A criminological study on obstacles to the response to human trafficking in Durban Metropolitan

Abstract

Human trafficking has plagued the rights of many people worldwide, and it has continually put their protection in jeopardy. Thus, a need to explore the challenges and barriers encountered by stakeholders such as the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and non-government organisations (NGOs) to respond to this scourge remains essential. The study understood the obstacles to combatting human trafficking in Durban Metropolitan through in-depth interviews. The findings of this study revealed loopholes in measurements of human trafficking; for instance, instability in partnerships of relevant stakeholders adversely impacts the fight against the menace of human trafficking. Also, current resources are perceived to be minimal to match the severity of this crime. As a recommendation, SAPS and NGOs should advance their technological capacities, and acquiring appropriate knowledge and regular training of officials should remain the focal point of any response to human trafficking. Moreover, technological advancement should match or surpass the sophistication in crime commission to rapidly identify human traffickers and victimisation instances.

Exploring police methods and challenges of identifying human trafficking activities in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

“…This theme was brought up to identify the challenges that the Police come across in the process of identifying the crime of human trafficking. Various scholars argue that the crime of human trafficking is sophisticated in nature, and that it is often difficult to identify trafficked persons (Munania, Odhiambo & Kimokoti, 2022 ;Nkosi & Mphatheni, 2022 ;Hargreaves-Cormany et al, 2022). It is true that most trafficked persons are often mistaken for traditional employees or willful prostitues (Helpingstine, Stephens & Madhivanan, 2022).…”