The Hope to Heal Foundation aims to heal the nation with awareness
SANDTON – Seema Naidoo, founder and CEO of the Hope to Heal Foundation said that the majority of the perpetrators target young vulnerable individuals with fake promises
The Hope to Heal Foundation welcomed its esteemed guests and speakers to their tea discussion which was held at the Da Vinci Hotel in Sandton on October 31.
The discussion during the event was focused on the empowering of both men and women who fell victim to gender-based violence (GBV) and also the tackle of human trafficking.
Seema Naidoo, founder and CEO of the Hope to Heal Foundation, said that the majority of the perpetrators target young vulnerable individuals with fake promises. Once captors are arrested, the victims are often failed by the same system that was designed to protect them.
Survivor of human trafficking Penelope Malema was one of the individuals who was failed by her own system after escaping from her captor. Her story began with the loss of her mother at an early age. She moved from her grandmother’s to her stepfather’s after being neglected and was soon told to find another living space. Malema made her way to the Union Buildings [Pretoria] with no means of funds. Parks became her home.
Days passed, a man living near the area noticed that Malema was a regular at the park and offered her food and a place to stay. Out of desperation, Malema who was 16-years old at the time, was trapped in a household with a human trafficker who forced her and other victims to perform sexual acts with people. The captor would sell most of the victims to pedophiles.
A drug bust which led to the arrest of the human trafficker resulted in Malema’s freedom from her abuser but not from the neglect which she was carrying since the passing of her mother. After her time at a safe house she was told to leave and found herself in the same predicament that she faced after her stepfather forced her to go.
Naidoo concluded how victims often go back to the lifestyle of exploitation, “Penelope was never reintroduced to schooling or fully equipped to be reintegrated back into society. She had to start a new journey in life with nothing. This is what keeps thousands of other young women trapped in the trafficking system. They would rather be with their perpetrators because they believe there is no help for them.”
