The trafficking of children for purposes of sexual exploitation

Any act seen as resistance or a challenge to the gang leader's authority is punished with physical or
sexual violence. Acts of resistance include planning to escape, attempting to escape and defying any
of the leader's orders and authority. Exhibiting behaviour that does not define one as one of the
gang, such as wanting to raise your own children, is also punished. In keeping with the mafia-type
gang the children fathered by the gang leader are given to his extended family to rear.
The children quoted here say how these acts of violence were committed. The descriptions are often
graphic and detailed. This way of relating the incidences of violence against themselves and the
other girls is indicative of symptoms of post-traumatic stress. These symptoms as Jackson points
out can manifest up to two years later, for the first time. 158
Planning to escape
During the time that I was there they assaulted me very badly, they kicked me and hit me, because they heard that I
wanted to run away. They had brought us there the Saturday and the first Tuesday, after that, the two sisters Laetitia
and Antoinette had to appear in court on a murder charge.
Zulfa went with them. While they were at the court she told the two of them that Lucia and I had said that we want to
run away. When they got back that afternoon they told Zunaid and he was very angry. He told one of the guards, who
were there, that he should go and fetch Lucia from where she was sleeping in the room. I was sitting in the lounge.
Zunaid told Lucia that she should go and sit on the floor. He kicked her twice so that she fell against the cupboard and
he told her to go and sit in the middle of the floor. She started crying loudly. Zunaid told her to shut up and stop crying
because she is not a baby and she must take her clothes off. She took her clothes off, but she still had her bra and pantie
on. One of the other girls, Nadine stood up and asked Lucia if she didn't hear that Zunaid said that she should take her
clothes off. They went and fetched a blanket and told her that she should lie on the blanket and she did this. They called
Faizel and told him to go lie with her. We were about seventeen people, in the lounge when Faizel raped Lucia. Lucia
was only fourteen years old. When Faizel was done with her another man, Ray came to me and said that I should forget
about running away. He asked me if it's not nice there with them and I said yes it is, because I was scared, after what
had happened to Lucia. He then said to me that I mustn't even think about running away because we will be staying
there for a very long time. - Jenny
Challenging notions of the family
She (Ghairo) took the child away from Zunaid. The child was at home. The two of them were inside the house, arguing
about the child.
Zunaid became angry, and the girls were talking amongst themselves saying, that she is going to get a beating. She
refused to listen, then Zunaid slapped her and began beating her in the house. He threw her to the ground outside.
Zunaid stripped her of all her clothes in the road. She was forced to take off all her clothes, including her bra and her
pantie. He forced her to stand against the wall of the private property (opposite the house). He let her enter the private
property first then he kicked her, and then he threw her with stones. Then the guards had to throw her with stones. She
was then forced to come out so that everyone could beat her. Zunaid then took a sjambok and whipped her, then he took
her away. That evening he threatened me and promised that I will be beaten in the same way. He took Ghairo's clothes
and threw it into the car. Her body was sore from all the beatings. Then he threw her into the car too. He then told to
her to go to work. – Lorraine
5.5. Committing murder
According to some of the girls their involvement in acts of
violence includes beating one another, fighting with sex exploiters
and the murder of boy gang members. Some anti-trafficking
organisations state that where trafficked women and children are
defendants in cases where they have committed acts of violence
against their traffickers or others that the state should provide such
a person with the opportunity
"to raise a defence of duress or coercion and that the same evidence should be
considered as a mitigating factor in sentencing, if convicted.” The organisations
also believe that in cases involving charges of having committed a crime against
a trafficker, including homicide, “she or he has an opportunity to plead selfdefence
and to present evidence of having been trafficked and the same evidence
158 L. Jackson Ibid
Box 9: Chapter 4 9 (1)
(c) Prevention of
Organised Crime Act
1998 (as amended
1999)
Any person who actively
participates in gang related
offences or is a member of a
criminal gang who threatens
any specific person or person
in general, with retaliation in
any manner or by any means
whatsoever, in any act or
alleged act of violence, shall
be guilty of an offence.
57