After millennia, formal slavery in most jurisdictions worldwide eventually came to an end by the middle of the nineteenth century. Yet, all kinds of trapped forms of labour took its place, among others sexual slavery—one of the most serious organised crimes of our time and historically one of the oldest human practices of gender inequality and exploitation. This chapter starts with broad, introductory remarks on the possible causes of sexual slavery and exploitation as well as what we as a society can do to collectively address this pressing issue. It then looks in more detail at the extent of this problem in South Africa.
South African Perspective on Sexual Slavery, Sex Work and Exploitation
Human trafficking in South Africa - Wikipedia
Students this week warned on the matiemedia. There have been several international media reports and online claims of the group being a sex trafficking syndicate. Incoming student representative council SRC member Lwazi Phaks said they had heard of the group after female students had expressed their fears to the SRC. Students are being told to wait at the student centre to be picked up the next day, but are not being told where the church is located. A source close to the story said the SRCs at the universities of the Witwatersrand and Pretoria had reported similar incidents. Sinobom Saku, a second-year student at Stellenbosch, said she had an encounter with the group in July. The coloured one did most of the talking while the other two appeared to be exchange students.
In South Africa, the extent of sexual exploitation of children has increased drastically and its nature has changed over time. On a regular basis, there are reports of cases of children rescued from human traffickers and from the clutches of sex slave rings. While some of the stories are reported by the media, there are several other cases that go unreported due to the secretive and criminal nature of the activities.
The case against a year-old man accused of holding five teenage girls in a "sex slave den" in Springs was postponed. National Prosecuting Authority national spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said the man appeared in the Springs Magistrate court on Monday afternoon. He was charged with human trafficking, possession of drugs and possession of pornographic materials. Mfaku said the case was postponed to May 29 for legal representation for the accused. The girls were found on premises on 8th Street in Springs Town.