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Pastor Francis Chivuta -CEO

 

The levels of poverty, unemployment and underemployment, illiteracy and the HIV/AIDS levels amongst vulnerable groups, particularly amongst women and children, remain significantly high in Africa and more especially the Sub-Saharan Africa. These factors exacerbate the prevalence of human trafficking.  Zambia is affected by human trafficking as a source, transit and to a lesser extent destination country.  Zambia’s poverty and unemployment levels create an environment where individuals are easily deceived into accepting promises by human traffickers without realising the full extent of the conditions in which they will work.  Besides international trafficking, evidence suggests that the most common form of trafficking in Zambia is that of internal trafficking of women and children, for purposes of exploitation in domestic labour, farm labour and commercial sex.  A recent study carried out by the UNJPHT into child trafficking and domestic work found strong correlation between internal trafficking and exploitative domestic work situations, with orphaned children being particularly vulnerable.

The Zambia Child Resources Centre (ZCRC) has engaged in counter human trafficking awareness raising since 2010. The ministry has since engaged in awareness raising in a number of towns in Zambia including Chipata, Mbala, Mpulungu, Nakonde, Mongu and Mayukwayukwa in Western Province.

The United States Government 2013 Trafficking in Person’s (TIP) Report highlights the efforts Zambia has made in addressing trafficking in the past year. It generally focuses of victim support as a recommendation. In relation to prevention of human trafficking, the report provides critical recommendations for Zambia including the implementation of the 2008 anti-trafficking act by ensuring the use of a broad definition of human trafficking that does not rely on evidence of movement, but rather focuses on exploitation, consistent with the 2000 UN TIP Protocol; amending the trafficking law so that force, fraud, or coercion are not required for cases involving children under the age of 18 to be considered sex trafficking crimes; and continuing to conduct public awareness campaigns.

It is against this background that the ZCRC would like to contribute to the national efforts against trafficking by taking the 2012 TIP report recommendations on board during the awareness raising interventions as a contribution to reducing the incidence of trafficking in Zambia.

Goal: To contribute towards the prevention of international and internal human trafficking in Zambia through targeted awareness raising interventions

Specific Objectives:

1. To use sport, drama, videos and other interactive media in raising awareness to children and youths in primary, secondary and tertiary education institutions to ensure conceptual understanding of the elements of adult and child human trafficking

2. To engage children and youths in participatory learning for them to identify  activities that are appropriate and easy for them to effectively conduct awareness raising in their schools or communities

3. To develop networks with faith based organisations to facilitate widespread awareness raising on human trafficking to the general public