There are concerns that unsubstantiated claims about child trafficking are being used to restrict migration and increase the securitisation of borders. Exaggerated and sensationalised claims are shaped and driven by the media, while some anti-trafficking organisations and scholars unquestioningly reproduce, circulate and lend credence to unsubstantiated reports and research.
form part of the Centre for Child Law’s efforts to show the realities and complexities shaping the lives of vulnerable children in South Africa and to recommend ways of reducing the vulnerabilities they face.The study sought to identify the gaps in current knowledge on child trafficking and consequences on the lives of children on the move.
In fact, it showed that the vulnerabilities most children face are the physical dangers of crossing borders, the threat of violence and exploitation including sexual exploitation , and the continued challenges of life without documentation. The study itself was never intended and does not claim to provide a generalisable picture of the scale and scope of child trafficking in South Africa. Measuring trafficking is difficult not only because the phenomenon of trafficking is by its nature a hidden crime but also because of different interpretations of legislation, a lack of emphasis on reliable databases and that victims may not be willing/comfortable to speak out.
Diversifying the voices at the centre of this discourse will show that the reified and sensationalised picture of child trafficking and children who cross borders is neither acceptable nor useful in working collectively towards ensuring the protection of child migrants AND children who fall victim to trafficking., at the University of the Witwatersrand.
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