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SAPS, NPA gain new vista on trafficking
Submitted by editor on Mon, 05/31/2010 - 15:13
However, Kreston said a human trafficking Bill is on course and could be an Act by the end of the year. “We’re on the third draft and I hope the modifications can be made quickly.”
31 May 2010
Methods for tackling the issue of human trafficking are still to be established in South Africa. And since the World Cup is around the corner, Masimanyane has called upon Professor Susan Kreston to educate members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), professors from the University of Forth Hare and counsellors on this phenomenon.
Kreston, a Fullbright Scholar of Law, held a three-day workshop at the Kennaway Hotel in East London last week, educating participants on the trafficking industry and forensic interviewing of children who were trafficked.
According to Kreston, institutions like the NPA and SAPS have been working hard to stamp out trafficking.
“They’re doing as well as they possibly can. I think their difficulty is that they don’t have that much experience to fight it effectively.”
Kreston particularly emphasised the lack of experience when it comes to questioning children and tracking down perpetrators.
One of the setbacks that law enforcers have been facing is the ability to charge traffickers under a recognised Act. At present, South Africa does not have a law that particularly targets traffickers of humans. Instead, they are charged under the Sexual Exploitation Act and are then released after five or ten years.
However, Kreston said a human trafficking Bill is on course and could be an Act by the end of the year. “We’re on the third draft and I hope the modifications can be made quickly.”For some of the participants, the workshop presented them with new methods of tackling the issue.
According to Professor Cecil Seethal of the University of Fort Hare, the workshop put information he already knew, into a different form.
“Kreston has put human trafficking into a fresh perspective,” he said.
Buntu Nyhiba of the Department of Social Development feels that the communities he works with will benefit from the knowledge he gained.
“In our areas, there’re hotspots for trafficking. We just don’t have the statistics. Traditional leaders don’t know what trafficking is either,” said Nyhiba.
“I’m going to benefit a lot and go back and explain to the leaders about the characteristics of trafficking and help our officials understand and train other social workers on human trafficking,” he said.
Below are the three PowerPoint presentations from Susan Kreston's workshop. Click on each to download them.
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