Challenges in Identification of Child Victims of Transnational Trafficking

Abstract

Child trafficking is a multiple human rights violation and identification of child victims of trafficking is a serious challenge facing social workers worldwide. Stakeholders (including social workers) working in the field of trafficking were studied qualitatively. The challenges the participants perceived or had encountered when identifying transnational children trafficked into South Africa were explored through in-depth interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings from the study support the notion that identification of child trafficking victims is not an easy task for social workers because of the inherent nature of child trafficking and its link to socio-legal, economic and cultural factors.