THE dangers posed by deceptive recruitment methods, with unemployed young South Africans being the most vulnerable to fall falling victim to this trap, were dealt with in the second installment on the issue and in the first, the pervasiveness of human trafficking in South Africa was highlighted.

In this final installment, we look at what can be done by young South Africans, their families, and schools, communities, civil society organisations, as well as the government to prevent the youth from falling victim to trafficking, exploitation, or deceptive, fraudulent recruitment.

Dr Monique Emser, a UKZN senior lecturer, Discipline of Political Science, and chair of the NACSA4U Human Trafficking Working Group, advised young people to always treat unsolicited social media or messaging app job offers, especially those promising high pay, free flights, accommodation, or ‘easy’ overseas work with little experience required, with extreme suspicion.

“Never rely solely on social media or influencers. Practise digital safety. Limit the personal information you share online, be wary of rapid trust-building by strangers, and recognise pressure tactics or demands for secrecy,” said Emser.

Catherine Restiau of the National Freedom Network said families and caregivers should talk openly with young people about online risks and trafficking tactics such as false job offers, build support networks with emergency plans, help verify opportunities together, monitor digital activity appropriately, address underlying vulnerabilities through education and local opportunities, and report suspicions immediately while supporting survivors without stigma.

“Schools and educators need to integrate age-appropriate prevention education on human rights, digital safety, and recruitment tactics into the curriculum; train staff to recognise red flags and follow clear reporting protocols; and display hotline numbers during awareness sessions for learners and parents.

“Communities can organise local awareness campaigns in accessible venues and languages, create safe youth spaces that offer alternatives and build resilience, and encourage watchfulness for suspicious activity without vigilantism.

“Civil society organisations and NGOs should deliver structured prevention programmes, especially in high-risk areas; provide job-vetting and referral support, where possible; train frontline workers; run public campaigns to counter false advertisements; advocate for stronger regulation and survivor services; and monitor emerging trends to share timely alerts,” said Restiau.

On the question of the effectiveness of South Africa’s existing mechanisms for detecting, investigating and prosecuting human trafficking and deceptive recruitment cases, Advocate Liechen Strydom, from Liberation Legal Consulting and member of the NACSA4U Human Trafficking Working Group, said though the country has a strong legal framework under the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons (PACOTIP) Act, efforts remain inadequate.

Also read: Deceptive recruitment can lead young South Africans into danger

“Investigations, victim identification and new prosecutions have declined, critical immigration provisions of the law remain unimplemented, and problems of under-resourcing, weak co-ordination, over-reliance on victim testimony, official complicity, and porous borders continue to limit results.

“Key gaps that must be closed include better-trained and dedicated policing capacity, stronger border screening and technology, improved domestic intelligence sharing across agencies, and deeper practical co-operation with foreign authorities to disrupt transnational deceptive recruitment networks,” said Strydom.

He added that the government should “fully operationalise” the PACOTIP Act, and “the long-delayed Home Affairs regulations”.

Additionally, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of traffickers and complicit officials should be significantly increased.

“Expand proactive screening and victim services, regulate recruiters, scan online recruitment platforms, and run sustained public awareness campaigns.

“There needs to be dedicated prosecutorial teams for human trafficking so that cases can be expedited and not drag on in the courts for years.

“Law enforcement agencies need specialised training, dedicated capacity, expanded cybercrime units in capacity and numbers, better investigator–prosecutor co-ordination, stronger border controls and intelligence-sharing, and strict non-punishment of victims,” said Strydom.

Restiau said civil society should scale up prevention education, community training, and survivor support while advocating for better resource allocation and capacity building.

“International partners should provide technical assistance, funding, joint investigations, intelligence exchange and safe repatriation support so that trafficking networks are identified, perpetrators held accountable, victims protected, and South Africans better shielded from exploitation both at home and abroad,” said Restiau.

Dr. John Emedi Assumani, a humanitarian protection specialist and human rights defender, said civil society organisations also have an important role to play.

“They can conduct community awareness, identify people at risk, provide safe referral pathways, document emerging recruitment patterns, and work with government and humanitarian partners to strengthen prevention,” said Assumani, who added that these organisations can also provide early warning when new deceptive recruitment patterns begin to emerge.

”From a humanitarian protection perspective, the ultimate measure of success should not only be the number of arrests or prosecutions. We should also ask whether vulnerable people are being identified early, whether victims are receiving meaningful protection and support, whether recruitment networks are being disrupted before further people are exploited, and whether survivors are able to rebuild their lives with dignity and safety.

“The goal should be a system that prevents exploitation before it happens, protects people when it occurs, holds perpetrators accountable, and learns from each case to prevent the next one.”

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