Children, Women Most Trafficked in São Tome, Catholic Nun Says, Calls for Their Protection

Logo of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CEPAMI). Credit: CEPAMI

A Catholic Nun serving at the office that coordinates the affairs of migrants in São Tome and Príncipe has said women and children are the main victims of human trafficking in the African island nation near the equator.

In an interview with ACI Africa, the Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CEPAMI) said that women and children are mostly trafficked by people who are close to them.

"São Tomé has a lot of tourist attractions; it is a country very prone to human trafficking, especially of women and children," Sr. Neide Lamperti told ACI Africa on Tuesday, July 5, days after the conclusion of a CEPAMI workshop on human trafficking.

Sr. Lamperti added, "Women and children require more protection, as they are also the main victims of forced labor.”

In São Tomé and Príncipe, the Catholic Nun said, "Women and children are often exploited by people very close to them."

Sr. Lamperti explained that children are often trafficked "for cheap labor, for domestic work, as street vendors, as farm workers, and for child marriages."

“These children are denied access to school because they are forced to work,” she told ACI Africa during the July 5 interview, adding that “sometimes children are victims of witchcraft."

On the other hand, trafficked women are used "for sexual exploitation and/or prostitution”, the member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo – Scalabrinians (MSCS) further said.

According to Sr. Lamperti, the traffickers carry out the crimes "for personal gain, due to the economic challenges".

The CEPAMI Executive Secretary said that while cases of human trafficking are not common as in other nations, there is a need for collaborative efforts to address the scourge of human trafficking "which occurs mainly inside" the African island country.