Ambitious Exploits: drawing the line between exploitation and business

Gauteng is a strange place. I’m not sure if it is something in the air or in the water, but it seems like as soon as someone steps into Gauteng they are struck by ambition. Maybe it is ambition that drives people to Gauteng, but either way it has resulted in Gauteng being filled with extremely ambitious people. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with ambition. It is the force that drives us forward and what makes this province the economic hub that it is. However, the mentality of “getting ahead no matter the costs” has created a culture.  Perhaps you have seen it too- how people will dart through traffic for just a one car advantage; or how they will try and sneakily leave the parking lot to avoid having to give a coin or two to the car guard. 

We will buy something at the supermarket on the basis that it is one Rand cheaper than the next thing; but will then go and eat at the trendiest restaurant in town and short-tip the waiter. I am surrounded by this kind of behaviour all of the time and in many cases have been guilty of it myself.

We have become part of a culture of exploitation; where using another person to serve your own interests at their expense is seen as “just business”.  By a ‘culture of exploitation’, I mean a society which has normalised the treatment of others in a manner that is exploitative. Exploitation can take three forms:  the act of 1) making someone worse off than they were before- of stealing something from them, 2) not giving them benefits to the extent to which they deserve them, or 3) giving them something in exchange for money or services that is not as beneficial to them as they think it is.  Each of these forms of exploitation is based on the unjust action of benefiting at someone else’s expense- which is wrong. Therefore, we can define exploitation in a broad sense as the act of using someone to serve your purposes and then not giving them what is fairly due to them in return.

 

It is however very interesting to observe that exploitation seems to fade from being clearly unacceptable in the instances of  Human Trafficking, to gradually more justifiable as it takes the more mundane form of how we treat people in our daily lives. As we go through this process of justification, we somehow arrive at the thought that we simply can’t exploit people in our daily lives- that exploitation is some type of abstract social problem that is really detached from the world that we exist in right here, right now.

Exploitation is rampant in South Africa and particularly in Gauteng because there is a higher demand for employment than there is a supply of jobs. This means that employers hold a very desired commodity when they offer a job, and because of the strong demand, they can get what they believe to be “the best deal”. We see people negotiating wages and working hours to be just common business- and often it is. However, the line between hiring a person with fair wages and hiring a person for wages that are exploitative is often paper thin.  

We say that we love justice and love to point out our desires for justice on televised murder trials and such things- but often we are the party who is denying justice to others. Unfortunately, the truth is that we have come to love exploitation. We see exploitation as an opportunity for personal gain. We see it as a “good deal” when we can hire a gardener or a builder for R50 a day. We make sure that our cleaning-staff work as hard as humanly possible during the course of a working day to make sure that we get the best “value for money”. We pay our miners as little as legally possible to maximise our gains and fight as hard as we can to keep those gains.

What makes seeing underpaying workers as exploitation difficult is that it seems to be a win-win situation: you as the employer can maximise your gains and the employee can have an income to feed their family. Therefore, after the employment negotiations, each party is better off than they were before.  However, even though the employee is better off then what they would have been without the employment, they are not as well off as they ought to be. But unfortunately, the competition for employment is fierce.

Because of this, the job ends up going to the individual who is willing to allow themselves to be most exploited- which makes sense because to them it seems better than the alternative of having no employment at all.

What we often forget is this: to the employer, paying a worker an extra R50 a day will not be nearly as detrimental to their pocket as it will be beneficial to the employee. You’re withholding it so you can comfortably afford an extra latte or a car with leather seats - while they are in desperate need of it to feed their family or pay for their child’s education.

Giving a person dignity and a fair shot at success is really not as costly to us as we may think. We need to embrace the fact that this is what we do whether we like it or not. We do exploit and we do try and cut corners- and we need to stop.  If we want to be a just society where the poor are afforded their dignity, we need to stop taking the gains that are due to them. This is a not an impossible request, and the difference that it will make to the people you encounter in your daily life will be profound. Let’s make Gauteng a place that is known for both ambition as well as valuing people.

