[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

SOUTH AFRICA (Tier 2 Watch List) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of South Africa does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  These efforts included increasing investigations and convictions of traffickers; investigating and prosecuting some allegedly complicit government officials; coordinating with foreign governments on trafficking investigations and repatriation of victims; increasing coordinated labor inspections to investigate forced labor; adopting an anti-trafficking NAP; accrediting two shelters; and expanding awareness-raising activities.  However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity.  While the government finalized and approved the implementation regulations to operationalize the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons (PACOTIP) Act’s immigration provisions, the regulations awaited final adoption and were not yet in effect at the end of the reporting period.  Agencies responsible for identifying, referring, and certifying trafficking victims lacked coordination, and knowledge gaps in understanding human trafficking and referral SOPs, likely hindered overall protection efforts.  Law enforcement continued to lack the necessary capacity and training to effectively identify and refer trafficking victims to care.  The government inappropriately penalized victims solely for offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked, including by detaining potential trafficking victims, even after identification as such by government officials, instead of referring them to care. Reports of low-level official complicity in trafficking crimes persisted. Because the government has devoted sufficient resources to a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, South Africa was granted a waiver per the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3.  Therefore South Africa remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year.

Prioritized Recommendations

Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict officials complicit in trafficking crimes and traffickers within organized crime syndicates, including cases of online exploitation.

Promulgate and implement the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) immigration provisions in chapters 3 and 7 of PACOTIP, including sections 15, 16, and 31(2)(b)(ii) to ensure the issuance of appropriate immigration status and identification documents for trafficking victims.

Increase training for South African Police Service (SAPS) officers on trauma-informed interviewing techniques as well as victim identification and referral SOPs, and train specialized investigators on human trafficking investigations and computer forensics to investigate online exploitation.

Increase resources and training for front-line responders to effectively use victim identification and referral SOPs to identify trafficking victims, including by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, such as individuals engaging in commercial sex, children, LGBTQI+ persons, refugees, migrants, and Cuban medical workers, and systematically refer trafficking victims to care.

Increase collaboration between NICTIP, Provincial Task Teams (PTTs), and civil society to integrate referral and response systems and include all stakeholders, including survivors.

Implement policies to remove the requirement for victims to participate in investigations and prosecutions in order to be formally identified and receive trafficking victim status.

Formalize a confidential reporting mechanism for civil society to safely report allegations of official corruption and complicity in trafficking crimes directly to the government for vigorous investigation.

Accredit or establish additional shelters to accommodate the needs of male, LGBTQI+, and child trafficking victims.

Implement and consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including by holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.

Increase outreach and awareness efforts to vulnerable populations, especially for those engaging in commercial sex, in rural and agricultural communities, and foreign migrants.

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