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The second lady Mrs Samira Bawumia is calling on civil society, law enforcement and government agencies to partner the media to expose human trafficking cartels by putting the spotlight on dark and inhumane activities.

She further suggested to them to teach parents not to give their children to people promising to take better care of them.

‘Let us intensify education. Let us help our women to understand the dangers that await them in the countries they are being lured into. Let us teach our mothers and fathers not to give their children to anyone who comes promising to take better care of them. Let us educate them not to give birth to more children than they can cater for. Let us encourage and partner the media to expose human trafficking cartels and put the spotlight on their dark and inhumane activities,’ she suggested.

Mrs Bawumia called on stakeholders fighting against human trafficking to put pressure on governments which are not committed to the international treaties on human trafficking.

‘Let us put pressure on governments, which are not committed to the international treaties on human trafficking in particular and human rights in general. Let us be advocates of good governance and development and help eliminate the factors that cause desperation among people and make them vulnerable to traffickers,” she urged.

She gave the advise when she addressed participants drawn from civil society, law enforcement and government agencies at the International Women Trafficking Conference in India.

She further suggested to the stakeholders to tackle human trafficking from the source.

“I’ll share a Ghanaian proverb that says the ‘best way to starve a river is to cripple its source’. The river of human trafficking is extremely vast and flows from a gushing spring of unending water. We cannot empty it by fetching the water with buckets and pouring it elsewhere. Even if we use sophisticated pumps, we may only succeed in emptying one river and creating another river elsewhere,” she said.

She bemoaned victims who are being brainwashed and deceived that ‘paradise’ awaits them in their country of destination.

According to her, victims see their traffickers as ‘saviours’, whiles security agencies who are trying to rescue them, as demons.

“The biggest obstacle in the fight against human trafficking is that the victims do not know they are being trafficked. While some are too young to understand, many of the women who are trafficked are brainwashed and deceived, and they will defend their traffickers even when they are arrested. Only, two weeks ago, the Ghana Immigration Service announced it had rescued 150 women who were being trafficked across Ghana’s borders to be taken to the gulf regions. They brainwash their victims into believing that paradise awaits them. The victims then see their traffickers as saviours, and security agencies, who are trying to rescue them, as demons, who stand in their way to that paradise. This makes the fight difficult,” she complained.

The conference was organized by the Maharashtra State Commission for Women in partnership with the International Justice Mission.