Countries Situation

These include: Worst Forms of Child Labour (Tanzania, Zambia), Child Protection and/or Child Sexual Abuse (South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi). While not anti-trafficking strategies, per se, these efforts have contributed to the strengthening of relevant legislation and created policy and response mechanisms that may be helpful to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of prevention and protection of victims.

Several countries have laws in their Penal Codes which may be used to prosecute procurement for sexual exploitation. In Tanzania and Zimbabwe these laws apply to the procurement of any person, not just women and girls. In the absence of comprehensive legislation, and, in some cases, as an interim measure, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi have proposed one or more amendments to the existing law that would create a distinct offence of human trafficking (or Child trafficking) or increase penalties for existing offences such as procurement for prostitution or child sexual exploitation

As with the case of Mozambique, several countries in the region have adopted or are in the process of developing or adopting a new Child Protection legislation. The South African Children's Bill contains specific child trafficking provisions, while others (Malawi, Zimbabwe) include useful provisions prohibiting child exploitation, corruption and abuse; and establish institutions, procedures and mechanisms to protect the rights of the child. Under South Africa's proposed Children's Bill (currently before Parliament), for example, it would be an offence to "traffic a child or allow a child to be trafficked." In the Bill, South Africa defines trafficking based on the UN Protocol, with some modifications and additions.

With regards to trafficking for labour exploitation, several countries have domesticated international law provisions regarding forced labour and child labour. In Tanzania, it is an offence not only to employ labour in violation of these sections, but also to procure it. In recent amendments to the Employment of Children and Young Persons Act (2004) Zambia has clearly defined "worst forms of child labour" and increased the penalties for child labour and worst forms of child labour in particular (minimum sentence of 5 years up to maximum of 25 years).

Being a trans-national crime, major problems often arise with regards to extraterritorial jurisdiction. In Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe laws proscribing sexual offences allow for prosecution where the offence was committed inside or outside the country. Most of the countries surveyed have legislation in place governing.