2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Zimbabwe

• Amend
  the
  anti-trafficking
  law
  to
  criminalize
  all
  forms
  of
  trafficking
  in
  line
  with
  the
  2000
  UN
  TIP
  Protocol.
• Dedicate
  resources
  to
  the
  Anti-Trafficking
  Inter-Ministerial
  Committee
  (ATIMC)
  and
  implement
  the
  National
  Plan
  of
  Action.
• Using
  the
  SOPs
  and
  NRM
  for
  Vulnerable
  Migrants
  in
  Zimbabwe
  for
  victim
  identification
  and
  referral
  to
  care,
  proactively
  identify
  and
  refer
  to
  care
  trafficking
  victims
  among
  vulnerable
  populations,
  including
  orphaned
  and
  unaccompanied
  children,
  migrant
  workers,
  domestic
  trafficking
  victims,
  and
  Cuban
  regime-affiliated
  medical
  professionals,
  and
  train
  stakeholders
  on
  the
  SOPs.
• Increase
  the
  availability
  of
  protection
  services,
  including
  shelters,
  for
  all
  trafficking
  victims,
  including
  by
  collaborating
  with
  civil
  society
  service
  providers.
• Increase
  efforts
  to
  investigate
  and
  prosecute
  trafficking
  crimes,
  including
  of
  complicit
  officials,
  and
  seek
  adequate
  penalties
  for
  convicted
  traffickers,
  which
  should
  involve
  significant
  prison
  terms.
• Consistently
  enforce
  regulations
  of
  labor
  recruitment
  companies,
  including
  by
  eliminating
  worker-paid
  recruitment
  fees,
  holding
  fraudulent
  labor
  recruiters
  criminally
  accountable,
  screening
  for
  trafficking
  during
  inspections,
  and
  implementing
  SOPs
  for
  ethical
  recruitment.
• Expedite
  trafficking
  court
  cases
  to
  eliminate
  the
  backlog.
• Adequately
  fund
  and
  provide
  specialized
  training
  to
  law
  enforcement,
  prosecutors,
  and
  judges
  to
  conduct
  trafficking
  investigations
  and
  prosecutions,
  using
  a
  victim-centered
  approach.
• Develop
  mutual
  legal
  assistance
  treaties
  and
  other
  agreements
  with
  foreign
  governments
  to
  facilitate
  information-sharing.
• Collect
  data
  on
  human
  trafficking
  trends
  within
  Zimbabwe
  to
  better
  inform
  government
  anti-trafficking
  efforts.

The
government
maintained
law
enforcement
efforts.

Zimbabwean
law
criminalized
some
forms
of
sex
trafficking
and
labor
trafficking.
Inconsistent
with
international
law,
the
2014
Trafficking
in
Persons
Act
defined
trafficking
in
persons
as
a
movement-based
crime
and
did
not
adequately
define
“exploitation.”
The
act
criminalized
the
involuntary
transport
of
a
person
and
the
voluntary
transport
for
an
unlawful
purpose
into,
outside,
or
within
Zimbabwe.
The
focus
on
transport
and
the
inadequate
definition
of
“exploitation”
left
Zimbabwe
without
comprehensive
prohibitions
of
trafficking
crimes.
The
law
prescribed
penalties
of
10
years
to
life
imprisonment,
which
were
sufficiently
stringent
and,
with
respect
to
sex
trafficking
crimes,
commensurate
with
penalties
for
other
grave
crimes,
such
as
rape.
Zimbabwe’s
Labor
Relations
Amendment
Act
criminalized
forced
labor
and
prescribed
penalties
of
up
to
10
years’
imprisonment,
a
fine,
or
both,
which
were
sufficiently
stringent.
The
Criminal
Law
(Codification
and
Reform)
Act
criminalized
procuring
a
person
for
unlawful
sexual
conduct,
inside
or
outside
of
Zimbabwe,
and
prescribed
penalties
of
up
to
two
years’
imprisonment;
these
penalties
were
not
sufficiently
stringent
when
applied
to
cases
of
sex
trafficking.
The
act
also
criminalized
coercing
or
inducing
anyone
to
engage
in
unlawful
sexual
conduct
with
another
person
by
threat
or
intimidation,
prescribing
sufficiently
stringent
penalties
of
one
to
five
years’
imprisonment.
With
support
from
an
international
organization,
the
government
previously
drafted
a
Trafficking
in
Persons
Amendment
Bill,
which
was
pending
at
the
end
of
the
reporting
period.

