CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL WORKERS PROVIDING SOCIAL SERVICES TO ADULT VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN SELECT SHELTERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Renee Botha

doi:10.15270/57-1-906

Abstract

Human trafficking is a global multi-million dollar industry which capitalises on the trade in human beings. It inflicts degrading experiences on its victims, hence its characterisation as modern-day slavery. This research aimed to investigate social service provision to adult victims of human trafficking in South Africa. A qualitative approach was used; data were collected using individual interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that social workers faced challenges such as delays in court cases, complicated trauma, security issues and mistrust – all impacting on service delivery.

Highlights

Human trafficking is a global multi-million-dollar industry which capitalizes on the trade in humans – both young and old
The research question posed was: What are the perspectives of social workers in shelters on the provision of social services to adult victims of human trafficking and what kind of services do they render to these victims? This paper reports on one of the Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk 2021:57(1)
The inclusion criteria were that participants must be registered social workers working at an accredited shelter, they must have worked with adult human trafficking victims for at least three months, and they need to be available during the data-collection stage

Summary

Introduction

Human trafficking is a global multi-million-dollar industry which capitalizes on the trade in humans – both young and old. It has been referred to as a crime against humanity (Sweileh, 2018) This is because the traffickers use physical and psycho-emotional control tactics, in combination with physical, sexual and psychological abuse, which leave deep scars and damage the victims. Estimates indicate that 40.3 million people (mostly women) are trafficked, and this includes 25 million people trafficked into forced labour and 15 million into forced marriages (ILO, 2016). Given this large number, “intensified efforts require a greater understanding of modifiable factors and causal pathways that lead to trafficking in different contexts and for individual populations” (Kiss & Zimmerman, 2019:1)

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