South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. South African women and girls are trafficked internally and internationally for sexual exploitation. Women from other African countries, particularly Mozambique, are trafficked into South Africa and onward to Europe for sexual exploitation. East Asians, mainly Thai and Chinese women, are trafficked through South Africa on their way to South America. According to the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, South Africa is classified as a Tier 2 country, largely due to a lack of concrete, enforced laws and public awareness campaigns.
From 2004 to 2008, Shared Hope International partnered with Teen Challenge Western Cape to purchase and remodel a compound that became a Village of Hope, housing women and children abused by gangs and the sex industry. The facility houses as many as 25 women and children, providing a safe place to heal, nurturing accommodations, addiction recovery, medical assistance and education. In 2008, The Village of Hope in South Africa became financially independent from SHI, but we still remain in contact and continue to support their efforts as they work to rescue and restore women and children in South Africa.
This blossoming facility also empowers women through the WIN program by developing revenue, work skills and self-sufficiency through IT training and work in the bakery. The Village of Hope provides an open, welcoming environment for survivors of sex trafficking to heal. Some survivors, including Anthea, a survivor of sex trafficking, still continue to work at the Village of Hope. Anthea, once a victim of brutal abuse and sexual exploitation, now runs outreach programs and speaks at local, regional and national levels on the issue of sexual slavery. Click here to read more of her story.
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