Transcript patterns of human trafficking in southern africa

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MIGRATION
Presented by Karen Blackman
SOTHERN AFRICAN COUNTER-TRAFFICKING ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMME [SACTAP]
Activities:
Prevention of trafficking:
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Field research and data collection; Eye on Human Trafficking quarterly news
bulletin [[email protected]].
Information dissemination; print, television, radio
Protection of Trafficking Victims:
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Training for Police and Immigration officials
Training for NGO and government service providers
Toll-Free National Trafficking Helpline in South Africa
Assistance and Reintegration to trafficking Victims through:
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NGO support network – shelters, medical, legal and psychosocial counseling
Relocation and/or AVR
Reintegration options for victims
What is the International Organization
for Migration (IOM)?
Leading international organization working globally to manage
migration challenges for the benefit of all.
 Established 1951 to resettle European displaced persons,
refugees and migrants, but has evolved with offices and
operations in every continent. Currently 125 member states.
 IOM helps governments and civil society in 7 service areas:
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Assisted voluntary returns
Counter-trafficking
Migration health
Movements of migrants [refugees and others]
Mass information on migration
Technical co-operation on migration [border management]
Labour migration
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IOM’s regional office for Southern Africa is situated in Pretoria
PATTERNS OF TiP IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Based on
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6-month research conducted by IOM in
2002-2003.
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Additional interviews with victims of
trafficking over the past 5 years
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa to Asia
Recruitment
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Recruiters usually SA national with links SA sex industry and Triad groups; earn US$ 500 per recruit.
SA women are recruited in strip clubs or as sex workers in Johannesburg.
Offered strip jobs or sex work in Macau, all expenses paid and US$ 10 000 – 20 000.
Transportation
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JHB – Hong Kong – Macau
SA Nationals enter HK on one-month permit, and must then apply to immigration office to continue on to
Macau
Sold to organized crime bosses that operate saunas in Macau
Exploitation
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Confiscation of passport.
Sign contract in Chinese characters with no translation.
Imposition of escalating debt burden.
Drugs play a big role in controlling victims.
Confinement to flat; no telephone calls.
Experience physical abuse; death threats and threats of arrest.
Forcibly prostituted in saunas with long working hours – e.g. 16 clients per 12 hour shift.
Victims are numbered , colour-coded and ‘priced’ accordingly – e.g. Black [VIP] category = US$ 625 per
client .
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa To Israel
Recruitment
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SA national recruit older SA women as au pairs.
Offered jobs in Israel, paid US$ 800 per month. Accommodation and air fare included.
Transportation
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JHB – Tel Aviv [EI AI Airlines]
Enter Israel with the trafficker on a three month tourist visa.
Victims were unaware that they are unable to work on this visa or that it is illegal for foreign
nationals to work as au pairs in Israel.
Exploitation
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Confiscation of passport.
Not allowed to leave the premises.
Long working hours.
Payment less than half that was promised, if any.
No sick leave.
Forced to do all household tasks as well as au pair.
Experience verbal abuse.
SOUTH AFRICA
South /Africa to Ireland, UK and US
Recruitment
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Young South African women recruited to work as domestic workers, professional employment or for
education.
Many are students receiving post secondary education.
Recruited by West African and South African nationals - often friends of friends or boyfriends.
Also recruited by friends already in country of destination.
Cases in US – recruitment was advertised in newspapers or flyers.
Travel costs covered by traffickers.
Victims travel independently.
Transportation
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JHB – London direct
JHB – London – Dublin
JHB and CPT to various locations in US direct
Exploitation
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Confiscation of passport and travel documentation.
Forced to live in unsuitable conditions .
Movements controlled,
Forced to work long hours doing domestic chores and child care.
Experience verbal abuse from ‘employers’.
Told to repay debt for travel.
Not paid salary or salary much lower than promised.
May also experience sexual abuse or harassment from male employers.
