Most people live under the assumption that Slavery got outlawed in the 1900s and, that is the end of it. However, the industry just went underground and became a highly profitable business for organised crime.
As we end 2021, the Republic of South Africa has multiple unprecedented crises brought on by the global health pandemic COVID-19. That brought about higher unemployment rates, fundamental racial and monetary imbalances and a developing question in open foundations.
It has led to children and adults being more susceptible to Human Traffickers who use lies and deception to attract and entrap their victims. Around the world, practically 20% of all human trafficking victims are children. Also, in certain parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are up to 100% in parts of West Africa.
Human trafficking for forced labour or sexual exploitation is the third largest crime industry worldwide. Therefore, falling behind the drugs and arms trafficking in 2018 and 2019.
However, in separating criminality compared with ten criminal business sectors in 2021, the worldwide normal was marginally lower at a threshold of 4.65, with human trafficking falling highest worldwide at 5.58.
Therefore, the illegal exploitation of humans via trafficking them to work as modern-day slaves fell in the top five as the number one global criminal business sector worldwide.
After the trafficking and selling of children and adults, the unlawful sale of drugs like cannabis and arms dealing is the second and third most profitable business sector with worldwide midpoints of 5.10 and 4.92, separately.
So to help stop the human trafficking problem we, need to work together as a global community to report any suspicious behaviour observed or suspected that a person may be a victim of traffickers or is working as a modern-day slave.
As a result, the recursive feedback loop of exploitation has become a never-ending cycle through the failure of police to apprehend criminal king/queen pins at its source and their continual arresting of the middlemen and their victims.
It results, in the victims of exploitation ending up as exploiters to end or escape their ongoing exploitation by the trafficker.
So even though rescue and rehabilitation are undoubtedly crucial elements of anti-trafficking. By educating the general public on human trafficking effectively, it helps to reduce or prevent the problem.
Additionally, by attacking the causes such as poverty and unemployment, etc. It is achievable by raising awareness of the risks, thereby making the recruitment of victims more difficult for traffickers.
Scoring Thresholds – Criminality
So make 2021 and 2022 the years where the selling of human beings is no longer acceptable.
#endhumantrafficking
#endslaverynow
References
UNODC, Comprehensive study on cybercrime, February 2013, https://www.unodc.org/documents/ organized-crime/UNODC_CCPCJ_EG.4_2013/ CYBERCRIME_STUDY_210213.pdf.
UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2020, https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tip/2021/GLOTiP_2020_15jan_web.pdf.
Initiative, G., 2021. [online] Globalinitiative.net. Available at: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Global-Illicit-Economy-GITOC-Low.pdf
Initiative, G., 2021. [online] Globalinitiative.net. Available at: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/enact_report.pdf
Blog Authored by: Shalati Sithole – Member of Awareness for Child Trafficking (ACT Africa)