In
2024,
the
government
initiated
one
investigation,
compared
with
10
in
2023.
The
government
initiated
prosecutions
of
two
suspects
and
continued
prosecutions
of
four
suspects
from
previous
years;
this
compared
with
initiating
eight
prosecutions
involving
an
unknown
number
of
suspects
in
2023.
The
government
convicted
four
traffickers,
imposing
sentences
of
10-30
years’
imprisonment;
this
compared
with
convicting
five
traffickers
in
2023.
A
lack
of
judicial
capacity
hindered
the
ability
to
address
court
backlogs,
including
trafficking
cases.
The
Zimbabwe
Republic
Police’s
(ZRP)
Criminal
Investigation
Department
(CID)
had
responsibility
to
investigate
grave
crimes,
including
trafficking.
government
did
not
report
collaborating
with
foreign
governments
on
trafficking
investigations.

The
government
reportedly
investigated
officials
allegedly
complicit
in
trafficking
crimes;
however,
official
complicity
in
trafficking
crimes
remained
a
significant
concern.
The
government
arrested
20
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
officials
for
issuing
Cameroonians
fraudulent
passports,
which
potentially
involved
trafficking
crimes.
Some
officials
accepted
bribes
to
not
inspect
farms
or
businesses
using
exploitative
labor
practices.
Immigration
officials
reportedly
accepted
bribes
to
facilitate
unauthorized
entry
for
criminal
groups
involved
in
trafficking
crimes.
Violent
gangs
allegedly
bribed
police
and
politicians
to
operate
artisanal
and
defunct
gold
mines
in
which
they
used
forced
labor.

The
National
Prosecuting
Authority
and
the
ATIMC
signed
MOUs
with
an
NGO
to
conduct
anti-trafficking
training
for
government
officials,
although
no
training
occurred
due
to
no
funding.
ZRP
recruit
training
included
an
anti-trafficking
module,
but
the
government
did
not
report
training
any
officers
in
the
reporting
period.
Observers
noted
a
need
for
better
coordination
with
foreign
governments
on
investigations.
Observers
reported
the
government
lacked
systematic
procedures
and
the
capacity
to
effectively
investigate
cases.
Insufficient
training
on
victim
identification
resulted
in
front-line
officials
not
detecting
trafficking
crimes;
insufficient
investigative
training
resulted
in
police
filing
charges
as
crimes
other
than
trafficking.

The
government
made
mixed
victim
identification
and
protection
efforts.

The
government
reported
identifying
and
referring
to
services
14
trafficking
victims,
compared
with
four
in
the
previous
reporting
period.
In
collaboration
with
an
international
organization,
the
government
supported
the
repatriation
of
some
Zimbabwean
victims
from
Sierra
Leone.
The
government
relied
on
NGOs
and
foreign
donors
to
fund
most
trafficking
victim
services;
however,
organizations
struggled
to
operate
without
adequate
and
consistent
financial
support,
and
some
could
only
provide
short-term
care.
Observers
reported
underfunded
and
understaffed
service
providers.
The
government
operated
two
shelters
for
victims
of
trafficking
and
violence
against
women
and
girls
in
Harare
and
Bulawayo;
however,
during
the
reporting
period,
the
government
closed
its
Mutare
shelter.
The
government
reported
a
need
for
shelters
in
the
other
eight
provinces.
The
government
operated
24
vulnerable
children’s
homes
that
could
serve
child
trafficking
victims
but
did
not
report
if
they
did.
In
collaboration
with
NGOs
and
international
organizations,
the
government
provided
trafficking
survivors
with
shelter;
food;
medical
treatment;
counseling;
and
family
reunification,
reintegration,
and
income-generating
assistance;
government
social
workers
facilitated
access
to
government
benefits.
Shelters
and
services
for
trafficking
victims
were
available
to
Zimbabwean
and
foreign
national
men
and
women,
irrespective
of
victims’
participation
in
legal
proceedings.
The
2014
Trafficking
in
Persons
Act
required
the
government
to
establish
counseling
and
reintegration
service
centers
in
all
provinces,
but
the
government
had
not
done
so
by
the
end
of
the
reporting
period.
The
government
did
not
report
providing
victims
with
reintegration
allowances
in
the
reporting
period.

The
government
continued
to
use
its
NRM
and
SOPs,
which
outlined
procedures
for
victim
identification,
referral,
and
assistance.
Some
NGOs
reported
inconsistent
NRM
and
SOP
implementation.
Due
to
lack
of
funding
the
government
disbanded
its
six
provincial
task
forces
that
investigated
trafficking
cases
and
coordinated
victim
services.

