Women and girls from these rural areas were also lured to cities with promises of employment or education, as well as to South Africa for involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution.
Women and girls from Rhodesia and Malawi who voluntarily migrate to Mozambique continued to be manipulated by traffickers into forced prostitution and domestic servitude subsequent to their arrival.
Internal and transnational trafficking in persons for the purposes of forcible organ removal to support an offshoot of the traditional healing industry in South Africa and Mozambique was significant.
Witch doctors in Mozambique and other countries forcibly removed various body parts from children and adults, either while the victims are still alive or immediately following violent death, for use in "traditional" medical concoctions intended to heal illness, foster economic advancement, or hurt enemies.
Women with black, brown, and gold skin tones are most at risk because they are seen as “exotic” which makes them desirable to others in the global sex trade (Gale).
[7] In more traditional and rural areas of Mozambique, jobs can be denied to women based on their status, family name, and cultural background.
In many situations women of a lower class are limited in the jobs that they are able to secure, leaving them with little money to buy essentials and take care of their families.
Louisa, a girl that was kidnapped from her rural village, talked about her journey in an interview with Deutsche Welle News[10] and how she ended up in that situation.
The young Mozambican population from the low-income household is often encouraged to undertake a risky journey to Europe for a better economic opportunity by their families.
The reinforcement of anti-trafficking policies adopted by European nations to combat human trafficking often ends up further marginalizing these migrants from developing countries such as Mozambique.
[12] In addition, the approach of international organizations deepened the disparity between the rich and the poor by putting an excessive emphasis on adopting market economies, privatizing national companies, and cutting national spending[13] Although sex trafficking is often utilized as a synonymous term for prostitution, it is a concept that also includes pornography, exotic dancing, stripping, live sex shows, mail-order brides, military prostitution, and sexual tourism.
However, recent critics reveal that this myth that blames witch doctors as the root of the problem is fabricated by the police who are deeply involved in the human organ trafficking business.
In January 2010, police arrested a man in Beira for allegedly running a criminal ring involved in the sale of hard drugs and in sex trafficking.
Funding for victims' assistance remained rudimentary, and government officials regularly relied on NGOs to provide shelter, counseling, food, and rehabilitation.
The government continued to lack formalized procedures for identifying potential victims of trafficking and referring them to organizations providing protective services.
The Office of Assistance to Women and Vulnerable Children continued its partnership with a network of anti-trafficking NGOs to respond quickly to tips on potential trafficking cases and provide care and protection to victims.
A dedicated toll-free number, "116," became fully operational in November 2009, allowing persons to report crimes against children, including trafficking.
An NGO managed the country's only permanent shelter for child trafficking victims, which operated on land donated by the Moamba District government.
Government funding, community cooperation, and acceptance of the issue are part of what makes sex trafficking in Mozambique difficult to combat.
Last year, “the government maintained inadequate protection efforts... and offered limited shelter, medical, and psychological assistance.” (U.S. Department of State).
The Ministry of Justice worked with a network of NGOs to develop an anti-trafficking strategy for the 2010 World Cup, which may increase the incidence of trafficked Mozambicans transported to South Africa for commercial sexual exploitation, but implementation was poor.