Organisation spreads human trafficking knowledge in Kempton Park
A21, which stands for abolishing slavery in the 21st century, is a non-profit organisation with the goal of ending modern-day slavery
PSYCHOLOGISTS contribute only a small part to a human trafficking victim’s recovery.
This was a portion of the knowledge imparted at an A21 human trafficking training day in Glen Marais.
A21, which stands for Abolishing slavery in the 21st Century, is a non-profit organisation with the goal of ending modern-day slavery.
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Psychologist Eidde Francke was the first speaker to address the crowd and broke down the rehabilitation process of both a human trafficking victim and a sexually abused patient.
“We as psychologists only play a small part in a patient’s rehabilitation and as a result, are reliant on help from other stakeholders such as social workers, NGOs, doctors, police and the local CPFs,” Francke explained.
A lot more still needs to be done for the patient following consultations and debriefing sessions between a victim and a therapist. Medical doctors are involved too because the patients will also have severe medical conditions resulting from the trauma they have suffered.
Victims will also need further assistance with getting their lives back in order which includes finding a place of safety to live in, finding a job and everything else that will help the victim lead a normal life again.
NGOs and shelters play a role at this point in the recovery process.
Kempton Park police’s VISPOL head, Col Steven Moodley, and Kempton Park CPF chairperson Luthando Lubando also gave an overview of how police and CPFs could work together to fight human trafficking in Kempton.
“Kempton is a transport hub as it houses an international airport. Our responsibility is to keep travellers and the community safe. We therefore will have more interaction with the A21 organisation, as human trafficking is a number one priority on the CPF’s list,” Lubando said.
In order to effectively address this worldwide scourge, Lubando said there were vital questions which needed to be asked, including: who is the human trafficker? Why they do what they do? How do they operate? Where are they from?
A further important question is whether traffickers and sexual offenders would be able to operate without help from crooked police officers and other authorities.
The vision of the CPF, according to Lubando, is to establish a core of skilled and well-equipped groups of people to fight human trafficking.
Moodley said the police would support all efforts to curb human trafficking in Kempton.
“We should not compromise with human traffickers. Instead, we need to use all the resources we have to their full extent to fight them. Human traffickers should not think they can operate freely without us knowing about them.”
He also urged the public to inform the police if they were aware of any suspicious cases.
“If you provide us with information, your identity will not be revealed. We will follow up the tip-offs anonymously, ” he added
A21 was started nine years ago in Greece. It has since grown into 12 branches in 11 countries, including South Africa. The organisation also recently started a helpline that people can call during emergencies. The number is 0800 222 777.
Both Lubando and Moodley invited the community to get in touch with them. Moodley can be contacted on 071 675 8888 while Lubando is available on 076 281 6276.