A Message To Beautiful Young Women... and everyone else

Beauty:  a giant magnet in the computer store of life. It is one of the strangest, most subjective, and most powerful phenomena in our social world. It has the ability to make us fawn, flirt and make our reasoning power rapidly approach zero. We need to understand beauty- in terms of what beauty actually is and what it should and should not be used for. If it is true that with beauty comes power; then young women need to consider how they can regard and utilise their beauty in a way that respects themselves and the people around them. This is neither something that is meant to blame beautiful women for how women are objectified or  at times abused by society, nor is it something that is denying that this is merely one piece of the complex puzzle we call social identity. This is, however, aimed to demonstrate that beautiful young women can add to social problems when they do not recognise their beauty for what it is: a gift.

I am a beautiful young woman. I must say that beauty is a fun thing to have; I mean- what a better source of self-worth, right? I get power, attention, value, and the ability to take advantage of it- and unfortunately at times I have done just that. However, learning that beauty is nothing to be proud of has changed the way that I utilise the way I look as well as the way in which I view other people. This change occurred after considering why I and other woman find our value in the way we look.

When you sit down and think about it, the reasons as to why I and other young women can derive value from the way we look are quite interesting; and by that I mean they don’t make a lot of sense.   It is true that being a beautiful young woman means possessing something that people like, but it is also true that I have no control over the way I look other than making it to the gym now and then and applying makeup in the morning.  However- somehow, we see beauty as something we can pride ourselves in.  People are very quick to take pride in things that they actually have very little to do with; like when “your” team wins a soccer game, or when an old friend reaches success and we say things like “Oh so-and-so wouldn’t be where he is if he didn’t learn this from me”.  We do whatever we can to make it seem as if the external things that happen or the good things we have are because of something we've done or something we're entitled to- which are in most cases untrue.

To be able to pride yourself in something, you need to have a significant claim in how you came to acquire that thing.  For example: if I drive a nice car, I can pride myself in it if I worked hard and paid it off, but priding myself in it if it was just given to me wouldn’t make a lot of sense.  In fact, getting such a gift would inspire something very different to pride: gratitude.  Beauty is something similar.  Yes it is great to have, but I had nothing to do with how I got it- it was given to me.  Because of this, I have no reason to be proud of it, but rather grateful for it.

Grateful people are those who do not undervalue what they have, but who want to bring about the best possible use of that gift to benefit those around them. This gratitude is what I believe beautiful woman ought to portray- not to undermine others, but to walk in the humility of knowing that the gifts that they have were not self earned.  But no matter what my view on my beauty is, I have no right to exploit others with it.

The ability to exploit others is the biggest problem with having beauty.   All around the world, young women are prizing sex appeal over any other asset that they can have. We want to be FHM cover girls- Victoria’s secret models, or playmate of the month. We chase it, we abuse it and we make money from it; we think that if we achieve these things then we have achieved value. We get paid tens of thousands of rand for posing in bikinis to seduce other women’s husbands.  This is a man’s weakness; he knows it and so do we, so we use it for our own personal gain.  We become gold diggers, dancers, underwear models, or even prostitutes.  It’s easy, good money, and we have the ability to do it.  “And just what is wrong with that?” you may ask.  Well, how about this: it is exploitation.

I know that I may not have to explain why exploitation is wrong, but I want to do it anyway.  Exploitation is the act of 1) making someone worse off than they were before- of stealing something from them, 2) not giving them benefits to the extent to which they deserve them, or 3) giving them something in exchange for money or services that is not as beneficial to them as they think it is.  Each of these forms of exploitation is based on the unjust action of benefiting at someone else’s expense- which is wrong. Using sex appeal for personal gain can take each of these forms of exploitation depending on the situation.  If we can gain an understanding as to how this exploitation happens in various situations, then perhaps we can avoid it in future.

Situation one: exploiting sex appeal in general

Something interesting about sex appeal is that it can never be owned by an individual- it is something that one may have for a short time and it cannot be measured- as the way it is valued by others is subject to personal taste.  Therefore, if I use my sex appeal to get ahead, I am not using my own sex appeal as a vehicle to personal gain, but I am using sex appeal in general.  This is because when someone sees me, they are not concerned with my individuality or my humanity; they are concerned with something that I possess and something that I share with many other women.  The fact is this: many women have sex appeal and therefore, even though it is slightly personalised, we are all sharing in the same asset.

