A week-long regional workshop on human trafficking, hosted at Padre Pio Retreat Centre in Pretoria from 16 to 20 June 2025, brought together Church representatives, frontline responders, regional authorities, and civil society to address the growing scourge of trafficking in Southern Africa.

Organised by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) Office for Migrants, Refugees, and Human Trafficking in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Talitha Kum Africa, the training aimed to build capacity, foster cross-border coordination, and deepen understanding of trafficking in persons in the region.

Participants came from across Southern Africa, including Eswatini, South Africa, and beyond, each bringing unique perspectives on how trafficking intersects with migration, gender-based violence, poverty, and exploitation.

A Regional Threat Demands a Regional Response

Fitriana Nur, from the Regional Protection Specialist at IOM, highlighted how traffickers exploit migration routes and prey on people’s vulnerability. “The root causes are complex—economic desperation, conflict, lack of legal migration pathways—but the method is always the same: deception, coercion, and control,” she explained. “Together, we’re not just raising awareness—we’re equipping communities to save lives and stand against exploitation.”

She underscored the critical role of regional and cross-sectoral coordination:

“We need governments, churches, humanitarian actors, and communities to work in unison. That’s the only way to identify, protect, and empower victims while also disrupting the networks that exploit them.”

Faith-Based Networks as a Moral and Practical Force

The SACBC and Talitha Kum—a Catholic network against human trafficking—brought a distinctly faith-rooted perspective. Several participants expressed how the Church’s involvement lent not only moral weight but practical reach. Manisha Ramnarain, from the Tshwane Leadership Foundation, found the Church-led approach transformative.

“For the first time, I saw a religious institution not just supporting from the sidelines, but initiating deep and strategic conversations on trafficking,” she said. “This opened up new partnerships and networks—especially with the nuns and diocesan structures—which we can now integrate into our grassroots work.”

Manisha, whose work in Pretoria focuses on gender-based violence, said the training reshaped her understanding of trafficking as a multi-layered crisis that includes labour exploitation, sexual abuse, and even the trafficking of boys and men. “This wasn’t just informative—it was catalytic. We now know how to better identify victims, how to care for them over the long term, and how to respond in ways that are trauma-informed and community-driven.”

The Role of Eswatini: A Country in Transit

The workshop also focused on emerging regional patterns, with Eswatini identified as a growing transit hub for trafficked persons—particularly women and children—from Mozambique en route to South Africa.

Sevenzile Vilakati of Ubuntu Culture Organisation and a representative from the Eswatini Red Cross raised urgent concerns. “People are being moved through Eswatini with false promises of jobs or education. Many never make it out. We need stronger action at our borders, more training for our humanitarian workers, and early prevention efforts in schools and communities,” said Vilakati.

She stressed that young people must be part of the solution:

“Online grooming is real, and our youth need to know how to protect themselves. But that can only happen if the entire community gets involved—from parents to pastors to police.”

Data and Empathy: An Integrated Approach

Adhila Ochueng, a data officer at IOM, shared how the training added critical nuance to her work with migration statistics.

“As someone who works with data every day, it’s easy to get caught up in numbers. But this training reminded me that behind every data point is a person—often someone in danger, often someone invisible.”

She said the experience deepened her awareness of trafficking’s complexity:

“It’s not just about identifying victims—it’s about understanding the systems that keep them invisible. This is why collaboration across sectors and borders is so important. Civil society, government, police, and Church must learn from one another, not blame each other.”

A Call to Action

The five-day ‘Training of Trainers’ workshop concluded with renewed commitments to build national and regional action plans, support survivors, and prevent trafficking through education, advocacy, and policy reform. Participants were called to take the tools and insights gained back to their organisations, dioceses, and communities.

“Every voice matters. When faith groups, humanitarians, and governments come together, we send a message: Southern Africa will not be a safe zone for traffickers. It will be a region of protection, compassion, and justice,” said Fitriana Nur.