Migration, Exploitation, and Human Trafficking Among High-Risk Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals in Cape Town: A Case Study

Author: Koegler, Erica; Vickerman, Shelley; Bender, Annah & Rich, Edna

Abstract: Transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals and migrants are at risk for human trafficking, yet patterns of migration and exploitation among TGNC individuals are not well documented. This case study examined the experiences of migration and exploitation in a subsample of 27 TGNC individuals from a larger study of 665 high-risk adults in Cape Town, South Africa. The main variables of analysis are derived from a version of the Trafficking Victim Identification Tool, which includes quantitative and qualitative responses. Twenty-six participants (96%) reported at least one potential indicator of exploitation in their lifetime. In the past 12 months, ten participants indicated that someone had withheld payments from them or taken the payment they should have been paid. Half (n=13) of the South African born participants discussed internal migration in their qualitative responses without migration specific prompting. Participants described difficult lives that included childhood abuse, unstable housing, economic marginalization, internal migration, and elements of labor and sexual exploitation – much of which was driven by transphobic and intersectional discrimination and stigma. Our findings shed light on the vulnerability of TGNC individuals and emphasize the need to include TGNC voices in all research and interventions addressing human trafficking.

Keywords: exploitation, human trafficking, migration, South Africa, transgender