 Now, if some of us decide to exploit that asset for our own personal gain, it does not tarnish our individual reputation (because many people do not know you on an individual level) but it tarnishes the reputation of the asset that we share.  For example, if a beautiful woman exploits a man for his money, then it is often generalised that beautiful women exploit men for money.  Now, that means that everyone who fits into category A, namely being a beautiful women, is believed to exploit category B, namely men with money.  Therefore the behaviour of one woman with the asset of beauty directly influences every other woman who shares that asset by making others typecast all beautiful women as people who exploit men for money; therefore, exploiting ones beauty negatively affects women who are also beautiful.

Situation Two: exploiting vulnerability

Beauty would be powerless if it did not create an opportunity to exploit vulnerability. The vulnerability that beauty exploits is that of a) women aspiring for beauty and b) men desiring women with beauty.   The evidence of this exploitation in both instances, I believe, is quite easy to see.  It is told to us that to have beauty is to have value. Therefore as a woman, the less beauty you have the less value you have; and as a man, not being able to get a woman who possesses that beauty decreases your value.  Exploitation of this notion comes in to play through advertising for beauty products, cars, clothes or anything that is portrayed to make you more “valuable” by achieving beauty yourself or by getting the attentions of those who possess it.  

However, the notion that “beauty equals value” is a lie. The value of each person is consistent and completely independent of appearance, race, financial status, gender or social class- which is in direct contrast to what we are consistently told by society. Because this is a lie, exploiting this lie to project a higher value of yourself to others is an attempt to rob others of their value.

Situation three: gains that are not real gains

Situation three is that the beauty industry (which capitalises on those aspiring for beauty) as well as the sex industry (capitalising on those who possess and desire beauty) is offering something that is not authentic gain.  Being a consumer of any form within the sex industry gives you what you want- in the instance where what you want is not good for you.  Now a woman in the sex industry may say: “I’m making money, and I’m giving men what they want, right?”

No.  What you are doing is fighting for the affection of the husbands, the fathers, and the young men who want to love their women wholeheartedly in order to gain from them.  You are using their weakness against them- you are exploiting them where they are vulnerable and offering gains that aren’t really gains.

 You are constantly reminding men of where their wives or girlfriends are failing. You are pointing out her lack of perfection, her aging face, her needy heart, and you are presenting to them yourself- a woman young and beautiful; and you are presenting yourself to them with this question:

“How can you ever be satisfied with her- when you could picture yourself with me?”

Exploiting my beauty and their weakness is the greatest evil I could ever do to another woman; and in due time; when my face is aging and my beauty is fading- I may be made perfectly aware of this destructive power- as some beautiful young woman will begin to seduce my husband’s attentions away from me.

So girls, lets love ourselves enough to realise that our value is not determined by our beauty; let us not take pride in the beauty that we do have- but be grateful for it; and most importantly, let us not use our beauty to exploit the weaknesses of those around us- no matter the situation. Realising that our beauty has nothing to do with our value is one of the most freeing things that any woman can ever experience.  Let us be women who love others, respect them, and show them the dignity that they deserve. 

The Legalisation of Prostitution: Social Crisis or Social Liberation?

There are many destructive myths as well as a few facts making the rounds about prostitution and the implications that legalising it may have on South African society. Most of these myths have been spread by rather radical activists who hold a position either strongly for or strongly against the legalisation of prostitution in South Africa. Before you choose a position on this issue, it is important that you consider what the legalisation of prostitution will really mean for people of South Africa- whether the consequences of legalisation or keeping prostitution criminalised is something we want.

The definition of prostitution is this: the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment. Many arguments around the legalisation of prostitution are not actually based on what effects legalising prostitution would have on society per se, but rather what effects an increase of commercial sexual services will have on society. This is because it is often implied that the legalisation of prostitution will cause growth in the commercial sex industry. If this is correct, then those arguments will stand; of it is not, then they will simply fall away. To determine whether an increase in the offer of sexual services will increase, let us look at prostitution as an industry.

