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Continued from page 17 – SA: Life after Human Traffickinghuman trafficking is to be curbed, the inherentcontradictions that exist between attempting to counterhuman trafficking and the continued criminalisation ofsex work need to be resolved.In February this year, sex workers from ten Africancountries assembled in Hillbrow, Johannesburg to sharetheir experiences and discuss their needs.This was the first ever meeting of this kind on the Africancontinent. At the conference a Ugandan sex workervoiced her concern over the way in which sex workersare treated "like dogs" by the police.Many indicated that the abuse did not only come frompolice, but also from health service providers, clients andthe pimps they work for. The irony of the criminalisationof sex work in Africa is that it is the woman who offersthe service who is stigmatised and abused, while thosewho pay for her illegal services go scot-free. It is one ofsociety's entrenched patriarchal paradoxes.According to Cape Town based NGO Anex-CDW, whichworks closely with the IOM in its human traffickingproject, most of the cases are reported by third parties andoften the victims deny the allegation or refuse to talkabout it. The wall of silence is almost impenetrable.While the girls of Tshwane Home of Hope did not sharethe horrors of their lives, their presence at the Homespeaks of an untold story of violence and fear. The Homeis one of several sanctuaries for girls scattered acrossSouth Africa. In an ideal world homes such as this wouldnot have to exist, everyone would be free from fear andwant; everyone would be safe. The reality is we are not.Ottilia Anna Maunganidze is a consultant for theInternational Crime in Africa Programme at the Institutefor Security Studies. This article is part of a special serieson the 16 Days of Activism for the Gender Links Opinionand Commentary Service that offers fresh views oneveryday news.http://allafrica.com/stories/201012160568.html☻☻☻☻☻☻Uganda Named in HumanTraffickingBy Steven Candia25 February, 2010New VisionUGANDA is among the several African countries namedin a report on human trafficking from Africa to the UK.The report was compiled by Africans Unite Against ChildAbuse (AFRUCA), a UK-based charity, which expressedconcern over the growing trade and called for action againstthe problem.Figures released by the UK Human Trafficking Centreshowed that between April and December 2009, over 200Africans were referred to the agency by charities as victimsof human trafficking.Some of the victims were children. A total of 89 victimswere trafficked from Nigeria, 13 from Sierra Leone, (5)Kenya, (3) Ghana, (16) Zimbabwe, (5) Eritrea, (14)Uganda, (5) Somalia, and (1) Sudan.Most of the victims had been exploited as sex slaves, fordomestic servitude or used to claim government benefits.“The figures reveal just the tip of the iceberg. We arecertain that many more victims are trapped in exploitativeand abusive situations and have no access to help,” saidDebbie Ariyo, the AFRUCA director.The report stated that the victims are compelled to takeoaths of allegiance, secrecy and confidentiality to bindthem to their traffickers.The oath also ensures compliance and guarantees therepayment of money claimed to be owed for transportingthe victims to Europe and for their upkeep. “Fearful of therepercussions of the oath taken, victims are compelled toendure the suffering in silence without access to help andsupport,” a statement from the organisation read.The fear of witchcraft makes it extremely difficult foragencies to support the victims and for authorities in theUK to investigate and prosecute suspected traffickers,” thestatement read.Cherifa Atoussi, an official of AFRUCA, said: “Mostvictims are trafficked by fellow Africans. They areexploited, abused and brutalised by fellow Africans in whatis a multibillion dollar transnational criminal enterprise.http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/711182☻☻☻☻☻☻Defilement Crime on the Risein UgandaEven Katine has not escaped an increase in sex crimeagainst juveniles in north-eastern Uganda, after alocal teacher was arrested and then released in anout-of-court settlement with the child's parents -common practice in poverty-stricken areasJoseph MalingaContinued on page 19-18- Traditional African Clinic January 2011
