PRESS RELEASE — The Department of Home Affairs is unable at this point to issue any statements that would constitute or describe the cases of the missing teenage girls as incidents of human trafficking. The Department would be acting prematurely to make such linkages as investigations are still very active in the two matters that have been in the public domain recently.
The Department of Home Affairs hastens to add that Human Trafficking is very real and everyone should continue to be on guard. The Department calls on the citizenry to continue to prioritize the best interest of women and girls; and in so doing to protect them, support and respect them and teach them to be vigilant against the ills of the society.
Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to lure their victims and to force them into labour or commercial sexual exploitation. Data indicates that traffickers commonly target people who are vulnerable in a variety of ways, be it emotionally, psychologically, socially or those facing economic hardship.
It must be noted that in accordance with the Counter-Trafficking (Amendment Act) No. 3 of 2021, a person who engages in, attempts to engage in or organizes or directs another person to engage in trafficking in persons, commits an offence and is liable on conviction upon indictment to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
The Department of Home Affairs welcomes the news of the safe return of 15-year-old Darlene Piltie, student of the Micoud Secondary School. Additionally, the Department would like to add its voice to the call for the safe return of 15-year-old Haille Davy, also a 15-year-old student of the Micoud Secondary School.