Working in prostitution generates a significant amount of income in a short amount of time usually outside of conventional working hours. The average monthly income for an individual working in prostitution is higher than many forms of entry level employment- making it a viable choice for job seekers across the country. Also, because of its unconventional hours, it is a practical method for an individual engaged in other activities during traditional working hours to supplement their income (to make a bit of cash on the side). Therefore, it is clear that working in prostitution offers definite economical benefits- benefits that may not be able to be attained any other way, despite apparent health and safety risks.

These economical advantages suggest that legalisation of prostitution may make it a very appealing choice for people who are currently unemployed or wish to generate extra income. Groups that prostitution may particularly appeal to are young women (and men) who are currently busy with studies or working in a position that is not adequately meeting their financial needs. This is because youth and beauty are valuable commodities in the sex industry; and therefore, unlike almost any other industry in the world, the younger you are the easier it will be to be financially successful. Unless a person has a strong stance against entering into prostitution or finds the safety and health risks to be too great, the instant economic advantages may be a strong drawing card to convince many- especially those coming from impoverished backgrounds. South Africa has very high unemployment rates especially among individuals between the ages of 18-30. Because of this, it can be inferred that legalising a method where people without access to other forms of employment can make a significant amount of money will result in an increasing number of people entering into prostitution.

On the other hand, many would argue that in nations where prostitution has been legalised there has not been a significant increase in the amount of people selling sexual services. However, it is important to note that the nations where prostitution has been legalised have very different societies from South Africa. I am not commenting on the morality or values of any of these nations, but rather on different social economical factors that may drive individuals to choose a life of prostitution. Simply put, many (not all) of the people in prostitution in nations where it is legal have other opportunities to generate income, while many people in South Africa do not. Poverty and unemployment is the largest driving factor for individuals  providing commercial sex services in South Africa- a driving factor that is not present (or at least not to the same degree) in many of these other countries. Therefore, it is very likely that the legalisation of prostitution will increase the number of individuals entering into prostitution; but it is yet to be determined whether this really is a negative thing or not. 

The legalisation of prostitution can easily be seen as a form of job creation and can offer a form of legal protection for individuals already working in the commercial sex industry. Now, there are many indirect consequences that the legalisation of prostitution may have in relation to prostitution solicitors (pimps), the likelihood of an increase of human trafficking and exploitation, and also an increase in competition among people working in prostitution. However for means of the remainder this article all I am going to focus on is whether prostitution in a traditional form is “bad” or not.

To answer this question, I will not appeal to any type of moral code or so called “social standards” of behaviour, but merely offer evidence and observations from which you are free to draw your own conclusions. Being on the field and speaking to the women and men who prostitute themselves on the streets of Johannesburg and Cape Town has given me interesting insight into their lives. Even though every individual has had their own reasons for entering and remaining in prostitution, and I have by no means spoken to large enough samples of people to draw cause-and-effect like conclusions about prostitution, there have been a few things that these men and women have said that have solidified my view on the issue of legalisation. These comments were made by men and woman who were (and some are still) working in prostitution and who were not being controlled by any third party.  Now please note that these comments were made by these women and men from a place of vulnerability, as many conversations that I’ve had with a man or woman in prostitution has begun with them advocating what they do- as I’m sure many of us would do too.  

“People think we want to do this-that we find our jobs fun. I’m here because I have children back home that need to go to school. They can never know what I do.”

“You should see the way they look at us- like we are nothing.”

“They think because they pay us they can treat us anyway they like. We are still human beings.”

“If my children could see what I go through, maybe they would learn and never become like me... at least then they would appreciate what I do to give them a life”

“At the beginning it is horrible. But after a while you go numb. Sex is a job and you have to be strong. The money is good so it makes me think it’s worth what we go through.”

Why do you think the clients come to you? “Some of them are lonely. But once I asked a man who had a ring on his finger ‘why do you do this?’ he replied: ‘because I can’t just eat chicken everyday’.”

“The one time I was walking home and two men came up to me with a gun, took everything I had, beat me up and then had business with me for free.”

