Sex TraffickingArchive 2008–2016

Sex Trafficking in Cape Town (2011)

A sex trafficking case from 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?

What happened

Law enforcement raided a brothel in Cape Town which was being run by two Chinese women as part of a crime syndicate. The Captonian girl had responded to a job offer to be a masseuse, which had resulted in her working as a prostitute for the two traffickers. The other two Chinese victims had responded to a job offer just a few weeks before, where after they had been flown to Mozambique and driven over the South African border. The trafficker then took their passports away and told them that they were expected to repay a debt of R30 000. The girls were terrified, and had been told that if they talked to police or any men in uniform, the police would beat them and sell them to a black township where they would then be killed. One of the girls had her boyfriend in China deposit 30,000 into the bosses’ account hoping that by paying her debt the boss would let her go, but she still wouldn't let her leave. The other girl tried to send an SOS to the chinese consulate from a cell phone, but she got no response. The girls are totally uneducated and spoke no english.

Response and intervention

Ys law enforcement found the girls and were able to do the rescue. The girls were put in a safe house and were eventually repatriated.

Nearby cases

All 36 in South Africa →

Sex Trafficking2010

Cape Town, South Africa, 2010

South Africa ZA

Mark Kozhanow, of the House of Rasputin and the Cape Dance Academy, brought Tatiana Malachi into South Africa to work as an exotic dancer in March 2009. Upon her arrival in the Country, Mark Kozhanow informed Malachi that her passport would be held for 30 days so that they could register her with the police. He then kept her passport for the duration of her employment and said he would not return her passport unless she paid him $2000 for her air ticket and R20,000 as levy. Malachi was unable to pay this as she was not earning sufficient income but was instead was obliged to pay R2,700 per week to the club (House of Rasputin). Over the course of her three month 'employment' Malachi had accumulated R120,940 in debt (this also included a R37,000 charge for the agent who located her). Kozhanow has been quoted saying that he knows the recipe for keeping girls who want to leave because they can not pay their travel debts "Immigration Attorney," Says Kozhanow, "He keeps their passports." After one month of working at the club, Malachi approached her employers and voiced a concern over her mounting debt, she said she felt trapped and wanted to go home, but her the club was not interested and wouldn't return her passport. Malachi did not want to do more the strip dance to earn extra tips.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

Sex Trafficking1984

Cape Town, South Africa, 1984

South Africa ZA

Julienne’s sister, Antoinette and her sister’s fiancé Joseph Davis.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016

CSEC2010

Cape Town, South Africa, 2010

South Africa ZA

The trafficker was the owner of a brothel in the city of Cape Town. Investigation revealed that a 17-year-old girl had been brought to the brothel to work from her home in Klerksdorp under false pretenses. She had been told that she would be working a job in Cape Town as a babysitter but when she arrived she found that she had been brought for very different reasons.

Needs a sourceArchive 2008–2016