Continued from page 18 – Defilement Crime on the Rise inUgandaGuardian.co.uk7 October 2010Hardly a day passes without an African newspaper, radioor TV report focusing on a fresh case of defilement, a sexcrime against juveniles that seems to thrive onwidespread poverty. In parts of Uganda, it's on the rise.Ugandan law defines defilement as the act of having sexwith a girl under 18, while rape is having sex with awoman without her consent, usually by force. Oftendefilement involves relatives, married men orprofessional people in the community. Worse still, somemen rape or defile their own daughters. Rape anddefilement can lead to infertility, trauma, contraction ofHIV/Aids, terminal illness or even death.In fact, defilement is a capital offence in cases where thevictim has been infected with HIV/Aids virus or is veryyoung and has been defiled by a relative ─ categorised asaggravated defilement. Those defiling children aged 14-18 get prison sentences if convicted.Peter Georges of the St Nicholas Uganda Children'sFund, writing about child poverty in Uganda, saysdefilement of school-age girls is common. "Rape isalways a danger as girls travel to and from school throughrisky neighbourhoods at dawn and dusk. Defilement isnot always involuntary."Because of extreme poverty, many girls are tempted bythe promise of a little money to buy food or clothing. Themost at risk are girls in the upper primary classes (P/5-P/7). Some are well into their teens by the time they reachsixth or seventh grade because their academic progresswas delayed due to lack of school fees."Georges argues that the cost of secondary school isprohibitive for most families and these girls see no hopefor their future. This then makes them vulnerable to theadvances of unscrupulous men. The St Nicholas childrenFund is a non-government organisation providingorphans and vulnerable children with education, nutritionand healthcare.Cases are common in Uganda. For example, a couple ofmonths ago in Katine sub-county, in the north-easternpart of the country, communities were shocked after newsemerged that a local teacher had defiled one of his pupils.The event caused a lot of anger, with many residentsthreatening to tear up the teacher ─ as if the child affectedhad been their own. Interestingly, weeks later the sameresidents were advising the girl's parents to forgive theteacher.One-night affairThe issue came to light after 17-year-old Judith (not herreal name) told her parents she had had a one-night affairwith her teacher in a cassava plantation near her school.The revelation followed the parents' decision to flog herafter they discovered she had slept out away from home.Judith's parents then took her to the local police to makestatements and this led to the arrest of the teacher.Police have since refused to give details of the case,saying they needed permission from the Soroti regionaloffice. However, Katine sub-county chairman JoremEboku confirmed the incident, saying he had asked policeto investigate and have the accused prosecuted. In fact,the police released the accused after the girl's parentsopted to settle the matter out of court. The girl's headteacher said that, despite being released, the teacher wasno longer employed at the school.In Uganda, most parents choose to negotiate with thosesuspected of defilement because of material gain. Thenegotiations are usually illegal, but the high rates ofilliteracy linked with poverty in rural communities likeKatine make residents ignore legal proceedings.According to the police spokesperson for the easternregion, Hassan Nyene, statistics indicate a general hike incrime rates in the area, with 5,515 of cases recorded fromJanuary to June 2010. Of this, 2,564 are underinvestigation, 1,745 appeared in court, and 1,721 suspectshave been charged, while 388 convictions have beensecured. 1,422 suspects are awaiting trial. In the sameperiod, 535 suspected defilement cases were registered(205 went to court, 209 cases are pending, while onlyseven convictions have been secured). In cases taken tocourt, 154 suspects were adults and 51 juveniles.Soroti district, which includes Katine, with 23.5%,follows Kumi district on Soroti's southern border on28.7%, Bukedea district 15.7%, Katakwi 12.3%,Kaberemaido 11.2% and Amuria 7.7%."The incidents of defilement are high becausestakeholders are not helping police to sensitise thecommunity on the dangers of the crime," said Nyene. Insome instances, he says, parents don't report cases ofdefilement to police as they opt to settle out-of-court - inother cases, "even if they report, most of them withdrawthe cases."He adds that in a poverty-stricken community such asKatine, justice often takes second place when familieshave the chance to receive considerable sums of moneyfrom suspects willing to pay to avoid imprisonment orworse.Continued on page 20-19- Traditional African Clinic January 2011
Page 1 and 2: African Traditional Herbal Research
Page 3 and 4: AFRIKAN SPIRITUALITYEgypt: Ancient
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Page 7 and 8: Continued from page 6 - Abusesmalle
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Page 17: African Traditional Herbal Research
Page 21 and 22: Continued from page 20 - Domestic V
Page 23 and 24: Continued from page 22- Congo: Woma
Page 25 and 26: South Africa: Speaking OutAgainst G
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Page 29 and 30: Continued from page 28 - Rape Rampa
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Page 39 and 40: DOMESTIC VIOLENCEWhat is Domestic V
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Page 56: Mission StatementOur aim at The Afr

January 2011 - Blackherbals.com

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