So the question of whether prostitution should be legalised or not should not be about what would make the industry more accommodating to prostitutes, whether we want to create more taxable employment, or whether prostitutes deserve this treatment and should be criminalised; but rather whether we as society see it fit to encourage more men and women enter into an industry of exploitation.  Some things should not be for sale.

Police and Human Trafficking: The Need to Know

Modern day slavery has become the second most lucrative illegal industry in the world, and it’s here - now. But the good news is that so are we. We know about it and we are beginning to do what we can to stop it. “Who do I mean when I say we?” you ask; well, good question. By “we” I mean every government that has responded by changing legislation and launching campaigns; every organisation which has dedicated themselves to see the need and to meet it; and most importantly, every single individual who has a heart for the justice and fair treatment  of others who has been willing to step out, make a phone call, tell a friend, or share a status which collaboratively has become a world-wide anti-trafficking movement which can (and will) bring freedom to people trapped in slavery and exploitation.

That is the big picture. But what is happening here in South Africa: in your city, your neighbourhood, your street?  Human Trafficking exists in South Africa in many different forms. It could be happening in that suspicious massage parlour down the road that’s open until 2am; it could be at that factory where workers don’t seem to come and go; or it could be happening at that traffic light where that young boy came to your window asking for change. It happens behind business fronts and in plain sight, and  because of how this illegal industry operates, traffickers can be brought to justice through you- and this is very good news to victims of trafficking.

However, the best news for victims of trafficking in South Africa is something that the government has done:  the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013 that was signed off by President Zuma in July 2013. This piece of legislation means (once it is thoroughly implemented later this year) that prosecution of trafficking cases will more likely result in the conviction of the trafficker. It also means that the victim will be distinctly identified as a victim of trafficking and be treated accordingly. However, this change is good news because this has not been happening in many cases up until this point. This is because police forces in South Africa have not been made properly aware of what human trafficking is, how to identify it and how to go through the correct procedures to ensure the best possible case for prosecution as well as the safety and fair treatment of the victims. Currently, human trafficking cases are commonly being misidentified as cases of migrant smuggling or other crimes that portray the victim to be the criminal. Because of this, these victims who have suffered and been exploited at the hands of their traffickers are criminalised a second time; and are often arrested, fined, and/or deported without ever being recognised as a victim or receiving any kind of psycho-social support for the trauma that they have endured. This is not justice and we cannot allow this to happen. However, this is not the fault of the South African Police Service (SAPS) because it is not owing to a lack of vigilance; it is because human trafficking is a relatively newly defined crime which many police officers simply have never heard about before.

The wonderful thing is that through the implementation of the new anti-human trafficking legislation later this year, national training will be provided to the police force that will hopefully filter down to station level. However, we want to ensure that this awareness and knowledge is filtered down into every station, to every officer manning the front desk, those raiding reported crime scenes, or even going on patrol. We want to ensure that these police officers are given the tools they need to be able to identify victims, do something about the situation, and to make sure victims see justice. This way, the SAPS can make sure that victims are not criminalised for crimes that were a direct result of being trafficked, which will be clearly stated in the new law. Also, to ensure that victims are carried through the system in a way that enables them to fight for justice and be given a chance at psycho-social restoration before being reintegrated into society.

In order to make this happen, we are creating a workshop that can be taken in to police stations around the country. Practically, this workshop will focus on equipping every officer at every police station to know what human trafficking is, how to identify it, and the policies and procedures to adhere to when dealing with trafficking cases. It will help to ensure that the victim’s case is treated with urgency, respect and dignity and that they are not victimised a second time. It will assist SAPS in following the lawful procedure when building a case against a trafficker, which will maximise evidence collection, identification of traffickers, and thereby increase the chances of successful prosecution.

So thank you to the South African government and all those who have fought to see this law passed; thank you to every NGO that has stepped forward and has given whole-heartedly to this issue; and thank you to every individual who has stepped forward asking “what can I do?”.  This is what needs to be done, so this is exactly what we are going to do. Join us, get involved and become a part of the fight to end modern-day slavery.

