Empowering South Africa's Youth: Unchain Our Children and SAPS Campaign Against Human Trafficking

Pretoria 9 March, 2026 - Unchain Our Children (UOC) has launched a vital 5-week Human Trafficking Prevention Awareness Campaign, partnering with SAPS FCS Pretoria Moot and Crime Stop/Missing Persons Unit at SAPS Head Office. Aimed at educating and equipping children against this grave threat, the initiative kicked off at Jacaranda Children’s Home and Louis Botha Children’s Home in Pretoria. UOC specialist Counter-Human Trafficking Operative Amy Arnold, who leads investigations and training at the organization, will cover key topics: Understanding Human Trafficking, Grooming and Recruitment Tactics, Warning Signs and Prevention, and Online Safety and Reporting.

"A huge salute to our SAPS partners and immense gratitude for their dedication to children’s safety.” Wayne van Onselen, UOC Founder & Executive Director.

Building on UOC's past efforts—like nationwide awareness drives, community podcasts, and UNODC collaborations where Arnold has spoken on trafficking signs and prevention—the campaign emphasizes proactive protection. Arnold's role has been pivotal in direct interventions, investigations, and equipping communities through training arsenals to combat child exploitation.

*Globally, human trafficking affects 50 million people in modern slavery, with a 25% rise in detected victims since 2019 and children comprising 38% of cases—up 31%—often for forced labor (42%) or sexual exploitation. In South Africa, an estimated 155,000 live in modern slavery, with 30,000 children in sex work (half under 14); police recorded 13 cases and over 4,500 kidnappings in early 2025's first quarter, highlighting vulnerability amid 60% poverty rates. Over 75% of victims are aged 12-25, with slight female majority.

Remedies extend beyond education: listen when children speak, teach age-appropriate self-defense, and redirect from digital isolation to real-world bonds. Children's five key needs include: Personal parental attention for emotional security; Extended family support for community ties; Church and Bible guidance for moral grounding; School involvement for education and mentorship; One-on-one relationships to foster genuine human connections over screen dependency.

Strengthening Alliances: US Homeland Security's Vital Support for Unchain Our Children's Anti-Trafficking Mission in South Africa

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office in Pretoria, has been a pivotal partner in bolstering Unchain Our Children's (UOC) efforts to combat human trafficking in South Africa, providing expert support in investigations, training, and awareness initiatives. This collaboration has manifested in joint campaigns, such as the 2025 cybercrime awareness presentation by US DHS expert Johan Claassen at a Pretoria place of safety, where UOC facilitated community outreach to highlight online grooming tactics and child exploitation risks, drawing on shared intelligence and best practices from US law enforcement.

Value of the TIP Report

Previous joint endeavors, including training sessions for South African Police Service (SAPS) officers on victim-centered approaches, have enhanced UOC's direct interventions and investigations, leading to successful rescues and prosecutions. Central to these efforts is the value of the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which annually assesses South Africa's anti-trafficking measures—placing it on the Tier 2 Watch List in 2025 due to gaps in victim identification and prosecutions—serving as a vital tool for advocacy, policy reform, and international funding to strengthen NGOs like UOC in protecting vulnerable children.

Discover & Connect

Book a Training Session with Amy Arnold:  Call Wayne:  072 364 8246

*Sources:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024

https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2024/GLOTIP2024_BOOK.pdf.