's theme, "H*man Tr*fficking is Organised Crime – End the Exploitation",
highlights a neglected crime: tr*fficking for forced criminality.
H*man tr*fficking in South Africa is commemorated in alignment with the
United Nations’ World Day Against Tr*fficking in Persons, which is held annually on 30 July.
On 30 July 2025, Deputy Minister Andries Nel will lead a stakeholder engagement event at
Cape Town International Airport to mark this day, launching local anti-tr*fficking task team offices
at strategic points of entry as part of a concerted national strategy.
In South Africa, h*man tr*fficking encompasses various forms of exploitation,
from s*x tr*fficking and forced labour to illegal adoption and debt bondage, often carried out by
organised criminal networks exploiting vulnerable communities, particularly women and children.
Awareness raising and coordinated action on this global observance are vital to mobilise all sectors, government,
civil society, law enforcement, and the public, to prevent tr*fficking, protect survivors, and prosecute offenders.
H*man tr*fficking in South Africa is a grave and underreported crime, deeply entrenched within organised criminal networks.
According to the Stop Tr*fficking NPC and global estimates, as many as 150,000 people may be trapped in tr*fficking across South Africa at any one time.
Official data remains unreliable, but academic research suggests the number of victims could fall between 40,000 and 100,000 annually, with around 65% being women and children.
Across these cases, kids and youth aged 10–25 years are disproportionately impacted.
South Africa serves as both a source and destination country, with victims trafficked from rural areas and neighbouring African nations (such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Malawi) into urban centres like Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Bloemfontein.
WHY SOUTH AFRICA IS VULNERABLE:
Several systemic factors create fertile ground for tr*fficking syndicates:
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND POVERTY:
With unemployment often above 30%, tr*ffickers exploit people searching for basic opportunities.
GENDER INEQUALITY AND WEAK SOCIAL SUPPORT:
Women and girls face heightened risk due to limited access to education, economic independence, and protection.
POROUS BORDERS AND MIGRATION FLOWS:
Weak border management enables tr*ffickers to move victims across countries with little detection.
CORRUPTION AND LIMITED LAW ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY:
Weak prosecution, lack of coordination, and underreporting perpetuate tr*fficking cycles.
ONLINE RECRUITMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA TARGETING:
Platforms like WhatsApp and job listing websites are used for deceptively recruiting victims with false job or education offers.
TR*FFICKERS' MODUS OPERANDI AND NETWORKS:
Tr*fficking in South Africa operates through a mix of criminal syndicates and opportunistic recruiters:
Organised groups coordinate multi-stage operations, from recruitment to transport to exploitation, often using fake documents, cloned identities, and corruption to evade detection.
Recruiters may hold positions of community trust, such as teachers, church leaders, or informal job agents, and lure victims with false promises or addiction dependencies.
Online "fishing" tactics involve posting fake job adverts or modelling offers and waiting for potential victims to respond.
Once recruited, victims are transported and held in exploitative conditions (for s*x, forced labour, domestic servitude, organ removal, forced marriages, or even forced criminal activity).
Criminal groups often use debt bondage, psychological coercion, and violence to maintain control.
FORMS OF TR*FFICKING PREVALENT IN SOUTH AFRICA:
S*X TR*FFICKING:
Predominantly affects women and young girls, some as young as 10 years old.
Syndicates, often dominated by Nigerian, South African, or foreign criminals, exploit victims in commercial s*x industries or brothels across urban centres.
FORCED LABOUR:
Includes domestic servants, agricultural labourers, mine workers, factory workers, and beggars.
Forced labour has become more prevalent than s*x tr*afficking in recent years in South Africa, particularly in Gauteng and rural communities.
CH*LD TR*FFICKING AND EXPLOITATION:
Children are tr*fficked for begging, forced labour, illegal adoption, or even organ harvesting.
The high-profile Joshlin Smith case, in which a mother was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly selling her 6-year-old daughter, powerfully illustrates this tragedy.
South Africa logged over 17,000 kidnappings during the 2023–2024 year, up 11% year-on-year.