And Action! The Making of Identity

When I ask you who you are, you will begin by telling me what you do, what you love and maybe even your favourite sports team. Then, if I know you a bit better you will reveal to me a deeper part of your identity- the things you see and love about yourself, things that aren’t evident on the surface: your intentions. You will begin to explain to me what you do and why you do it. You will tell me about dreams you have, about things you want to achieve or the real reason why you acted the way you did towards your boss/waiter/friend/mother-in-law. You will want to explain to me why bad behavior doesn’t make you a bad person and how you will give money to charity one day- when you have enough.

To explain where I’m going with this, let me tell you a quick story. When I was 17 I went on a leadership camp in school before prefect selection (I was in Gr11 and back then, becoming a prefect was of course the biggest deal in the world). Now, I had been in this school since I was 9 years old so I figured the teachers knew me pretty well and could see my character, as it was a small school and I had known them for quite some time (but let me not bore you with details). At the time, I had a relatively good perception of myself and my ability to lead. I was young, sassy and opinionated and I had dreams of changing the world (which I still do). But needless to say, my teachers didn’t quite see me that way and subsequently, I didn’t become a prefect.  I was shattered, my identity was questioned, and I was left wondering if anything I believed about myself was true.

Looking back, even though the memory has definitely lost the identity shaking sting it had when I was 17, the reason why I was so shaken by others not confirming what I thought to be my identity makes quite a lot of sense. I did not want to admit this reason to myself as it had particularly humbling consequences for my self-image; but nether-the-less I came to terms with the fact that I had been (and at times still am) drawing my identity from my intentions. I believed that just because I had the desire to do good, I was good. Because these intentions were my identity, I was always offended when other people did not see these things in me. But then it hit me- I had shown no one any evidence of my intentions. They could not see this person I believed myself to be because that identity was only existent within the confines of my own mind. If I wanted people to see who I was, I needed to make my intentions evident by demonstrating them in what I did. If I believed myself to be a generous person, I should have given; if I believed myself to be a leader, I should have stepped out in leadership.

 I like to believe that I’m not alone in this. This is something we do all the time and it has severe consequences for our perceptions of ourselves and our relationships with the people around us.

As people cannot see our intentions, neither can we see theirs. We see their actions as a true reflection of who they are; and therefore we make character judgments of a person based on how they behave. For example: this morning when you cut that car off in traffic was because you were running late and wanted to be on-time for work; but when that car cut in front of you, well that’s because he’s an inconsiderate _____ (insert preferred  word here). We have an abundance of excuses for ourselves for whenever we act badly- as we can justify our behavior by the intentions that only we can see; and at the same time, we don’t extend this grace to others.

Now, you may ask the question that if this is how others see you, should you just ignore their opinion because surely your true identity lies in the way you see yourself? The answer to this question is also relatively simple- no. This is why: we are often disillusioned with our own identities. We construct our ideas of ourselves by combining all the traits we want to believe about ourselves and simply ignoring or justifying the traits that we don’t. Therefore, hearing another person’s opinion about who you are and what you stand for is probably the most useful piece of information you can receive- if it is given honestly. This is because hearing the opinion of even one other person shatters the monotony of our own reference point. We suddenly have the challenge to resolve the difference between our identity as perceived by the self and our identity as perceived by the other.

From all of this, I’ve come to the resolve that my identity does not lie wholly in either who I believe myself to be nor who others perceive me to be; but that am a combination of my self-witnessed intentions and my publically-witnessed actions. Therefore, the more my actions reflect my good intentions, the more coherence there will be in who I am.

 How do I do this you ask? Well, I reflect on what others say, asses their validity, and see if it speaks truth. I admit to myself when my behavior does not accurately reflect my intentions to the people around me; I’m willing to own it and admit that it was my own fault. Lastly, I stop justifying my actions when they are not a reflection of who I am and continuously work on making sure what I do demonstrates my intentions; and I now challenge you to do the same. 

