Irene Sithole Correspondent
On July 30, 2017 Zimbabwe joined the rest of the global community in commemorating the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. During the commemoration, it was generally observed that Zimbabwe has done well in terms of its legislative framework against human trafficking. The Zimbabwean government has enacted the Trafficking in Persons Act (Chapter 9:25). Beyond that, it has also used the same Act to domesticate the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.

Domestication is the legal process of incorporating regional and international treaties and conventions into national law as required by our Constitution.

The efforts of the government and all the stakeholders who worked to have the law in place are commendable.

It is now time to work together again as a nation to ensure that the law is implemented. However, the law cannot be implemented effectively if it is not known by those who should benefit from it.

Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association is one of the organisations with a mandate to empower women, children and ultimately communities with legal knowledge.

Therefore the purpose of this article is simply to make known, in summary form, the contents of the Trafficking in Persons Act which is the main piece of legislation on trafficking in Zimbabwe.

In section 3, the Act clearly sets out the three key components that form the crime of trafficking.

These include the actions that constitute trafficking, the means by which these actions are carried out and the purpose for which the actions are conducted.

In this regard, any person who traffics an individual by transporting him or her within or outside Zimbabwe through the use of force, violence, threats, fraud, deception or inducements for the purpose of exploiting the individual commits the crime of trafficking.

This highlights the fact that trafficking is not only a transborder crime but it also happens internally.

For instance, in Zimbabwe, stories are often told of rural girls who are transported to urban areas to be used as cheap domestic workers. In some instances, these actions are even carried out by relatives.

If such cases can be proved, they clearly constitute trafficking and the offenders should be prosecuted.

Another key point to note is that the law does not only criminalise the person who ultimately benefits from the trafficked person but everyone in the chain.

Thus a person who knowingly recruits, receives, harbours or transfers a trafficked person is equally guilty of trafficking. Similarly a person who assists a trafficker or leases his/her property to be used for trafficking is also guilty of trafficking.

The third component of trafficking is that the acts carried out by the trafficker must have been done for the purpose of exploitation.

Recently the media has been awash with the news of women who were trafficked to Kuwait after they had been lured with promises of jobs.

The women were then exploited through forced labour and/or sexual abuse.

Forced labour and sexual abuse are clear examples of what constitutes exploitation. These two may take place at the same time and they are the most prevalent forms of exploitation.

However, exploitation also takes place when a person is transported involuntarily for the purpose of extracting body organs from the person.

An example of this kind of exploitation is when a person is kidnapped or abducted and then killed and some of his/her body organs are harvested.

These body organs are then sold to those who use them for ritual purposes.

A crucial point to note regarding the crime of trafficking is that the victim’s consent is not a defence to the crime.

In other words, even if the victim consented to the acts that constitute the offence, the offender will still be guilty of trafficking.

Trafficking is considered to be a very serious offence in our law such that it has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

It also has a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for a period not less than 10 years for those who do the actually carry out the trafficking by transporting the victim through force, fraud, inducements and other unlawful means stated in the Act with the purpose of exploiting them.

Those who recruit, harbour, receive or assist in the trafficking may also be sentenced to life or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years if there are aggravating circumstances.

Such aggravating circumstances include situations where the victim is a child or a person with a disability or where the offender is a parent, guardian or sibling of the victim.

Aggravating circumstances are also present if the victim dies.

Where the offender is not the one who directly exploits the victim and there are no aggravating circumstances, the penalty is a fine not exceeding level fourteen or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years.

The Act is comprehensive in its scope since it does not only provide for the punishment of the offender but it also provides for the protection of the victim.

During a criminal trial of a trafficker, the victim is entitled to victim friendly services available to other vulnerable witnesses in a victim friendly court.

Such services include the ability to give evidence in a separate room from the offender so that the victim does not feel intimidated or traumatized by facing him/her.

The court may also order that the proceedings should be held with the press and the public excluded.

The identity of the victim should be protected at all times.

Upon conviction of the trafficker, the court may also order the trafficker to compensate the victim for any damages or property loss which the victim may have suffered.

The victim may also be compensated for any physical or psychological injury and for any medical expenses incurred in connection with the injury.

A court may also order the trafficker to compensate the victim for loss of income. The provision for compensation makes it possible for a victim to get most of the assistance which they require in the criminal court thus there will be no need for them to go to the civil courts for financial compensation.

Another good thing about the Act is that the protection and support for the victim does not only occur in a criminal court.

The Act provides for the establishment of victim centres under the oversight of the ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.

The setting up of these centres could be still work in progress but every province should have at least one such centre.

The centres shall offer victims counselling services, rehabilitation, education and skills development among other programmes.

The centres will be manned by social workers with the requisite training and skills to cater for the needs of the victims.

Another important issue canvassed by the Act is monitoring.

The Act provides for the establishment of an Anti- Trafficking inter Ministerial Committee with a mandate to develop a national action plan on trafficking and to monitor the implementation of such a plan.

The Committee which comprises of members of relevant government ministries such as Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Health and Child Welfare, Women Affairs and Labour and Social Services among others also has a responsibility to propose and promote strategies to prevent and combat trafficking in persons.

Overally, the work of the Committee is to ensure that the problem of human trafficking is constantly monitored and kept under review.

If members of the public report trafficking and everyone plays their role, an effective implementation of the Act could significantly reduce trafficking in Zimbabwe.

Written by: Irene Sithole (Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association Member)

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