EMERGING TRENDS:
Forced marriage, bonded labour, and organ tr*fficking, while less frequent, are documented in isolated cases and exploit marginalised groups, including people with albinism.
IMPACT, JUSTICE AND THE DISPARITIES BETWEEN THE LAW AND ENFORCEMENT:
Despite South Africa implementing the Prevention and Combating of Tr*fficking in Persons Act (2013), enforcement remains weak.
In the 2021–22 period, only 83 trafficking survivors were identified, up from 16 previously, and only 11 tr*ffickers were convicted, though five received life sentences and five more are awaiting sentencing.
Globally, only 1–2% of all trafficking victims are ever rescued or released, underscoring the degree of invisibility and under-reporting involved in these crimes.
H*man tr*fficking in South Africa is a hidden nexus of s*xual, labour, and child exploitation layered atop systemic inequality, porous borders, and evolving digital recruitment tactics.
While s*x tr*fficking receives the most attention, labour trafficking and child exploitation are equally pervasive and damaging.
Meaningful progress requires a multi-pronged national response:
Strengthen victim identification, protection, and support systems.
Improve border controls and enhance inter-agency coordination.
Increase enforcement against local and international tr*fficking syndicates.
Prioritise community awareness campaigns, digital literacy, and social support to reduce vulnerability.
Tr*fficking is one of the world’s most profitable crimes, third only to arms and drug trafficking.
South Africa must move beyond legislative promises to decisive action on conviction, prevention, and systemic reform.
KEY RED FLAGS TO HELP RECOGNISE VICTIMS OF H*MAN TR*FFICKING:
These warning signs apply to both children and adults and can be observed in behaviour, circumstances, and appearance:
BEHAVIOURAL RED FLAGS:
Victims show an inability to speak freely and they appear to be controlled or coached, avoiding eye contact, or allowing someone else to speak on their behalf.
They show signs of fear, anxiety, submission or nervousness, especially around specific individuals.
They have inconsistent or rehearsed stories, are unable to provide clear information about their whereabouts, employer, or living situation.
Lack of awareness of location or even the date/time.
Sudden disappearance from school, home, or work, especially without explanation.
PHYSICAL AND HEALTH INDICATORS:
Victims show poor physical condition such as malnutrition, exhaustion, untreated injuries, or signs of abuse.
They lack personal belongings or documents and may carry few items or none at all.
Some victims show branding or tattoos, especially names, symbols, or barcodes that may suggest ownership.
Their clothing might be inappropriate for the weather or situation, such as provocative attire worn by minors.
ENVIRONMENTAL RED FLAGS:
Living and working in the same place under surveillance or in overcrowded conditions.
Unusual travel patterns are expected as victims are regularly moved between locations or provinces with no clear reason.
There is often a presence of a "handler" or a person who monitors them closely and prevents interaction with others.
Lack of freedom is predominant as victims cannot leave the premises, talk on the phone freely, or make basic decisions.
EMPLOYMENT AND FINANCIAL CONTROL:
Victims have no control over finances or documents and their ID, bank cards, or passports are held by someone else.
They work under exploitative conditions with long hours, little or no pay, and threats if they complain.
They were enticed by false job promises, originally promised employment, education, or better living conditions that were never delivered.
SOCIAL RED FLAGS:
Victims live in isolation with limited contact with family or friends; forced to sever ties with their previous life.
Some victims have unexplained relationships and are seen with much older adults or groups who seem unrelated.
They might have sudden possession of expensive items such as cellphones, clothes, or cash, possibly rewards or tools of coercion.
ONLINE GROOMING RED FLAGS (ESPECIALLY FOR TEENAGERS):
Victims, especially young people, might show secretive behaviour about online activities or new "friends."
They have excessive online communication with someone unknown to the family.
Unexplained gifts or offers to travel.
Pressure to send photos or meet in person.
If You Suspect H*man Tr*fficking:
Do not confront the suspected tr*fficker directly.
Report to the South African Police Service (SAPS) or contact,
National H*man Tr*fficking Hotline: 0800 222 777 (toll-free, 24/7).
Specialised Security Services (SSS) or trusted anti-trafficking organisations.
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