Youth Day event in Buccleuch equips young people to fight human trafficking

Village Safe Haven, a Buccleuch-based non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting vulnerable children, hosted a meaningful awareness event focused on combating human trafficking and online exploitation on June 16.

The event brought together children and youth from Village Safe Haven, John Wesley Child Care Centre, Shalom Children’s Ministries, and Boikhutsong Safety Home.

Read more: Buccleuch community works to put a stop to human trafficking

Representatives from A21, a global anti-human trafficking organisation, educated attendees about the warning signs of trafficking, online grooming and exploitation, while members of the Shotokan Karate-do International South Africa Association presented interactive self-defence demonstrations aimed at empowering young people to protect themselves.

Susan Harris from Village Safe Haven said the event was organised to equip vulnerable youth with the knowledge and practical skills needed to recognise trafficking tactics and stay safe in an increasingly digital world.

“Most of the youth here today are from disadvantaged backgrounds and have landed up in children’s homes, places of safety,” Harris said.

“We felt that with today’s technology overload, it’s very necessary to equip our children with the necessary knowledge to fight this human trafficking and to teach them to fight it themselves.”

Also read: Education key to fight GBV and human trafficking

Karen Menkveld, leader of the A-Team Gauteng Awareness Team for A21, highlighted the growing role of social media in human trafficking and exploitation cases involving young people.

“We are facing a huge problem with our teenagers because of social media. The biggest way that traffickers recruit their victims nowadays is through false job opportunities, and then also
social media,” Menkveld said.

“Traffickers will hang out on all the social media platforms, identify a child who looks vulnerable to them, and then they will start the grooming process, eventually, to exploit them sexually via
the online platforms.

@caxtonjoburgnorth WATCH: A21 Gauteng human trafficking awareness A-team leader Karen Menkveld educates youth about the dangers of human trafficking, online grooming and social media exploitation during an awareness event hosted by Village Safe Haven in Buccleuch. Video: Xoliswa Zakwe #Sandton #Humantraffic ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

“Our children are vulnerable because they do not know how to protect themselves against these dangers.”

She warned that traffickers no longer need to physically abduct victims to exploit them.

“Online sexual exploitation has increased with 30% from last year. Traffickers don’t have to kidnap a child anymore to exploit them. Social media and AI made it so much easier for them to exploit young children.”

During the awareness session, she taught children practical safety measures, including protecting their personal information, avoiding interactions with strangers online, strengthening privacy settings and recognising grooming behaviour.

She also encouraged parents, teachers, churches and community organisations to become more informed about human trafficking and online safety.

“The more children we can teach about the dangers of social media, the more children we can protect against online sexual exploitation. Share awareness and teach prevention skills,” Menkveld said.

The event concluded with interactive self-defence demonstrations by the Shotokan Karate-do International South Africa Association, giving children the opportunity to learn practical techniques while reinforcing the importance of confidence, awareness and personal safety.

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