The Sunday Mail
Tafadzwa Kadani
It has robbed so many people of their bright future.
Surprisingly, this daylight robbery of humans is happening in our midst and several Zimbabwean women have been victims of the scourge.
Indeed, it is a tale of shattered dreams.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force.
Human trafficking is the third most profitable business for organised crime, with drugs and arms trafficking coming first and second respectively.
Earlier this month, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reported that Zimbabwean women have become targets for human traffickers with syndicates taking them to the Middle East, mostly Kuwait.
According to the ZBC report, young women are being duped through purported employment agencies.
About 15 Zimbabwean waiters and waitresses fell prey to a job advert by a local church and later found themselves in Somalia, right in the middle of a war zone.
ZBC reported that while in captivity in Somalia, the Zimbabweans were turned into sex slaves and labourers until they were rescued.
The Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA) expressed concern over the high numbers of women falling victim to human trafficking.
Various organisations have proffered a number of reasons on why mostly women are falling prey to human trafficking in Zimbabwe and the world over.
Sally Dura, the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe National Co-ordinator said human trafficking is caused by misinformation and poverty.
“Human trafficking is on an accelerated mode the world over and Zimbabwe has not been spared. This has consequently resulted in women being duped by these trafficking criminals,” said Dura.
Zimbabwe currently has a high unemployment rate and thus many people are seeking greener pastures outside the country.
Ms Tinotenda Chihera from ZWLA argued that women are the most affected by poverty and this is why they are the major victims.
“Poverty is the leading cause of human trafficking. Women must be empowered by availing more job opportunities to them,” said Ms Chihera.
“Many people have heard of the fake job promises that lead to trafficking but some still ignore that and go. People thus need to be informed on these issues, and concentration has to be on those in the peripheral areas,” added Ms Chihera.
Cyber crime is also one of the leading causes of human trafficking as most cases happen on the internet, therefore a regulatory framework to curb the menace needs to be in place sooner rather than later.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) is currently working on a Bill that will specifically deal with cyber crime.
“The responsible authorities in Zimbabwe need to come up with a legal framework that is applicable to the current situation as the existing one has not been thorough in dealing with such cases,” Ms Dura suggested.
Sally Dura also added that there is need to establish a platform for people who are in and outside the country can access when they are in need of help.
“There should be a toll-free number that people can call so as to get help in case they find themselves victims of human trafficking. The number should be accessible even outside Zimbabwe,” said Ms Dura.
She however, bemoaned that women civic organisations in the country do not have extensive reach due to resource constraints.
“The resource status of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that look at women’s issues is a serious concern. Such organisations compliment the work of Government and must therefore be supported,” she said.
Zimbabwe has a Legal and Constitutional Affairs Cluster that fights human trafficking and is led by Women and Law in Southern Africa and ZWLA.
The International Organisation of Migrants (IOM) is also part of that cluster.
