The Emerging Trends on Human Trafficking in South Africa. Perspectives from Soweto Residents

Human trafficking is a wounding problem and a complicated threat that deprives people of their civil liberties and freedom. In recent years, the nation of South Africa has had to contend with rising incidents of human trafficking, both as a source country and a destination country. This study sought to explore the scourge of human trafficking in South Africa, with a focus on Soweto- one of the most densely populated locations in South Africa. The study was guided by two objectives namely, to identify the forms of human trafficking, and to ascertain the contributory factors to human trafficking. Trafficking of people for organ harvesting emerged as the most prevalent form of human trafficking, followed by trafficking of women and young girls for prostitution, and trafficking of people for use as drug couriers. Unemployment, porous borders and inadequate legislation emerged as the main contributory factors to human trafficking in Soweto. The study also suggests multi-pronged measures to deal with human trafficking.