How to foil kidnappers’ meticulous plans

Talita van der Heever says child kidnappers usually have a well laid-out plan when deciding on their victims, and it is seldom a random act.

Van der Heever, who gives talks on a life spent in the sex trade, says she has researched the issue of human trafficking and tells parents on what to look out for.

According to Van der Heever, social media plays a huge role in human trafficking these days as traffickers are able to pose as ordinary people to get girls to trust them. Her tips include:

• Know where your children are at all times, even during school hours;
• When dropping children off at school, stay and watch them walk through the gate;
• Arrive at least 30 minutes before school is out to ensure no one but you picks up your children;
• Look out for any new personality traits your child suddenly develops as this could be because they have been abused or someone is grooming them;
• Do not allow your children to have alcohol at all when they go out with their friends;
• Particularly when in shopping malls, parents should not allow their children out of their sight even for a minute;
• Remove stickers with your children’s names from your car; and
•  Do not post pictures of your children online in a way that identifies their location.

“This (kidnapping) can happen to anybody,” she said.