Trafficking in Namibia
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Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
US Department of State’s Offi ce to Monitor and Combat Traffi cking in Persons Annual
Report (CTIP, 2008) classifi ed Namibia as a special case on the basis that whereas there
was evidence that traffi cking in persons especially for sexual exploitation, was rife, the
trend remained largely un-researched and un-documented. This researcher therefore
aimed to establish whether human traffi cking as a social and economic activity existed
in Namibia, and if so, its prevalence levels, extent, causes and impact and consequences
on both its victims and society as a whole, and if so, whether it was targeting prostitutes
into the regional and global sex trade industry in particular. The researcher thus gathered
and analysed comprehensive quantitative and qualitative data generated through a
standardized validated questionnaire to 230 respondent prostitutes representing 191
females and 39 males, and information provided by 18 case studies of real life human
traffi cking victims, 32 key informants and 6 Focus Group Discussion meetings (FGDMs)
comprising mainly of interest groups in prostitution hot spots in 18 out of 35 regional
metropolises and border posts of the country. The study further interrogated the concepts
of traffi cking, prostitution and exploitation within the context of its fi ndings, existing social
concepts and structures and the day-to-day realities of the lives of individual and groups of
people exposed to them. The study results established that while sex traffi cking as a social
phenomenon exists in Namibia, it remained largely unknown and understood. Similarly,
whereas it was a fairly new phenomenon, it was growing fast, aff ecting mainly unemployed
young women, school-drop-out adolescents and orphans, who once they enter the
industry, enjoy a symbiotic social and economic relationship with a mobile clientele of
mainly tourists and long-distance commercial transporters. They inevitably get exposed to
physical and health hazards including physical violence, abandonment, homelessness and
diseases, among them Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and HIV. The study concluded
that prostitution and sex traffi cking in Namibia are social, economic and gender-inequality
issues that require urgent attention by relevant authorities and development agencies in
terms of prevention and protection interventions at policy, legislative and service levels.
Description
Keywords
Trafficking, Monitor, Sexual, Exploitation,, Namibia
Citation
Kiremire, M. K. 2012. Trafficking In Namibia. Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(2):217-230.