Despite many successes in empowering women, numerous issues still exist in all areas of life, ranging from the cultural, political to the economic.
For example, women often work more than men, yet are paid less; gender discrimination affects girls and women throughout their lifetime; and women and girls often are the ones that suffer the most poverty.
Picking the issue of trafficking amongst many other problems affecting women in the society.
Bride buying where a "woman" is bought as a property acquired and at times resold is VERY wrong. This is mainly done in India and China.
Down to Africa, it is so sad that the government in power have done so little to curb this mess.
The precise number of people lured into trafficking is unknown. Between the smugglers' efforts to avoid detection and the low priority given by most governments to monitoring and preventing trafficking, estimates vary widely.
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation includes the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."
Women run an equally high risk of being trafficked, and while children are sometimes trafficked for prostitution purposes, women are more likely to be trafficked into the sex industry as sex slaves.
South Africa is the primary African destination of trafficked women because it is the regional power house, and its image as a destination of opportunities is regularly used by traffickers to lure women and girls into trafficking traps.
Trafficking for sexual exploitation outside Africa is not the only challenge, but also those within Africa's borders and they are there on a very large scale.
Human trafficking is a lucrative crime and there are several reasons why women are so easily lured into the system and why the practice continues to be so pervasive.
Poverty is the main tool that is used to attract women into the hands of traffickers. People are desperate and looking for a better life, when they hear of the 'endless opportunities, most of them are easily deceived.
A lack of awareness of the evil also contributes to the high levels of trafficking. Women, police and other citizens are not educated on how trafficking works and what the consequences are, a factor which ultimately assists in its growth.
Traffickers identify women who are socio-economically deprived and then convince these women to leave their circumstances and travel with them.
False promises of food, other material goods and employment convince the victims to willingly accompany the traffickers.
Women who work in informal settlements and markets may also be a friend to a woman who works for traffickers. The trafficker gains the victim's trust, she tells her of the opportunities available outside her area. She guarantees the victim a job as a domestic worker or waitress.
Contrary to popular belief, not all women who find themselves in a trafficking situation are kept captive via physical force; many are allowed to move freely. They are still controlled by traffickers, however. Some of the methods used to coerce and control these women include:
Violence and physical boundaries;
"Captive-behind-open-doors" - This consists of manipulation, where the women often do not know how to get away and they also do not want their loved ones to find out that they are prostitutes;
"Internalised" or "self-imposed oppression" -
I have One question to ask, which is: Why is this So Common in Africa?
......To be continued!!!...
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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