The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mpraeso Constituency, Davis Ansah Opoku has lamented about the increasing rise of human trafficking cases in Ghana and Africa as a whole.
The lawmaker says the canker which is on the rise is worrying and must be a matter of concern for African leaders.
According to him, the syndicates behind this activity have resulted to the use of social media to facilitate their crime.
Making a statement on the matter in Parliament on Wednesday, July 19, Mr Ansah Opoku said syndicates lure unsuspecting individuals into the business and gain from their sufferings thereafter.
“Mr Speaker, it is heartbreaking to note that whilst the Government of Ghana is striving relentlessly to tackle the known patterns of Human Trafficking, traffickers are taking advantage of technological advancements and new media to forge new ways to facilitate human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking.”
“This has transformed the global human trafficking business into one UNICEF conservatively estimates turn an annual profit of about USD 32 billion; other estimates peg this figure as over USD 150 billion.”
“Mr Speaker, human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking, happens on this scale because an entire infrastructure supports and facilitates it. Young, vulnerable, and impressionable girls are recruited through social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, with traffickers masquerading as love interests.”
“Others are lured by the extravagant lifestyles of social media influencers who traffickers sponsor. According to a 2018 report by the All-Parliamentary Group on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade of the British Parliament, other women are lured online with promises of employment in other countries only to be coerced into brothels when they arrive,” excerpts of his statement read.
Latest Stories
-
Biden’s personal finances little changed in 2023, documents show
3 mins -
Palmer scores as Chelsea beat Brighton to go sixth
25 mins -
Hojlund seals thrilling Man United win over Newcastle
28 mins -
Juventus beat Atalanta to win Coppa Italia
32 mins -
Henry Quartey vows zero tolerance for election violence, assures law enforcement
1 hour -
Mason jailed 3 months for stealing iron rods
1 hour -
Celestine Donkor apologises for ‘joke’ about Ewe surnames
2 hours -
The man who turned his dead father into a chatbot
2 hours -
Slovakia PM Robert Fico not in life-threatening condition – Deputy PM
2 hours -
Police against dumsor vigil near Jubilee House; request change in venue, timing
3 hours -
Wealth gap on voters’ minds as India’s richest city gears up for the election
3 hours -
Lucian Grange and UMG dropped from Diddy accuser’s lawsuit
3 hours -
Oti Regional Police Commander advises party agents against interfering with electoral process
4 hours -
Voters Registration: Over 800 applicants challenged in Volta Region in 7 days
4 hours -
The race to raise blood money to halt an execution
4 hours