SHE was a sex slave for three years at the hands of a human trafficking syndicate.
Now the 31-year-old Pretoria woman has taken refuge at a women's shelter while awaiting the finalisation of the criminal case against her captors.
Cynthia* was buying crack cocaine three years ago when her regular Nigerian dealer suddenly refused to let her go home.
"At first I didn't understand but one day a blanket was thrown over my face and I was taken to a house in Pretoria East. I was basically sold off to a trafficker," she recalled.
She is one of thousands of women who are trafficked by syndicates within the country's borders and beyond.
Human trafficking is a multibillion-dollar business run by syndicates which, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), is responsible for the illicit movement of as many as 800000 people annually.
This week, the IOM will facilitate an awareness campaign to bring attention to and debate issues around the importance of legislation.
"We need to educate people because many times victims are helpless and rely on others to blow the whistle," said IOM spokesman Gaone Dixon.
The traffickers posted seductive pictures of Cynthia posing in lingerie on the internet to lure prospective clients.
"They starve you to keep you thin and give you crack cocaine mixed with diet pills.
"Sometimes the clients were couples, who would take me to their home. The Nigerian would follow at a safe distance to make sure that they brought me back to the house," she said.
Police raided the house in which she was kept and the man running the brothel was arrested.
But even after being rescued by the police, Cynthia's movements are restricted to the shelter's yard until the case is finalised.
"I can't go anywhere else, this is my safe place. But I'm lucky, most women are killed before they can escape."
A social worker at the shelter said most people do not think you can be trafficked within South Africa' s borders.
"These women are assaulted and deprived of food. Very often they are lured with promises of better employment," she said.
Since 2004 the shelter has helped close to 250 women escape the trafficking cycle.
Two months ago it received a Ugandan woman who was being forced to work as a sangoma in the Free State and see clients.
"At some point she was told she would have to perform abortions ."
The social worker said some women ran away on their own, while others were rescued through police raids.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
*Not her real name
For more stories like this one, be sure to buy the Sowetan newspaper from Mondays to Fridays
Sold for sex by druglord - shelter helps women deal with ordeal
SHE was a sex slave for three years at the hands of a human trafficking syndicate.
Now the 31-year-old Pretoria woman has taken refuge at a women's shelter while awaiting the finalisation of the criminal case against her captors.
Cynthia* was buying crack cocaine three years ago when her regular Nigerian dealer suddenly refused to let her go home.
"At first I didn't understand but one day a blanket was thrown over my face and I was taken to a house in Pretoria East. I was basically sold off to a trafficker," she recalled.
She is one of thousands of women who are trafficked by syndicates within the country's borders and beyond.
Human trafficking is a multibillion-dollar business run by syndicates which, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), is responsible for the illicit movement of as many as 800000 people annually.
This week, the IOM will facilitate an awareness campaign to bring attention to and debate issues around the importance of legislation.
"We need to educate people because many times victims are helpless and rely on others to blow the whistle," said IOM spokesman Gaone Dixon.
The traffickers posted seductive pictures of Cynthia posing in lingerie on the internet to lure prospective clients.
"They starve you to keep you thin and give you crack cocaine mixed with diet pills.
"Sometimes the clients were couples, who would take me to their home. The Nigerian would follow at a safe distance to make sure that they brought me back to the house," she said.
Police raided the house in which she was kept and the man running the brothel was arrested.
But even after being rescued by the police, Cynthia's movements are restricted to the shelter's yard until the case is finalised.
"I can't go anywhere else, this is my safe place. But I'm lucky, most women are killed before they can escape."
A social worker at the shelter said most people do not think you can be trafficked within South Africa' s borders.
"These women are assaulted and deprived of food. Very often they are lured with promises of better employment," she said.
Since 2004 the shelter has helped close to 250 women escape the trafficking cycle.
Two months ago it received a Ugandan woman who was being forced to work as a sangoma in the Free State and see clients.
"At some point she was told she would have to perform abortions ."
The social worker said some women ran away on their own, while others were rescued through police raids.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
*Not her real name
For more stories like this one, be sure to buy the Sowetan newspaper from Mondays to Fridays
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