‘Human trafficking is real, avoid it’ http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/media/news/viewnews.cgi?category=4&id=1275391338
SANDRA Chansa is well known for her hair plaiting skills. She did not complete primary education because she lost both parents at a very tender age.
She ventured into hair plaiting from the age of 13.
Ten years down the line, she is what the neighbourhood fondly refers to as ‘the hair plaiting machine’ because of her unrivalled skills.
Recently, Sandra had an offer to travel to neighbouring South Africa and is excited about it. A Zambian woman living in that country who heard about Sandra’s skills has offered her a job in her hair salon. The incentive is free accommodation for the first five months.
What Sandra does not know is that the woman who has promised her a job may be involved in trafficking young girls.
Human trafficking is one of the most nagging social problems African governments are still struggling to address. It is possible that cases of human trafficking may be on the increase during the World Cup slated for June and July in South Africa.
A study on human trafficking in Eastern Africa, initially done by the IOM, entitled: Research, assessment and baseline information in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi, focused on factors facilitating human trafficking within the region, means and purposes of trafficking and the health status of trafficked persons.
The study found that an individual’s likelihood of being trafficked is determined by gender, socio-economic status and personal aspirations.
Zambia has been no exception. Many young victims have been ferried to different countries, with promises of better work and pay but in reality, they are taken to the sex tourism industry, as forced labour and child prostitutes, says International Organisation for Migration (IOM) counter trafficking and research officer for Zambia Annie Lane.
She says men, women and children are always attracted to promises of employment or marriage and are ferried to neighbouring countries, including South Africa and as far as Europe or Asia, where they are exploited and abused.
Debt bondage is also common, where a victim is required to pay back all expenses, including accommodation by either working for the traffickers or for a company which pays the trafficker directly.
“Family size, death of one or both parents and divorce are considered to be potentially relevant factors, as are community characteristics such as access to services, employment or education and training opportunities”, the study of East Africa says.
It notes that the demand for labour, mainly in the agriculture and mining sectors has been a major contributing factor, as has been the demand for sex and domestic workers.
The study also finds that the region is affected by both internal and international trafficking for purposes of military service, forced marriage and rituals. Women and children are the most affected groups.
According to Alice Kimani, the IOM’s counter trafficking programme officer in Kenya, who was involved in the study, cases of human trafficking are cross-cutting within the region, with the demand for cheap labour and sexual services being a major driving force. She says women constitute the largest number of trafficked persons.
Ms Lane says trafficking starts with recruitment, followed by transportation of victims and exploitation. She admits that the IOM has had more difficulty detecting human trafficking which takes place within the country than international trafficking which may easily be detected at the borders.
She says the media unknowingly encourages human trafficking through advertising in newspapers, posters and the internet and calls on editors to screen suspicious advertisements.
An anti-trafficking law and national policy were finalised in 2007 by the Government inter-agency committee on trafficking and presented to the Zambia Law Development Commission for review. At least 38 cases had been investigated at border points.
Ms Lane says most victims of human trafficking are always referred to the IOM and other related NGOs for assistance, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF, as government may not be in a position to identify culprits on its own and prosecute them.
Despite increased trafficking, all is not lost. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have draft bills which spell out stiffer penalties to deter offenders. In Kenya, the Bill has been drafted in tandem with the United Nations (UN) convention on transnational organised crime and the UN Protocol to punish and suppress trafficking, especially of women and children.
Kenya is a signatory to both protocols which spell out, among other forms of punishment, heavy reparations to victims by traffickers.
Zambia also prohibits human trafficking through a 2005 amendment to its penal code which prescribes penalties of 20 years to life imprisonment— similar to those prescribed for other grave crimes.
The statute does not, however, define trafficking or set out the elements of the offence, and has been interpreted so far as applying narrowly to only the explicit sale of a person.
Zambia is believed to be a transit point for regional trafficking of women and children, particularly from Angola to Namibia for agricultural labour and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. Malawian and Mozambican adults and children are occasionally trafficked to Zambia for forced agricultural labour.
Zambia is being encouraged to pass and enact the draft comprehensive anti-trafficking law; formalise and implement victim identification and referral procedures and increase anti-human trafficking public awareness, particularly among government officials.
Ms Lane says the IOM has been training communities about trafficking and how to detect traffickers, through sensitisation. Messages have been translated into local languages to help communities understand the extent of human trafficking.
In Zambia, messages have been translated into Nyanja and Bemba while other countries have Kiswahili and French.
The IOM has also managed to train at least 700 police and immigration officers at border areas between 2006- 2010 to help detect human trafficking.
