Child trafficking fears highlighted in Germiston protection campaign
Bertha Gxowa Care Centre’s Hazel Moagi raised alarm over child trafficking during a Germiston awareness campaign, urging community action during National Child Protection Week. She warned of growing threats like online grooming, forced labour, and illegal adoption.
Hazel Moagi, operational manager at Bertha Gxowa Care Centre, spoke out against child trafficking and kidnapping during a child protection awareness campaign in Germiston.
This effort followed a march by multi-disciplinary stakeholders from Germiston CBD on May 30, aimed at promoting children’s rights and safety.
National Child Protection Week is commemorated annually across the country to raise awareness of children’s rights as articulated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Children’s Act (Act No. 38 of 2005).
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Moagi said this week is an important event on the UNICEF calendar and has been celebrated in South Africa since 1997.
“The campaign aims to mobilise all sectors of society to ensure care and protection of children. It is important for all of us to play a role in protecting children and creating a safe and secure environment for them,” said Moagi.
“It’s an opportunity to bring issues of child neglect and abuse into the spotlight. It is an opportunity for the community to reflect on roles they can play in protecting the rights of children,” she said.
“The recent child trafficking case of Joslyn Smith is an eye-opener. Child human trafficking refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation. It is one of the most severe forms of abuse and a grave violation of children’s rights,” said Moagi.
“Because children cannot give legal consent, any exploitation of a child through coercion, deception, or abuse of vulnerability qualifies as trafficking, even without force,” said Moagi.
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Moagi highlighted various forms of child exploitation, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, child soldiering, illegal adoption, begging rings, and criminal activities.
She warned that victims are often lured with false promises of education, jobs, or a better life, and that online grooming via social media and gaming platforms is a growing concern.
Signs that may indicate a child is a victim include sudden changes in behaviour, school attendance, or appearance, possession of expensive items without clear explanation, and avoidance of eye contact, or behaviors such as appearing fearful, anxious, or submissive.