Stopping Traffick: Understanding the Problem

Human Trafficking- say it with me now: “Human Trafficking”. Not to be confused with illegal migration or smuggling; and definitely not to be confused with being stuck behind a long line of cars on the way to work (Okay no- this is serious). Human Trafficking is the buying and selling of people for the purpose of exploitation. People are seen as commodities that can make money for someone else at minimal cost. They are used for hard labour, factory work, farm work, as domestic workers and commonly and most famously- sex workers. “That sounds familiar” you may say. Why yes- you’re right; such things have been going on for thousands of years - as Human Trafficking in its essence is modern-day slavery. But what is not often realised is that this happens now- yes, right now. Right now it is happening to 20.9 million people according to the United Nations TIP report- that equates to the population of Mozambique in trafficking victims. Human trafficking has been reported in almost every country in the world and is the second biggest international illegal trade - second only to drugs (yes, that means even the illegal arms trade is not as lucrative).

So Human Trafficking does exist- and it happens in four clear stages: coercion, transportation, control, and exploitation. Every one of these stages must be present in order for a case to be categorised as Human Trafficking. So, this is what a case of Human Trafficking typically looks like: first, a trafficker will make a promise. They will offer an incredible opportunity to their potential victim- normally exactly what the victim has always dreamed of. To the pretty young girl in a poor home they will offer a modelling contract in Milan; to the school child that dreams of a brighter future- a scholarship in Switzerland; to the young boy- a position in a football club in France; and to the hardworking single mother- a well paying job somewhere far away that could give her enough money to send her children to school. The people who often fall for these promises are not ignorant or careless, but are often those who are bright, ambitious and willing to take risks to succeed.

 Then, once the story is believed and the victim hands over their documents for the trafficker to process their “transport details”, the second stage has begun. The victim is now under the control of the trafficker, taken out of her community and is fed further lies to hold her in bondage. The trafficker will say things like: “now that you’re here, you need to pay off the debt that you owe me for your transport, so now you have to work in this factory (or this brothel) until you pay me off”. The victim will then be forced to work in inhumane conditions and given little to no pay- making it impossible for them to pay off the debt. This is called debt bondage - and is a common tool for the trafficker to establish control over the victim.

So now the victim is trapped- alone and outside of her usual community; with no travel documents and is unable to speak to the local language. Also, the victim often believes that what has happened to her is perfectly legal- and that she is paying off a real debt.  To strengthen the hold that the trafficker has over the victim, the trafficker will tell her that the local authorities will arrest her if she tries to fight- and if she tries to run away; the traffickers will hurt her family. The methods of control used by traffickers do not end here, and the victims are often beaten, raped, or drugged into submission. Then, the final and more permanent stage of the process is exploitation. The victims are forced to work for no or very little pay day after day with little chance of change or escape.

 Once a significant amount of time goes by; then perhaps the saddest thing of all happens: the victim begins to normalise and accept the situation as reality. They fight less, need less supervision and control, and may even arrive at a point where they advocate what happened to them; or begin to see a peculiar type of justice in bringing other people through the same course that they had to walk. It can be justified in their minds by thinking: “I’ve paid my dues and gone through all of this, now it’s somebody else’s turn”. These victims may then become part of the perpetuation; as after justifying a lifestyle for so long, one then begins to act as if it really were just. A few years down the line, if somehow the trafficker releases the victim or if the victim escapes,  these victims may be seen working as prostitutes or get involved in trafficking themselves- the injustice that was done to them never to be spoken of and for society to be perpetually blind to. This is the story of millions of people around the world who will never see justice.

So this is Human Trafficking- a trade based in deception and exploitation. Just having awareness and understanding does not solve the problem of Human Trafficking- but nothing will happen before we do have awareness and understanding. Let us play a role in forming solutions that will give hope and freedom to victims of modern day slavery. 

Keeping Strip Clubs Accountable: Legislation to End Human Trafficking in Legal Businesses

Working in the Anti-Trafficking field has made me aware of a problem that NGOs, as well as the South African Police Force, are facing in combating Human Trafficking- a problem that may perhaps be solved by the enactment of simple legislation. I will start by outlining the problem and mentioning what the parameters for action are at the moment; and offer a solution that may be implementable. Of course, this is just a sketch of the idea and it would have to be handed over to people much more qualified and capable than myself to actually stand a chance of being implemented; but have a look and consider what a difference legislation such as this can make for women who are trapped in a world of sexual exploitation.

