Crack down on sex traffickers
Sep 07, 2011
UGANDAN girls are being trafficked to Asian and European countries to work as sex slaves.
UGANDAN girls are being trafficked to Asian and European countries to work as sex slaves.
Young girls are lured with promises of good jobs and scholarships abroad but end up being tricked into commercial sex.
Over 200 Ugandan girls in their early twenties have been sold to countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia and South Africa.
The use of deception for the purposes of sexual exploitation is modern day slavery.
Organised syndicates have emerged involving some unscrupulous business people, passport office and immigration officials. For example, how would the immigration department explain how 15 Ugandan passports hidden in jeans trousers are delivered to traffickers in China?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking has become a highly lucrative illicit business with women and children sold as commodities.
The high unemployment rate further aggravates the problem as young girls look elsewhere for better life.
As it emerged in our investigations, the recruitment process is through acquaintances, with victims taken through a rigorous vetting process by the traffickers. Once the victims reach their destination, their passports are confiscated. They are then enslaved through debt bondage and forced to work as sex slaves to pay the costs of air tickets and accommodation.
Some of the girls who have been trafficked suffer silently because they fear the families may be targeted. Despite the presence of the prevention of trafficking in the Persons legislation enacted in 2009 in Uganda, the business has grown exponentially. Police should coordinate with Interpol to arrest the perpetrators of the illicit trade and rescue the girls in bondage.
The public should also be educated about the dangers of human trafficking. Besides, foreign embassies here should also play their role by keeping an eye on people travelling to their countries.
Young girls are lured with promises of good jobs and scholarships abroad but end up being tricked into commercial sex.
Over 200 Ugandan girls in their early twenties have been sold to countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia and South Africa.
The use of deception for the purposes of sexual exploitation is modern day slavery.
Organised syndicates have emerged involving some unscrupulous business people, passport office and immigration officials. For example, how would the immigration department explain how 15 Ugandan passports hidden in jeans trousers are delivered to traffickers in China?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking has become a highly lucrative illicit business with women and children sold as commodities.
The high unemployment rate further aggravates the problem as young girls look elsewhere for better life.
As it emerged in our investigations, the recruitment process is through acquaintances, with victims taken through a rigorous vetting process by the traffickers. Once the victims reach their destination, their passports are confiscated. They are then enslaved through debt bondage and forced to work as sex slaves to pay the costs of air tickets and accommodation.
Some of the girls who have been trafficked suffer silently because they fear the families may be targeted. Despite the presence of the prevention of trafficking in the Persons legislation enacted in 2009 in Uganda, the business has grown exponentially. Police should coordinate with Interpol to arrest the perpetrators of the illicit trade and rescue the girls in bondage.
The public should also be educated about the dangers of human trafficking. Besides, foreign embassies here should also play their role by keeping an eye on people travelling to their countries.