REFUGEES
TO SOUTH AFRICA
Recruitment
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Traffickers are unemployed men with refugee status in South Africa
Traffic women from home counties (e.g. Angola, DRC, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somalia)
Victims are female relatives (aged 25-45), sometimes with children
Promised jobs in South Africa
Transportation
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Travel by boat, truck, car, bus, taxis
Woman sells everything to finance trip – families may contribute
Travel alone or accompanied by recruiter or refugee clan member
Borders crossed legally and illegally
Hazardous journey to South Africa
Exploitation
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Women apply for asylum in SA
Sexual initiation (recruiter or ethnic clan)
Street sex work
Long working hours and dangerous conditions
Minimum nightly earnings
Highly dependent of trafficker who will often physically abuse the victim if she doesn’t earn money
Small-scale
Ethnic clan networks:
Control women
Involved in criminal activity
MOZAMBIQUE
TO SOUTH AFRICA
Recruitment
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Traffickers involved in TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING of people, drugs and weapons
2 methods of recruitment:
Active - (making false job offers)
Passive - (targeting female taxi passengers en route to SA)
Transportation
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Maputo – Komatipoort – JHB/PRET
Maputo – Ponta d’Ouro – JHB/DBN
By taxi along main routes to SA
Undocumented border crossings
Use of safe houses in border region between SA, Mozambique, Swaziland
Exploitation
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Sexual initiation at safe houses
In JHB women held captive in safe houses in Soweto and Lenasia
Taken to housing compounds on West Rand mines and sold to mineworkers
Sold as wives to SA and Mozambican men
Live under conditions of domestic servitude
Others are sold to brothels in Gauteng and KZN for R1000 – R15,000
Now into upmarket brothels in residential areas
Similar trafficking modus operandi does occur between Zimbabwe and South Africa
THAILAND
TO SOUTH AFRICA
Recruitment
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Cottage Industry traffickers
Small-time Thai traffickers
“Second-wave” traffickers
Brothel owners as traffickers
International Organised Crime
Chinese organised crime
Thai organised crime
Women recruited are 60%-80% aging sex workers aged 25-35
Transportation
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Bangkok – Singapore – JHB
Bangkok – Hong Kong – JHB
Bangkok – JHB
Exploitation
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SOLD for between R15 000 – R50 000 or LEASED to brothels by agent
Debt bonded for R60 000 – R80 000
Rotated between brothels and private venues by agents
Living conditions at safe houses are tightly controlled by mama san
Long working hours
Agents manipulate women’s legal status
Scale: at least 6 provinces [towns and cites]
CHINA
TO SOUTH AFRICA
Recruitment
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Traffickers are Chinese organized crime groups operating in SA
Women recruited are poorly educated and unemployed
Women are most often recruited in Southern China
Women recruited by Traffickers & Smugglers
2 categories of Chinese women in SA
 Smuggled migrants
 Trafficked women
Women smuggled into SA are retroactively trafficked
Transportation
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Hong Kong- JHB
Hong Kong – JHB – Lesotho – JHB
Hong Kong – JHB – Swaziland – JHB
Hong Kong - JHB – Mozambique – JHB
Travel documents and air ticket paid for by agent
Exploitation
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Bonded for repayment of R75 000 to R100 000 travel debt
Private houses/flats or exclusively Asian or seamen’s clubs in Cape Town
EASTERN EUROPE
TO SOUTH AFRICA
Recruitment
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Traffickers are Russian mafia & Bulgarian organized crime groups
Traffickers own clubs in SA
Recruiters are often women connected to Eastern European organized crime in SA
Women recruited are often highly educated but poor/jobless, aged 25-35
Promises of jobs as waitresses, dancers or hostesses
Transportation
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Russia/EE – EU – JHB
Russia/EE – EU- JHB – Moz – JHB
Russia/EE – EU – JHB – Lesotho – JHB
SA Visas fraudulently obtained in Russia.
Exploitation
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Debt-bonded on arrival for between US$ 12000 – US$ 15 000
Women rotated between clubs & private venues. Mix with Thai women
Threat of physical violence
Family members in Russia/EE may be threatened and assaulted
Difficult to exit “system” run by traffickers – extremely difficult to escape
IOM’s HUMAN TRAFFICKING
HELP LINE
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REPORT A CASE
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ASK FOR HELP
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ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION
0800 555 999
(toll-free 7am -10pm)
FURTHER INFORMATION
www.iom.org.za
 www.iom.int
 Subscribe electronically to the EYE
on Human Trafficking: [email protected]
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