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The effectiveness of human child trafficking legislation in South Africa

Trafficking in human beings is a major problem worldwide. Human trafficking is as a result of a complex set of interrelated push and pull factors. Push factors includeinter alia poverty, a lack of opportunities, dislocation of families, gender, racial and ethnic inequalities and the break-up of families. Research shows that pull factors include the promise of a better life, consumer aspirations and lack of information on the risks involved, established patterns of migration, porous borders and fewer constraints on travel. It is as a result of the global epidemic of this trafficking in persons that certain instruments on an international level as well as legislation on a national level have been enacted. The question which arises is: are these pieces of legislation effective in dealing with the scourge of human trafficking? Every legislation passed will have its strengths, as well as weaknesses but the main objective of such legislation should always be to combat, criminalise and prosecute the specific criminal act. Furthermore, the enacted legislation should be designed to effectively combat the challenges which threaten to exacerbate the criminal act. Failing to fulfil this intention will render such legislation nugatory. This treatise will be looking at various international instruments that have been passed abd v adopted by various countries, which specifically deal with trafficking in humans generally and specifically in relation to the children. International instruments that will be discussed include inter alia, slavery Convention, Convention on the Rights of the child, Worst forms or Child Labour Convention, Parlemo Protocol, United Nations Transnational Organised Crime Protocol to mention but a few. All these instruments have in a way dealt with and made provisions for the criminalisation of the act of trafficking in humans and a the scrounge of trafficking escalates the international governments strive to enact instruments that are going to be able to curtail this pandemic of trafficking. As more focus will be on the South African legislation this treatise is also going to examine all the relevant piece of legislation that have been passed by the South African government in order to deal with human trafficking. These will include the discussion of the Constitution, Child Care Act, Children’s Act, Children’s Amendment Act, Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) and Related matters. Amendment Act Prevention of Organised Crime Act as well as the Prevention and combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill. The treatise will listen critically discuss the Bill in so far as its strengths and weaknesses are concerned.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:10281
Date January 2010
CreatorsMashiyi, Tandeka
PublisherNelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Law
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Masters, LLM
Formatv, 60 pages, pdf
RightsNelson Mandela Metropolitan University

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