Anti-trafficking fight: Media emerges as critical weapon in national strategy
MOSA MAOENG
MASERU – Recognized for making significant efforts though still falling short of minimum standards, Lesotho has been placed on Tier 2 in the US State Department’s pivotal 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. This assessment underscores a nation grappling with a complex global crime while actively mobilizing resources and partnerships – with the media increasingly identified as an indispensable frontline ally in the battle for awareness, prevention, and justice.
The Tier 2 designation, detailed in the recently released report, acknowledges concrete steps taken by the government of Lesotho.
These include ramping up prosecutions of alleged traffickers, boosting dedicated funding for law enforcement’s anti-trafficking units, doubling down on public awareness campaigns, and establishing 11 community-based protection committees specifically focused on prevention. Crucially, the report highlights increased financial commitment, with funding for the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) Anti-Trafficking and Migrant Control (ATMC) unit rising from M100 000 in 2022 to M135 000 in 2023.
This enabled the ATMC to maintain five specialized focal points across strategic districts of Botha-Bothe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, and Maseru and deliver vital anti-trafficking training nationwide.
It is within this context of escalating effort that the Ministry of Home Affairs last week convened a targeted anti-trafficking training for media practitioners. This initiative wasn’t merely informational, it was a strategic move designed to formally harness the media’s unique power to penetrate communities and shape public understanding.
The explicit goal was to significantly strengthen the capacity of both government bodies and civil society organizations in identifying and reporting TIP cases while improving victim protection protocols.
Deputy Principal Secretary, Nkhotla Machachamise, left no doubt about the ministry’s conviction regarding the media’s centrality.
“We found it important to recognise the indispensable importance of the media in issues of TIP,” Machachamise stated emphatically, adding that “to effectively reduce the risk of trafficking, the media is usually the primary, most far-reaching partner for raising awareness. They carry the message where government agencies often cannot reach directly.”
Machachamise painted a stark picture of the challenge, a global scourge disproportionately ensnaring women and children, exploiting vulnerabilities like pervasive job scarcity.
He cited a chillingly common recruitment tactic: “An individual might receive a seemingly legitimate email offering a receptionist position at luxurious hotels in countries like the United Arab Emirates, only to arrive and find themselves trapped in exploitation, stripped of freedom and documents.”
His core message stressed collective action that “government alone cannot defeat TIP. But with the assistance of dedicated stakeholders, including a vigilant and informed media, it becomes possible. Our ongoing engagements with the police and the Ministry of Gender are vital.
Together – government, police, NGOs, and crucially, the media – we can strengthen our collective fight. Every accurate story told, every victim’s plight highlighted, contributes directly to awareness, the pursuit of justice, and ultimately, transformative change.”
Lerato Nkhetše, Executive Director of the Migrant Workers Association of Lesotho, provided media participants with a sobering dissection of the trafficking ecosystem. He defined it as encompassing far more than sexual exploitation, listing forced labour in mines, farms, or homes; coercion into criminal activities; organ removal; and the often-related crime of smuggling.
The ‘push factors’ driving vulnerability are deeply rooted, crushing poverty, the erosion of traditional social safety nets, persistent political and economic instability, rampant unemployment, and conflict.
Nkhetše detailed the insidious methods traffickers employ to control their victims.
“It’s a web of control built on coercion, crippling debt bondage, confiscation of IDs and passports to trap people, enforced isolation, the constant threat and use of violence, psychological manipulation using fear and shame, and threats of reprisal against the victim’s family back home.”
He delivered a stark reminder: “Slavery is not a relic of the past; it remains a horrifying reality in our modern world, trapping millions, predominantly women and children, in its hidden chains. This is a crime that shames all humanity. Our imperative is clear: identify the victims, secure their freedom, and stand resolutely against this outrage.”
Peter Buyongo, representing Skillshare Lesotho, focused his presentation squarely on operationalizing the media’s potential. He articulated a powerful vision, saying that “the media plays a non-negotiable, crucial role in combatting trafficking. You are the amplifiers of awareness, the shapers of public perception, and the catalysts for influencing policy and societal change.”
Buyongo moved beyond theory to provide concrete journalistic imperatives highlighting precision over sensationalism. He said “when reporting on TIP, accuracy is paramount. Misinformation can retraumatize victims, jeopardize investigations, and fuel harmful stereotypes. This entails verification of facts meticulously, using precise language defined by law (Palermo Protocol), and always prioritising the dignity and safety of survivors.
He advised the converged journalists to move from symptoms of TIP to root causes.
“Don’t just report the crime, illuminate the conditions that allow it to fester. Consistently highlight the root causes – poverty, lack of opportunity, gender inequality, weak social structures. This context is essential for the public and policymakers to understand the scope of the solution required.”
The US TIP Report’s Tier 2 placement for Lesotho is both a critique and a catalyst. It acknowledges the government’s tangible efforts – increased prosecutions, funding boosts, awareness drives, and district-level police capacity building – while underscoring the distance still to travel.
The strategic investment in training the media signals a vital recognition: combating an underground, complex crime like trafficking demands a whole-of-society approach.
Law enforcement needs resources and specialized skills. NGOs require support for victim services and community outreach. Policy frameworks need strengthening and consistent implementation, but permeating all these efforts is the oxygen of public awareness and understanding.
Without an informed and vigilant citizenry, traffickers operate in the shadows. Without sustained media focus, the issue fades from public priority. Without ethical, accurate reporting, myths persist, victims remain hidden, and effective policy responses are hampered.
Lesotho’s intensified fight against human trafficking hinges on forging unbreakable links in a national chain of resistance. The government, police, NGOs, communities and crucially, a skilled, responsible, and empowered media, must function in lockstep.
The media training is not the culmination, but the foundation. It equips journalists with the knowledge and ethical framework to shine a relentless spotlight on trafficking, transforming them from observers into active agents of awareness, prevention, and ultimately, liberation.
As Machachamise concluded, the message resonating from the Ministry of Home Affairs is clear: “Every story told contributes to awareness, justice, and change.”
The power of the press, now more deliberately harnessed, is fundamental to turning Lesotho’s “significant efforts” into tangible, lasting results that protect its most vulnerable citizens.
