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should be provided with resources by the government and be treated as an integral part of the system that combats human trafficking in DPA.
3.2.1.4 International efforts in responding to human trafficking
It is inarguable that human trafficking is a cross-border crime. Therefore, this study argues that a joint effort that involves international agencies is of great significance in the process of effectively responding to human trafficking in the DPA specifically. Koschmann and Isbell (2009) recommend what they refer to as ‘inter-organisational partnership’ as a positive move which can restructure the responsive movement of the world, and with this form of collaboration, problems could be attended to collectively.
The study conducted by Reichel (2011) found that participants regarded partnerships among countries as the solution to the transnational human trafficking problem. In this regard, there is still a considerable need for international structures to raise their standards in responding to human trafficking in the country and DPA− particularly in instances of human trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation purposes.
Overall, GST has limitations such as concerns based on its lack of progress and concerns regarding its existence as a principle (Rousseau, 2015). Albeit, this study has focused on the element of interrelationship, to emphasise the significance of solid partnership and mutual effort towards grappling human trafficking in DPA.
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Lilly, Cullen and Ball (2011) assert that the notion behind Cornish and Clarke’s development of the RTC was that when potential offenders (such as human traffickers) commit a crime, they are entirely aware of the problem they are about to cause. Thus they are capacitated by their own free will which they elicit to engage in crime (such as human trafficking) or not. Potential or habitual criminals are aware of the consequences of the commission of their intended crime;
thus they first weigh up the cost and gains and commit a specific crime afterwards. In this context, human trafficking becomes highly attractive if the associated gains are estimated to be higher than the losses, which are in line with how the CJS and other relevant stakeholders respond to this crime. This implies that the more certain criminals are that they will not escape free, and the more severe and swift the response to human trafficking is, the more likely it is that the knowledge of imminent penalties will control their behaviour.
Rational action generally means to choose among a variety of choices in accordance with the beliefs and desires of the person who makes a choice (Voss & Abraham, 2000). Thus the RTC provides an understanding of human behaviour by utilising rationality while revealing that the whole process is dependent on characteristics such as the state the persons find themselves in at the time of making a choice (Voss & Abraham, 2000).
Furthermore, the RTC focuses on the ‘choice behaviour’ of one person or more people, and this choice is often related to monetary gain. So one person may make decisions based on the
‘wants’ of the target market (the buyer). This theory expounds that when choices are made, it involves a rigorous inspection of whether the individual choices will relate well to achieving positive results (Kari, 2014).
This theory assumes that people are massively motivated by money. This has led to the development of the model of human behaviour (Scott, 2000). Furthermore, Scott (2000) stresses that many theorists believe that if they base their methods on economics, their discourses could reach the intended aims. Theorists have constructed their theories on the presumption that people are entirely rational, meaning that they tend to look thoroughly on the achievements of their unlawful behaviour and the cost of the illegal actions, and thus their decisions follow deep, rational thinking (Scott, 2000).
Dietrich and List (2013) refer to the RTC as a reason-based choice, and they view a rational person as somebody who takes actions based on considered reasoning. The author further asserts that a rational person has his personal beliefs and yearnings, and the agent (rational
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person) would act in a specific manner to fulfil his or her yearnings in correspondence with his or her beliefs.
In agreement with the submissions presented above, Cornish and Clarke (1987) explain criminal behaviour by pointing out that profit and punishment are the core elements in the execution of crime (Hechter & Kanazawa, 1997). This assertion was explained in section 2.4 of this study, where it is stated that human trafficking is one of the most destructive of global criminal phenomena. This impact refers specifically to the costs resulting from human trafficking, with human traffickers benefiting excessively. This study argues that if all relevant stakeholders (specifically the SAPS and NGOs) fail to ignore this phenomenon, it will be disseminated more extensively in future years.
In brief reference to the deterrence theory, this theory views ‘rationality’ as the calculation of the legal punishment experience as the starting point of the occurrence of a crime (Akers, 1990), while the RTC propounds that persons will commit criminal acts when there is a high possibility of payoff and minimal punishment for the crime (Akers, 1990).
In interviews that were conducted by Jacobs (1996, in Hechter & Kanazawa, 1997) with 40 participants who were crack (a drug) dealers, the participants revealed that their criminal behaviour was directly proportional to their intentions to supplement their profit and curtail the likelihood of narcotic officers to arrest them. They further warned that dealers were exceptionally cautious when dealing with anonymous clientele, and they thus operated carefully to avoid deception and thus being caught.
The RTC was effectively utilised in this study to explain the reasons behind the execution of human trafficking. First, this scourge has become perennial despite the efforts of governments and different stakeholders, including the SAPS and NGOs, to curtail it. This theory thus clarifies the reasons why human trafficking is escalating regardless of extensive efforts to curb it. The greed of human traffickers was exposed as a primary reason for its persistence. By implication, the higher the benefits of human trafficking activities are, the more greedy and persistent the perpetrators become, which is a push factor that exacerbates this crime. Human traffickers carefully and rationally consider all possible deterrence measures before going into action. Therefore, if the police are serious about responding positively to and dealing effectively with the clandestine operations of human trafficking, they need to co-operate with a broad spectrum of role-players.
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