Human trafficking, especially of women, is deeply rooted in African countries. For women to make personal progress, all sectors must join hands to fight human trafficking.
She ventured into hair plaiting from the age of 13.
Ten years down the line, she is what the neighbourhood fondly refers to as ‘the hair plaiting machine’ because of her unrivalled skills.
Recently, Sandra had an offer to travel to neighbouring South Africa and is excited about it. A Zambian woman living in that country who heard about Sandra’s skills has offered her a job in her hair salon. The incentive is free accommodation for the first five months.
What Sandra does not know is that the woman who has promised her a job may be involved in trafficking young girls.
Human trafficking is one of the most nagging social problems African governments are still struggling to address. It is possible that cases of human trafficking may be on the increase during the World Cup slated for June and July in South Africa.
A study on human trafficking in Eastern Africa, initially done by the IOM, entitled: Research, assessment and baseline information in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi, focused on factors facilitating human trafficking within the region, means and purposes of trafficking and the health status of trafficked persons.
The study found that an individual’s likelihood of being trafficked is determined by gender, socio-economic status and personal aspirations.
Zambia has been no exception. Many young victims have been ferried to different countries, with promises of better work and pay but in reality, they are taken to the sex tourism industry, as forced labour and child prostitutes, says International Organisation for Migration (IOM) counter trafficking and research officer for Zambia Annie Lane.
She says men, women and children are always attracted to promises of employment or marriage and are ferried to neighbouring countries, including South Africa and as far as Europe or Asia, where they are exploited and abused.
Debt bondage is also common, where a victim is required to pay back all expenses, including accommodation by either working for the traffickers or for a company which pays the trafficker directly.
“Family size, death of one or both parents and divorce are considered to be potentially relevant factors, as are community characteristics such as access to services, employment or education and training opportunities”, the study of East Africa says.
It notes that the demand for labour, mainly in the agriculture and mining sectors has been a major contributing factor, as has been the demand for sex and domestic workers.
The study also finds that the region is affected by both internal and international trafficking for purposes of military service, forced marriage and rituals. Women and children are the most affected groups.
According to Alice Kimani, the IOM’s counter trafficking programme officer in Kenya, who was involved in the study, cases of human trafficking are cross-cutting within the region, with the demand for cheap labour and sexual services being a major driving force. She says women constitute the largest number of trafficked persons.
Ms Lane says trafficking starts with recruitment, followed by transportation of victims and exploitation. She admits that the IOM has had more difficulty detecting human trafficking which takes place within the country than international trafficking which may easily be detected at the borders.
She says the media unknowingly encourages human trafficking through advertising in newspapers, posters and the internet and calls on editors to screen suspicious advertisements.
An anti-trafficking law and national policy were finalised in 2007 by the Government inter-agency committee on trafficking and presented to the Zambia Law Development Commission for review. At least 38 cases had been investigated at border points.
Ms Lane says most victims of human trafficking are always referred to the IOM and other related NGOs for assistance, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF, as government may not be in a position to identify culprits on its own and prosecute them.
Despite increased trafficking, all is not lost. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have draft bills which spell out stiffer penalties to deter offenders. In Kenya, the Bill has been drafted in tandem with the United Nations (UN) convention on transnational organised crime and the UN Protocol to punish and suppress trafficking, especially of women and children.
Kenya is a signatory to both protocols which spell out, among other forms of punishment, heavy reparations to victims by traffickers.
Zambia also prohibits human trafficking through a 2005 amendment to its penal code which prescribes penalties of 20 years to life imprisonment— similar to those prescribed for other grave crimes.
The statute does not, however, define trafficking or set out the elements of the offence, and has been interpreted so far as applying narrowly to only the explicit sale of a person.
Zambia is believed to be a transit point for regional trafficking of women and children, particularly from Angola to Namibia for agricultural labour and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. Malawian and Mozambican adults and children are occasionally trafficked to Zambia for forced agricultural labour.
Zambia is being encouraged to pass and enact the draft comprehensive anti-trafficking law; formalise and implement victim identification and referral procedures and increase anti-human trafficking public awareness, particularly among government officials.
Ms Lane says the IOM has been training communities about trafficking and how to detect traffickers, through sensitisation. Messages have been translated into local languages to help communities understand the extent of human trafficking.
In Zambia, messages have been translated into Nyanja and Bemba while other countries have Kiswahili and French.
The IOM has also managed to train at least 700 police and immigration officers at border areas between 2006- 2010 to help detect human trafficking.
Human trafficking, especially of women, is deeply rooted in African countries. For women to make personal progress, all sectors must join hands to fight human trafficking.
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