Over the last while, there have been a number of posts on social media pointing to the disappearance of children all over Cape Town.

Naturally, parents have started to panic. News24 reports that one mother described seeing as many as 10 posts in one week, which gives the impression of an epidemic.

Here’s the problem – in the age of the internet, anyone can post a report, and many of the reports that have been doing the rounds are unverified and in some cases not even pertaining to South Africa.

Via that News24 article, here are the actual facts:

According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), four incidents involving Cape Town pupils had been reported in August.

Education MEC Debbie Schafer, the WCED’s head of department and the chief director of districts recently met with the head of the province’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, Brigadier Sonja Harri, to discuss the incidents, Schafer’s spokesperson Jessica Shelver told News24.

“Brigadier Harri indicated that SAPS (SA Police Service) are investigating all abductions and attempted abduction cases as a priority. We were not informed exactly what SAPS plans to do to tackle the spate,” she said.

Last month, in two separate kidnappings, the perpetrators allegedly drugged their victims. One of the pupils described a white van.

In another kidnapping, later that month, a girl claimed to have been pulled into a white BMW and driven around for hours. There was also an attempted abduction of a primary school child reported in Rylands.

But when asked if authorities had noted an increase in the number of incidents, Traut said crime statistics or comparative figures could not be disclosed due to a moratorium.

Scholars on their way to school are not the only ones being targeted.

Claims of children being followed in public places, such as shopping malls, supposedly by child predators, have also been spreading rapidly.

In one confirmed case, an eight-year-old girl was approached by a man who posed as a promoter earlier this month and he asked her grandmother, who accompanied her, if the child could participate in a promotion at N1 City Mall in Goodwood.

According to police, the woman agreed. Near a garage, the man gave the woman money to buy food and drinks, but when she returned from the shop the two were missing.

The girl managed to escape from her abductor while they walked along the railway line from Goodwood to Century City.

So while there is a precedent to look out for your kids, it’s also important to be able to distinguish fact from fiction. Many of the videos and posts on social media causing panic have never been reported to the authorities, which means that they are most likely hoaxes.

Anti-human trafficking organisation A21’s Rene Hanekom said since unconfirmed social media reports started doing the rounds, there was a “massive in increase” in calls from parents and concerned people to the National Human Trafficking Resource Line, which it operates.

“We noted a definite panic that had been created because of the messages. Our line received almost a 100 phone calls per day,” she said.

Statistically, a child goes missing every six hours in South Africa, for a number of reasons including murder, sexual exploitation and ransom.

While human trafficking and kidnapping is a real concern, Hanekom advises parents to contact their local police stations to confirm reports of abductions on social media. Schools are also advised to engage with parents about safety. Children should remain supervised and on school property until they are collected by their parents or guardians.

Parents are also advised to talk to their children about the potential dangers out there and encourage them to stay away from strangers and strange cars.

[source:news24]