Changing Policy: Lesssons from the Passing of the 2013 South African Trafficking in Persons Act

Abstract

There is an expectation that researchers produce development knowledge with the aim of influencing policy and that decision makers, in turn, make evidence-informed choices. However, there is almost no literature documenting whether this is the case or how policy gets made in the global South. This brief draws on research conducted by the African Centre for Migration & Society with policy makers and Non-Governmental Organisations. Using the development of The Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act (2013) as a case study, it reflects on how policy gets made and, drawing on these lessons, some of the more effective ways for researchers and activists to influence the policy process.