The
government
reported
it
could
provide
victim-witness
assistance
during
the
criminal
justice
process
but
did
not
do
so
in
the
reporting
period.
Experts
noted
police
unfamiliarity
with
trafficking
crimes
often
re-traumatized
trafficking
victims.
The
government
did
not
report
if
any
trafficking
victims
participated
in
criminal
justice
proceedings
in
the
reporting
period.
Twenty-two
dedicated
courts
had
designated
rooms
for
victims
to
testify
separately
from
their
alleged
perpetrators,
and
victims
could
choose
to
testify
via
video
or
written
testimony;
however,
the
government
did
not
report
if
victims
used
these
services.
Observers
reported
limited
access
to
equipment
necessary
for
video
testimony
in
some
courts,
especially
in
rural
areas.
The
law
allowed
judges
to
order
traffickers
to
pay
victim
restitution,
but
the
government
did
not
report
any
restitution
awarded
in
the
reporting
period.
The
government
maintained
a
victim
compensation
fund
but
did
not
provide
any
compensation
to
trafficking
victims
in
the
reporting
period.
The
government
did
not
have
legal
alternatives
to
removing
foreign
victims
to
countries
where
they
would
face
retribution
or
hardship.
Due
to
inadequate
screening,
the
government
did
not
take
effective
measures
to
prevent
the
inappropriate
penalization
of
potential
victims
solely
for
unlawful
acts
committed
as
a
direct
result
of
being
trafficked,
including
among
foreign
nationals
and
children
exploited
in
forced
criminality.

The
government
maintained
efforts
to
prevent
trafficking.

The
ATIMC
coordinated
the
government’s
anti-trafficking
activities
and
met
once
during
the
reporting
period.
The
government
did
not
fund
the
ATIMC
in
the
reporting
period,
hindering
overall
prevention
efforts.
The
government
had
in
place
its
2023-2028
NAP.
The
government
conducted
anti-trafficking
awareness
campaigns,
including
through
exhibitions
at
a
trade
fair,
at
an
agricultural
fair,
and
with
church
organizations.
The
government
continued
to
use
a
hotline
for
violence
against
women
and
girls
to
identify
and
refer
trafficking
victims.

The
government
did
not
demonstrate
political
will
to
decrease
child
and
forced
labor,
particularly
in
agriculture
and
mining.
The
government
did
not
train
labor
inspectors
on
identifying
trafficking.
Fuel
and
vehicle
shortages
limited
inspectors’
effectiveness.
Observers
reported
inspectors
did
not
inspect
informal
mines.

The
government
did
not
prohibit
worker-paid
recruitment
fees
or
effectively
enforce
its
labor
recruitment
regulations.
In
collaboration
with
an
international
organization,
the
government
took
steps
toward
establishing
a
labor
migration
agreement
with
Qatar
to
improve
migrant
workers’
protections.
The
government
reported
providing
anti-trafficking
training
to
diplomats.
The
government
did
not
report
making
efforts
to
reduce
the
demand
for
commercial
sex
acts.

Trafficking
affects
all
communities.
This
section
summarizes
government
and
civil
society
reporting
on
the
nature
and
scope
of
trafficking
over
the
past
five
years.
Human
traffickers
exploit
domestic
and
foreign
victims
in
Zimbabwe,
and
traffickers
exploit
victims
from
Zimbabwe
abroad.
Internal
trafficking
is
prevalent
and
underreported.
Traffickers
exploit
Zimbabwean
adults
and
children
in
sex
trafficking
and
forced
labor,
including
in
cattle
herding,
domestic
service,
and
mining.
Child
labor
occurs
in
agriculture,
including
on
tobacco,
sugarcane,
and
cotton
farms,
and
on
small,
unregulated
farms,
as
well
as
in
forestry
and
fishing.
Observers
reported
unaccompanied
children
are
at
risk
of
exploitation.
Traffickers
force
into
domestic
servitude
women
and
girls
from
rural
areas
who
move
to
cities
for
work.
Economic
hardship
increased
child
sex
trafficking
and
child
labor,
particularly
in
agriculture,
domestic
service,
informal
trading,
begging,
and
artisanal
mining.
Observers
reported
traffickers
exploit
children,
including
those
with
disabilities,
in
forced
begging.
Some
traditional
practices
make
girls
vulnerable
to
forced
labor
and
sex
trafficking,
including
trading
daughters
for
food
or
money
and
for ngozi,
a
reconciliation
process
in
which
a
family
gives
a
relative
to
another
family
to
make
amends
for
a
murdered
relative.

