The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) Migrants, Refugees and Human Trafficking Office, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Talitha Kum Network, has launched an intensive training programme to address the urgent and growing challenge of human trafficking in South Africa.

The week-long formation, taking place from 16th to 20th June 2025 at the Padre Pio Conference Centre in Pretoria, brings together a diverse group of participants from South Africa and Eswatini. Attendees include representatives from hospitals, mines, schools, churches, hotels, businesses, religious communities, and other frontline sectors where human trafficking is most likely to occur.

In an interview with the SACBC Communications Office, Sr Neide Lamperti, Coordinator of the SACBC Migrants, Refugees and Human Trafficking Office, emphasized the significance of the training.

“We are here this week for an intensive formation on human trafficking… Human trafficking doesn’t only happen in far-off places. It’s in our neighbourhoods, on our roads, in our institutions, that’s why this training is so important,” said member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians).

Human trafficking, as Sr Lamperti explained, includes various forms of modern slavery such as sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ trafficking, and domestic servitude. It often goes undetected, hidden in plain sight in communities where awareness is low and systems of support are underdeveloped.

The weeklong training is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for Sisters and facilitated by the IOM, who are leading participants through modules designed to improve detection, prevention, and referral mechanisms.

“This is not just about learning the facts,” said the Brazilian born missionary sister. “We are preparing focal persons—people who will return to their workplaces and communities empowered to raise awareness, recognize signs of trafficking, and refer suspected cases to the appropriate authorities.”

The initiative forms part of a broader campaign by the Catholic Church in Southern Africa to fight human trafficking through education, advocacy, and pastoral care. It reflects Pope Francis’s call for a united front against what he has described as “an open wound on the body of contemporary society.”