Hon Chairperson, Cope supports the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill. There is no doubt that the growth and development of any society is determined by the manner in which the law in that particular society interacts with its most vulnerable groups. In South Africa, the most vulnerable persons are women and children, specifically those from poor backgrounds. This Bill will allow us the means to respond in a more organised manner to the status of our women and children by providing the opportunity to set out the social services that victims will be entitled to and prescribe punishments for those guilty of trafficking offences.
The decision by this House to pass this Bill is thus a direct attack in the continued war against the abuse of women and children. To quote Lloyd deMause:
The evolution of culture is ultimately determined by the amount of love, understanding and freedom experienced by its children ... Every abandonment, every betrayal, every hateful act towards children returns tenfold a few decades later upon the historical stage, while every empathic act that helps a child become what he or she wants to become, every expression of love toward children heals society and moves it in unexpected, wondrous new directions.
It is true that trafficking in persons is regarded as an organised crime. This crime is also not easy to identify and to investigate because of its underground nature. There is a lot of deceit. Victims are reluctant to come forward because of intimidation and threats, due to the involvement of criminal groupings and syndicates. So, we cannot say that we know the extent of the trafficking problem within South Africa. This is due to the fact that we have been unable to record trafficking cases since many of these cases present themselves differently.
However, one aspect we all have to agree on is that over the years there has been a significant increase in child sexual exploitation cases. For this reason, the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill needs to be passed by this House more than ever.
Although trafficking most directly affects individual victims, it also has broader consequences. Trafficking directly affects the societies from which victims are removed, resulting in cultural and economic losses and threatening public health. The United Nations Development Programme estimated that trafficking generates at least US$7 billion a year and trafficking of persons has become the third-largest criminal business worldwide, after drugs and weapons.
We further urge this House to be cognisant of the fact that the passing of this Bill is only the beginning of a long journey in our war against the abuse of women and children.