The trafficking of children for purposes of sexual exploitation

In Article 16(2) emphasises the importance of establishing 'forms of prevention and for
identification, reporting, referral, investigation and follow up of instances of child abuse and
neglect'.
This implies not only an obligation to introduce child protective legislation, such as the Child Care
Act, but also to introduce (as argued under Article 19 of the UN Convention) anti-trafficking
legislation per se. It also emphasises the need to provide legislative procedures to effectively
implement the legislation. In addition, it marks the importance of every sphere in society to take
responsibility for the protection of children against any form of violence and/or abuse.
Article 21 is aimed at the protection of children against harmful social and cultural practices. The
emphasis lies on the elimination of
harmful social and cultural practices affecting the welfare, dignity, normal growth and
development of the child and in particular:
(a) those customs and practices prejudicial to the health or life of the child; and
(b) those customs and practices discriminatory to the child on the grounds of sex or other status.
In Article 21(2) states that child marriages and the betrothal of children shall be prohibited and
places an obligation on State Parties to pass legislation which 'specify the minimum age of marriage
to be 18 years and make registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory'.
In the context of trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation the 'sale' of a child as a 'bride' would
be covered under this article.
Article 27 of the African Charter focuses on the prohibition of sexual exploitation of children. In its
essence it repeats Article 34 of the UN Convention. It emphasises the State Parties obligation to
protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse and to 'take measures to prevent:
(a) the inducement, coercion or encouragement of a child to engage in any sexual activity
(b) the use of children in prostitution or other sexual practices
(c) the use of children in pornographic activities, performances and materials.
This Article implies, along with Article 16 of the African Charter, and Articles 19 and 34 of the UN
Convention, an obligation to introduce comprehensive legislation preventing any form of sexual
exploitation of children, including the use of children in the sex industry and pornography.
Article 29 highlights the prevention of the sale, trafficking and abduction of children and reads:
States Parties to the present Charter shall take appropriate measures to prevent:
(a) the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form, by any person
including parents or legal guardians of the child
(b) the use of children in all forms of begging.
Selected articles from the Charter appear in Appendix 3
4. The South African Legal Framework
4.1 Introduction
South Africa does not have legislation that specifically prohibits the traffic in persons. There are
however, legal measures such as the Child Care Act, the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual
Offences Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act that can be applied to prosecute offences
related to trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The following is a review of current and proposed South African legislation which deal with the
72