The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) has rescued a South African human trafficking victim in Thailand, after she and her cousin ‘fell for a human trafficking scam’ disguised as a job opportunity, according to Clayson Monyela, Dirco spokesperson.
The prospective employers bought the tickets for the woman and her cousin, and once both individuals landed at the airport, they were driven approximately 12 hours out of Thailand, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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‘Passports were confiscated and they were told they would work as prostitutes for a minimum of three years,’ said Monyela.
The woman escaped from the trafficking ring after she lied about having a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to The Citizen.
Her ’employers’ took her back to the airport with a return ticket, which turned out to be a fake ticket. This resulted in the woman sleeping at the airport for two days before she received help. While she was safe, her cousin ‘disappeared’.
‘I just spoke to the lady. She is safe. We’re getting her a plane ticket to fly back home. She escaped prostitution by lying that she’s got an STI […] Everything she and her ‘cousin’ were promised were lies. The case of her cousin has been reported to the police. Our embassy will monitor progress thereof,’ said Monyela.
‘Please warn your family members; human trafficking is real. Please don’t fall for unsolicited job and study offers abroad. There are too many scams and human traffickers […] If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. Find and inform SA embassies of your presence in any foreign country. That’s your home away from home,’ Monyela added.
It should be noted that human trafficking syndicates also operate within South Africa.
The 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report by the US Department of State stated that human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in South Africa.
Victims from neighbouring countries and South Africa’s rural areas are recruited by the traffickers, where they are exploited in sex trafficking in urban areas such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein.
‘Traffickers force both adults and children, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and rural areas as well as migrants, into begging, domestic service, mining, food services, construction, criminal activities, agriculture, and the fishing sector,’ according to the report.
‘Traffickers recruit both foreign and South African victims through fake job advertisements on social media and classified advertisement forums, including advertisements for webcam modelling, hospitality, mining, and domestic work. Some fake advertisements, particularly for domestic work, specifically request Zimbabwean or Malawian applicants.’
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