Human Trafficking in South Africa: Exploring the Effectiveness of Legislation and the Impact of Gender Roles
The US Department of State has ranked South Africa as a Tier 2 state about human trafficking. This shades light to the menace of trafficking that has hit the country. The cases of human trafficking continue to increase steadily in post-apartheid South Africa. Most of these victims are from within the country, while others are from all over sub-Saharan Africa, Thai, and china. Women, men, and children are trafficked to, from, and through South Africa, with statistics showing that only about 50000 to 100000 cases are documented each year. Analysts dispute these numbers saying that millions of cases go unnoticed or ignored by the government. Female victims are traded to serve as sexual slaves, commercial sex workers, or domestic servants. At the same time, their male counterparts work in mining, factories, are recruited as militia or soldiers, among other tough jobs. The common thing among the victims across both genders is that the working conditions are usually very dire. This warrants the research to determine how these individuals are treated in their gender roles, as well as how the incompetence by the South African government continues to put more vulnerable individuals at risk.
Additionally, a study is imperative to analyze the policies that the South African government has put in place to curb human trafficking and also determine its effectiveness. This research will gather information by conducting interviews with survivors, victims, activists, and government players. The questions will be concise and straightforward so that the participants can grasp and answer accordingly. More information will be from studying previous studies on these legislations and a literature review of essential texts.
Keywords: human trafficking, trafficking in persons
Human Trafficking in South Africa: Exploring the Effectiveness of Legislation and the Impact of Gender Roles
Background
Human trafficking is the application of force, manipulation, or fraud to trade men, women, and children for sex or forced labor. The most common cases are where the victims are transported within their region of origin or to the nearby areas or other continents. Nonetheless, some examples are stationary in which instance the victims are not transported but maintained within their locality. Another case is where traffickers from different countries use South Africa as a point of transit. In South Africa, all these types of human trafficking continue to prevail.
Problem Statement
Studies have found that most of the women and girls are trafficked for domestic labor, sexual slavery, and commercial sex. On the other hand, men and boys are primarily trafficked to provide hard and harsh manual labor. The men are taken to do jobs such as working in mines, slaves, soldiers, among others. Notably, women make a majority of the victims with 55 percent and men at 45 percent. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The US Department of State has recently listed South Africa as a Tier 2 country in the fight against the human trafficking menace. It is on this list because the government is not compliant with the Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act (TVPA) of 2013. The TVPA requires that a country provides sufficient information on every effort it puts forward to fight human trafficking. This includes the prosecutions, convictions, and sentences meted against human traffickers. Additionally, the South African government failed to show enthusiasm in protecting the victims. The departments mandated with formulating policies against human trafficking have also been in existence since 2012; however, they are slow and ineffective.
Research Questions
With the rampant increase in human trafficking in South Africa, this study seeks to find the a figure, if not with exactitude, close to the number of people that were trafficked each year in the past decade.
Further, it aims to answer the question why there are none existent state departments or agencies fight this menace in the frontlines
The victims of trafficking are influenced to and assigned exploitative activities to undertake basing on the societal constructs of gender roles. This research seeks to understand the underlying effects that arise from these gender roles in line with human trafficking.
Rationale
As stated in the abstract, South Africa is a Tier 2 country according to the ranking by the US Department of State. This alone is motivation enough to research the matter of Trafficking in Persons in South Africa. To appear in Tier 2 means that the South African government shows half-baked interest in the subject. As a result, it does not make sufficient legislation to ensure that the perpetrators are punished, the victims are saved, and more cases are prevented. Even when policies are formulated, they are not appropriately implemented hence remaining porous. This research seeks to engage stakeholders to understand why the system is in this state. Additionally, this research is significant to highlight how gender roles continue to shape human trafficking and even placing women in a worse position. This is imperative so that to provoke stakeholders to take responsibility by highlighting the holes in this system.
