Funding for trafficking victims and prevention has fallen sharply, a US report says, amid concerns over fraudulent recruitment targeting young Batswana women for work in Russia.
GAZETTE REPORTER
The government has sharply reduced funding for human trafficking victim services and prevention programmes despite growing concerns over fraudulent overseas recruitment schemes targeting Batswana for work in Russia.
This is according to the latest Trafficking in Persons Report by the United States Department of State.
The report shows that government funding for victim services fell to P1.37 million, equivalent to US$110,000, from P3.6 million (US$263,872) in the previous reporting period. Funding for prevention efforts also plunged to P696,610 (US$56,000), down from P2.57 million (US$188,375).
The cuts come as traffickers increasingly exploit social media platforms to lure victims with false promises of employment abroad, exposing jobseekers to recruitment networks that may conceal exploitation behind seemingly legitimate opportunities.
Recruitment Concerns
The US report raises concerns about media and non-governmental organisation accounts of Russian officials and illicit recruiters allegedly fraudulently recruiting women aged between 18 and 22 from African countries, including Botswana, under the guise of vocational training programmes.
The women are subsequently placed in military drone production facilities, where workers reportedly face hazardous working conditions, surveillance, violations of working hours and wages, changes to employment contracts and recruitment fees paid by workers.
Fewer Prosecutions
The report also states that the government did not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in several key areas. During the reporting period, authorities investigated four trafficking cases, prosecuted one suspect and secured one conviction, the first in four years. This represented a decline from five investigations and two prosecutions in the previous reporting period.
The convicted trafficker was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. Authorities continued three investigations and seven prosecutions carried over from earlier reporting periods.
Victim Protection
The government identified nine victims and referred all nine for care, compared with three victims identified and referred in the preceding period. Of those identified, one was subjected to labour trafficking, while the forms of exploitation affecting the other eight were unspecified.
Although the number of victims identified increased, the report noted that the government prosecuted fewer suspects and reduced funding for victim assistance and prevention. It also found that Botswana did not cooperate with other governments on trafficking-related law enforcement activities. Investigators continued to face capacity constraints, including insufficient staffing, a shortage of specialised personnel and inadequate funding for nationwide operations.
The report further noted that the government did not report hiring additional labour inspectors and did not report investigations, prosecutions or convictions involving government employees allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes.
Botswana provides shelter, healthcare, counselling, legal services and repatriation assistance through government agencies and civil society partnerships. Victims do not have to be formally identified as trafficking victims to access immediate protective services.
However, the report highlights gaps in compensation and protection for foreign victims. The government did not award restitution to victims as part of criminal sentences and lacked formal policies guaranteeing foreign victims legal alternatives to removal to countries where they could face retaliation or hardship.
Recruitment Accountability
The government has taken some legislative steps to address labour exploitation. The Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2025 increased penalties for labour violations, prohibited worker-paid recruitment fees and expanded worker protections.
However, authorities did not report efforts to hold labour recruiters civilly or criminally liable for fraudulent recruitment. The government also did not provide anti-trafficking training to its diplomatic personnel.
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