Traffickers
may
exploit
in
forced
labor
children
working
as
panners
and
ore
couriers
in
gold
and
diamond
mines.
Illegal
mining
syndicates
exploit
Zimbabweans
in
forced
labor.
Some
syndicates
target
vulnerable
populations,
including
illiterate
individuals,
and
transport
them
to
the
mines
at
night
to
disorient
them
and
prevent
their
escape.
Traffickers
also
exploit
women
and
children
in
sex
trafficking
around
mines,
sometimes
in
exchange
for
money
or
food.
Sex
traffickers
exploit
some
children
who
sell
goods
or
offer
cooking
and
cleaning
services
to
miners.
Traffickers
exploit
women
and
girls
in
towns
bordering
South
Africa,
Mozambique,
and
Zambia
in
forced
labor,
including
domestic
servitude,
and
in
sex
trafficking
in
brothels
catering
to
truck
drivers.
Sex
traffickers
recruit
girls
as
young
as
11
from
areas
surrounding
Chiredzi.

Traffickers
and
fraudulent
recruiters
use
false
promises
of
scholarships
or
employment,
particularly
in
nursing
and
teaching,
including
through
social
media,
to
lure
Zimbabweans
into
sex
trafficking,
domestic
servitude,
forced
labor,
and
forced
marriage
in
neighboring
countries,
particularly
South
Africa,
and
Kenya,
Uganda,
China,
and
the
Middle
East.
In
South
Africa,
traffickers
exploit
Zimbabweans
in
forced
labor
in
agriculture,
construction,
factories,
mines,
information
technology,
domestic
work,
and
the
hospitality
industry.
Zimbabweans
abroad,
particularly
in
the
United
Kingdom
and
Ireland,
trick
some
Zimbabweans
into
traveling
abroad
under
the
pretenses
of
tourism
or
legitimate
employment
then
force
them
into
domestic
servitude.
Traffickers
recruit
Zimbabwean
girls
for
marriage
then
once
married
force
them
into
domestic
work.

Zimbabwe
is
a
transit
country
for
trafficking
victims
and
migrants
vulnerable
to
exploitation,
including
from
Somalia,
Ethiopia,
Malawi,
and
Zambia,
en
route
to
South
Africa.
Zimbabwe
is
also
a
destination
country
for
forced
labor
and
sex
trafficking.
Traffickers
subject
some
Mozambican
children
to
forced
labor
in
street
vending,
including
in
Mbare,
Harare’s
largest
informal
market.
Mozambican
and
Malawian
children
working
on
relatives’
farms
in
Zimbabwe
who
cannot
enroll
in
school
are
vulnerable
to
trafficking.
Refugees
and
asylum-seekers
experience
difficulty
accessing
banking
and
obtaining
identification,
which
limits
employment
opportunities
and
increases
their
vulnerability
to
trafficking.

Traffickers
force
some
Chinese
nationals
to
work
in
restaurants
in
Zimbabwe.
Construction
and
mining
companies
owned
by
Chinese
nationals
or
Chinese
parastatal
entities
in
Zimbabwe
reportedly
employ
practices
indicative
of
forced
labor,
including
verbal,
physical,
and
sexual
abuse,
as
well
as
coercion
to
induce
work
in
unsafe
or
otherwise
undesirable
conditions.
Chinese
parastatal
tobacco
enterprises
exerted
political
influence
to
exempt
themselves
from
labor
laws
and
regulation,
including
mandates
pertaining
to
child
and
forced
labor.
Media
and
NGOs
report
unscrupulous
actors,
including
Russian
officials
and
illicit
recruiters,
fraudulently
recruited
women
ages
18-22
from
Africa
–
including
Zimbabwe
–
South
Asia,
and
South
America
for
vocational
training
programs
and
subsequently
placed
them
in
military
drone
production
sites.
Media
report
workers
at
these
sites
are
subjected
to
hazardous
conditions,
surveillance,
hour
and
wage
violations,
contract
switching,
and
worker-paid
recruitment
fees,
all
of
which
are
indicators
of
human
trafficking.
North
Koreans
working
in
Zimbabwe
displayed
indicators
of
forced
labor;
they
may
have
worked
under
exploitative
conditions.
The
Cuban
regime
may
force
the
17
Cuban
regime-affiliated
medical
professionals
in
Zimbabwe
to
work.

Source:


Zimbabwe
–
United
States
Department
of
State