The University of Johannesburg (UJ) in collaboration with ACT (Awareness for Child Trafficking) Africa and partners hosted a powerful screening of 8 Days, a film by Jaco Booyens, that exposes the harrowing realities of human trafficking.
The event took place on Thursday, 03 April 2025 at the UJ Arts Centre.
The screening and discussion that followed aimed to raise awareness about the dangers of human trafficking and spark meaningful discussions on how to combat this global crisis. A distinguished panel of experts and activists were in attendance to provide critical insights and engage with the student audience.
Welcoming guests Prof Bettine Van Vuuren, UJ Registrar said an event like this was important to have because of the impact it has on the youth.
“This is more than a movie but a call to action, a chance to reflect and an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the issues that affect countless lives worldwide including South Africa. I encourage you to reflect on the realities of trafficking and the role that we all will play in raising awareness, in prevention, in support for the survivors.”
Hilary Leong, Chairperson and CEO of ACT Africa reflected on the film explaining to the audience that the story was based on real life events that happened in South Africa.
The director of the movie, Jaco Booyens, produced the movie to share the events that happened to his own sister. The family now lives in the US and Jaco runs an Anti-Sex Trafficking organisation where he advocates for children through various initiatives.
ACT Africa is dedicated to saving lives through awareness and education. Their focus is to prevent and break the vicious cycles of Gender-Based Violence and Human Trafficking, reducing the statistics.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on human trafficking, the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation followed by forced labour (18%). Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa). Most human trafficking takes place close to home. The industry has almost doubled in income – a R240-trillion industry today compared to R150-billion in 2015.
Captain Lefa Lebitso, Provincial Human Trafficking Coordinator with DPCI – The Hawks, is part of the team leading law enforcement efforts against trafficking and shared how they most recently rescued over 20 South Africans who were lured to Myanmar under the guise of job opportunities.
“These syndicates are systematic and we use a multidisciplinary approach to tackle human trafficking. In the economic climate we are facing, trafficking can happen to anyone. It is important to double check when someone offers you a job. Any age, any chosen gender can be affected by trafficking.”
Students raised questions about missing persons, psychological support offered to survivors, the role law enforcement plays, and where they can go for help.
Senior Advocate Carina Coetzee, Former Chairperson of NICTIP (National Intersectoral Committee on Trafficking in Persons) under the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reflected on the work that has been done and the coordinated approach that needs to be taken in the implementation of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act.
“The national policy framework is divided into four P’s – prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership – all of which are important. If we neglect one of them we won’t succeed in combating trafficking in persons.”
She added that trafficking could not be combated by the government alone.
“It takes all of us, crime affects the whole family. We have fantastic pieces of legislation but if they are not implemented they are just pieces of paper. We must ensure we have structures in place to make sure the legislation is being implemented.”
Mr Tebello Malatsi UJ Protection Services Investigations Manager added that they were committed to ensuring safety on campus. He encouraged students who had any information or knew of people who were being trafficked to engage with them as they were able to speed up processes with official law enforcement.
The panel also included special guests from the Ethiopian Embassy, ACT Africa Ghana Ambassador, Gauteng Department of Social Development, Provincial Government and Provincial Legislature.
The event served as a critical platform to educate, empower, and mobilise communities to take action against human trafficking.
