The trafficking of children for purposes of sexual exploitation

According to a sex worker the effect on the girl child particularly is that "she becomes very
vulnerable to gangs, drug peddlers and pimps; she may be drawn into a child sex ring" 65
3.5. Lack of effective welfare support
This is raised as a contributing factor in terms of the financial support provided by government
welfare agencies for families in need. The current welfare provision for destitute families is limited
to a grant of R100 per child per month for children under 7 years of age. Approximately 30 percent
of intended recipients did not receive the grant in 1999.
This points to the lack of an effective welfare safety net for families who through lack of education,
skills and unemployment are unable to provide for their families' financial needs. This in turn places
a strain on the family. In a society where there is a demand for sex with children in exchange for
money, this then becomes one way in which the immediate needs of the family can be provided for
as evidenced by Lerato's testimony below.
3.6. Increased urbanisation
Another contributing factor is the increase in urbanisation. Child sexual exploitation for money is
regarded as an essentially urban phenomenon. Fifty percent of South Africa's population was
urbanised in 1996. 66 While this represented a 0,2 percent decline of growth for figures between
1965-1980 and 1980-1996, the expected annual increase rate was placed at 2,5 percent, indicating
that a further increase was to be expected as rural economies began to slow down.
It is widely accepted that one of the effects of increased urbanisation is the dislocation of families.
As families increasingly move into informal settlements with higher population density, this affects
culture and results in changes in the value attached to the protection and safety of children. The
effects of this migration and dislocation are then seen in the weakening of the extended family, as a
means of support. Added to this there is the decrease in employment opportunities which place
children at risk of being sexually exploited for money.
3.7. Parental Involvement
Organisations working in communities reported the involvement of parents in the traffic of children.
Parents, particularly mothers, are involved in a number of ways.
The survey of newspaper reports also indicates that family involvement in the sexual exploitation of
children is neither specific to nor exclusive of any one of the four major "racial" groups, in South
Africa. This confirms the statement by the then Deputy Minister of Social Welfare and Population
Development that:
"Girls in South Africa are often subject to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income,
class and culture. Violence against these girl children takes place in the family in the form of battering, sexual abuse,
rape, as well as other forms. In the community as well, in schools and other institutions, young girls are raped, sexually
abused and harassed, and are subject to trafficking and forced prostitution." 67
From reports by organisations and newspapers parents are characteristically involved in the
following ways:
• Parents act as traffickers of their own children by allowing others to sexually exploit their
children for financial reward which goes either to the upkeep of the entire family or to the
individual family member. This sexual exploitation can occur on the street, in the family home,
or in a shebeen, hotel, brothel, escort agency, tavern or bar
65 Rachel: 'Domestic Violence: How it contributes to the Sexual Exploitation of Children' NASEC Conference Report p.
62
66 UNICEF: State of the World's Children, 1998 Table 5: Demographics, p. 112
67 Keynote address by Ms G. Fraser-Moleketi: A National Networking Seminar on "The Girl Child in South Africa"
NIPILAR and the Community Law Centre, June 1996
29