Methodology
The primary method of collecting data for this study is undertaking interviews. However, I will substitute this with questionnaires and surveys. In the discussions, participants will receive a range of direct and straightforward questions relative to them and their purpose for the research. The quizzes will be for some perceived victims, especially those who are not comfortable with one-on-one interviews. Besides, the surveys will be to get substantial data that can be used to make conclusive opinions and judgments.
The first group of individuals that will be sampled and interviewed is the lawmakers and legal custodians of South Africa, among others. These are the people trusted with the responsibilities of curating policies that will end, if not, reduce human trafficking. The research will also interview and seek the opinions of human rights activists. Activists are benevolent individuals or organizations that have the moral obligation of pushing the government to make the necessary policy adjustments. Importantly the study will interview, survey, and question survivors of these atrocities and some silent victims. All these individuals will be chosen on merit and credibility after they have been vetted so that the data that is collected can be an authority.
Literature review
Many studies have been done on the topic of human trafficking in South Africa this century. This is because the cases of Trafficking in Person continue to be rampant in the nation. The steady growth of jobs and democracy has also fueled this problem. Frankel (2017) finds that after this migration and smuggling has spiked in the post-Mandela presidency because the government is complacent with establishing stricter stipulations against this heinous act. Oluwatosin & Olutola (2016) concur, their study also found out that even on the occasion that the government has made lighter and passive laws, no agency dedicated to fighting human trafficking. They add that if an agency existed, then it would make even more laws aimed at ending this problem. (NAME) the research found that the legislation in place is too simple to cover the complexities of the crimes associated with human trafficking. As a result, many criminals are charged with different, and mostly, lesser offenses. This slap on the wrists to the traffickers only enhances the growth of this issue in South Africa.
Albeit weak and passive, the South African government has some legislation in place against human trafficking. (NAME) analyses the Criminal Law (Sexual Offenses and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 (Sexual Offenses Act 2007). This Amendment act stipulates that any person who trades another unwillingly will be charged with trafficking in persons for sex. It also costs the people that help these perpetrators in any other way in the trafficking process. In the same study, he examines the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, which prohibits the extraction of a minor from their home environment for sex or labor. The Trafficking Act 7 of 2013, which aligns with the statutes of the TVPA is another legislation in South Africa. Other universal laws are also stipulated in the South African constitution.
The agencies that are currently tasked with handling this menace are wither under-budgeted or just do not prioritize the issue as should be. Olutola & friend contend that the South African Police Service (SAPS) does not have sufficient capacity to fight human trafficking. According to Olutola & friend, the South African government should have a dedicated agency that can understand the human trafficking system and bring in down. Their research shows that this is an essential move because the SAPS is overcommitted and does not prioritize these cases.
(NAME) rightly points out that even with these set rules and regulations, the government has done a little with educating the public about the rights of the victims. There is no mass sensitization about this menace when most individuals that are lured into this have slim chances to be identified, they come to understand the dangers when the damage is already done.
Furthermore, (NAME) asserts that stakeholders, majorly the government, fail to inform the public properly hence letting these crimes go on below the radar. However, it states that there is a multi-sectoral Provincial Task Team in Kwa-Zulu Natal that has the mandate of ensuring that the country is compliant with its commitment to the Palermo Protocol. This task force helps to save and protect the victim, as well as to bust and to prosecute the offenders properly.
Women are trafficked more than their male counterparts in South Africa. This is because most of the trafficking demand for domestic laborers and sexual servants. Also, gender roles in some communities leave women more vulnerable than men. Frankel agrees that the number of women trafficked is more than that of men because women are usually more susceptible. Furthermore, societal gender roles leave women with the burden of sacrificing themselves for the betterment of their families. Such constructs put women at a higher risk of falling for human traffickers.
References
Bello, P. O., & Olutola, A. A. (2018). The enforcement of anti-human trafficking law in South Africa: A case of an aircraft without a pilot.Police Practice and Research,19(3), 270- 283.
Frankel, P. (2017).Long walk to nowhere: Human trafficking in post-Mandela South Africa. Routledge.
Shepherd, R. (2019). Meeting the minimum standards of the Palermo Protocol: The case of South Africa.