When we think about the illegal sex industry- a few types of businesses usually come to the forefront. Businesses that make profit from enticing men’s sexual desire in a venue where his behaviour that may follow will not be in the public eye. Now I’m not calling into question the legitimacy of such businesses; but what I am saying is that in this position, the clients of these businesses are very vulnerable to be enticed by the offer of sexual services; and therefore it would be reasonable to deduce that in some cases these businesses have given in to provide these services in a way that is discrete and very profitable.  This deduction is supported by the frequent reports and complaints made against such businesses by concerned members of the public. These reports have often contained information about these businesses running illegal brothels; and in some instances under-aged girls and women from foreign countries were suspected to be working there. The two primary types of businesses that fit this description in South Africa are strip clubs and sensual massage parlours. All though there is no law against strip clubs or sensual massage parlours from recruiting foreign workers (nor am I arguing that there should be) - situations such as this have in the past been shown to accommodate girls and women who have been trafficked.

Up until now, the procedure for dealing with these situations would be for a member of the public issuing a complaint about the suspected venue to SAPS; and once subsequent procedures have been followed, SAPS then organise a raid of said venue. Now, in the time between the report and the raid, there is a chance of the venue receiving a tip-off that the raid is going to happen - giving the venue ample time to hide any illegal activities or Trafficking victims. Unfortunately, this is the cycle that police have had to go through with many specific venues- as they have received multiple complaints and reports form concerned members of the public and have raided said venues many times - finding nothing. Therefore, the apparent problem in this situation is that there is no form of legal accountability that is preventing strip clubs and sensual massage parlours from involving themselves in forms of exploitation and the selling of sexual services. Now that I have stated the problem, allow me to offer a solution.

There are many Anti-Trafficking awareness campaigns being run in various areas and with various groups of focus. There are awareness initiatives focussing on the most at risk in rural communities and urban schools. However, there is an incredible lack of trafficking awareness in places where sex trafficking is very likely to already be happening - strip clubs and sensual massage parlours. Now, both of these types of business are definitely legal and under as much pressure as any other business to comply with the law. However, with the nature of this industry it is easy for such businesses to conceal illegal activity - as these services need not be publicly advertised and are only made available to clients upon request. If one of these businesses is offering sexual services or is involved with Trafficking In Persons, then the best way to solve this problem is to offer the workers in these establishments training on how to identify abuse, exploitation and Trafficking In Persons as well as providing a direct and secure channel of reporting these injustices.

What this type of legislation could look like would be forcing these establishments to place awareness material within the venue in clear view of the workers in every primary language spoken by the workers (ie. if the institution recruits a worker from Thailand, information must be provided to that individual in Thai, clearly stating her rights and how to identify and expose exploitation). Along with this information, a toll-free hotline number must be clearly stated that the individual can call to report any illegal activity. This legislation is simple and the cost that would be needed for it to be implemented could be covered by each individual establishment itself as a requirement to be given the right to legally do business (Much like the requirements to trade liquor). The establishment will have to prove that they provide this information to each of their workers. If they do not they may suffer a heavy fine or have their trading licence revoked.

This awareness material would need to be certified by the Department of Social Development and may also incorporate a mandatory bi-annual inspection and training by the Department of Social Development or an authorised NGO. A training such as that could provide workers with a comprehensive understanding of how to identify exploitation, Trafficking In Persons and a knowledge of their rights are. Putting such legislation in place would serve to benefit legitimate strip clubs and sensual massage parlours- as it would be in their interests to protect their workers and expose illegal activity of competing businesses. It can therefore be assumed that if any of these businesses were against such legislation, that they must see it as negatively affecting their business which would only be able to be explained by said business having to end all illegal activity that they would currently be involved in.

Putting legislation such as this in place will by no means be the end of the Human Trafficking problem, but it may however play a role in decreasing the demand for trafficking victims. It will also give women that are currently trapped in a world of sexual exploitation in strip clubs and sensual massage parlours a chance for freedom and if we continue taking a series of small steps such as this, Trafficking In Persons can become a thing of the past.