Can You See Me?

Human trafficking is a lot closer to home than we think. A new campaign launched by A21, a global organisation fighting this scourge, is challenging South Africans not to turn a blind eye to it.

It is not unusual in some rural parts of South Africa to see underage girls going to the river to fetch water. What many don’t know is that older men sometimes prey on such vulnerable children, kidnapping them and forcing them to become their wives.

In some cases, the girls are coerced by their parents to marry older men for financial benefit, even though the young brides have not consented to the marriage. The forcing of underaged girls to marry older men is often referred to as ukuthwala (a form of abduction).

Ukuthwala is just one form of human trafficking in South Africa and robs victims of their childhood. It brings an abrupt end to the carefree existence that all children are entitled to. Its victims suddenly become wives, having to serve their adult husbands and in-laws, and care for the children born into their forced marriages.

MODERN-DAY SLAVERY