South Africa continues to grapple with the grim realities of kidnappings and human trafficking, with children often the primary targets. On Tuesday, VOC News welcomed criminologist Bianca van Aswegen from Missing Children South Africa unpacked the disturbing trends, root causes, and how communities can help address this growing crisis.
Van Aswegen emphasised that many people still hold the dangerous belief that such crimes won’t affect them.
“The misconception we are seeing is that people think it will never happen to them. Unfortunately, this is a reality that we are seeing every day. It can happen to anyone, at any time, in any place. Our children are the most vulnerable to falling victim to these types of crimes,” she said.
Echoing her concerns, Save the Children’s Director of Programmes, Megan Briede, highlighted the complexity of understanding the true scale of the issue.
“We don’t have specific statistics at the moment, but we are seeing an increase, particularly in human trafficking and kidnappings,” she explained.
“However, statistics only offer a general indication of the problem. Many cases aren’t reported to SAPS due to a lack of trust in the system, people being involved themselves, or victims living in rural areas without access to police stations. So, the data doesn’t reflect the true extent.”
Both experts urged the public to remain vigilant, report suspicious activity, and support awareness efforts particularly in vulnerable communities, where education and cooperation are key to prevention and recovery.
VOC News
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