Phase 1: ‘The wonder years’

This phase represents the period from the conceptualisation of the study on 13 March 2012 (PhD Progress Journal entry) until the first phase of 71 interviews was completed

on 3 September 2015. The dominant emotions experienced by the researcher during this phase were a convergence of exhilaration, curiosity, frustration and a sense of ‘just maybe’ this research could bring about new understandings and reveal deeper meanings from participants’ actual lived experience. It was a period and process of ‘wondering’, which, according to Ellingson (2013: 426), “enables researchers to

explore options throughout the duration of qualitative projects as new opportunities, insights, and relationships develop”.

In excess of 100 formal and informal conversations related to the research took place over this period as the researcher tried to refine his ideas and generate some preliminary questions, which were documented in the researcher’s reflexive autobiographical problem statement. Not only did these ‘moments of significance’ change or alter the course of the researcher’s thinking during the continuum of the research from planning to execution, but they also helped him to reflect critically on his own bias, presuppositions and personal learning process (see reflexive autobiographical problem statement in Chapter 1). Most of all, the cumulative impetus of these moments made him realise that human trafficking is indeed a confluence of complexities and an amalgamation of inconsistencies. Owing to the impromptu nature of many of these conversations, the researcher did not even attempt to keep a log and specific details of every single conversation. However, the following conversations were amongst those that were recorded and served as crucial tipping points and ‘light bulb’ moments in the conceptualisation and implementation of the study.

Dr Kobus Jonker, 22 March 2012: In March 2012 the researcher, in his capacity as

case manager for the NFN, was contacted by an informant who was part of a satanic coven in Gauteng and who wanted to hand over video footage of alleged rituals where trafficked children were harmed. These allegations corroborated previous anecdotal accounts in South Africa documented by the HSRC (2010: 16). The researcher had a subsequent interview with renowned expert on occult-related crimes, Dr Kobus Jonker, to establish the viability of a study to explore the nexus between child trafficking and occult-related crimes. Dr Jonker asked a number of critical questions, which allowed alternative ideas to emerge. Moving away from the occult, with its deeply obscured hidden populations and practices, the critical conversation with Dr Jonker gave impetus to a new trajectory in the researcher’s thinking processes.

Dr Juanida Horne, 1 June 2012: Dr Juanida Horne, a colleague of the researcher at

the Department of Police Practice at UNISA, was approached for a discussion as she was in the process of finalising her doctoral study on human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The working title for the current research at that stage was ‘A critical

discussion on investigative essentials for successful prosecution in human trafficking cases’. From a research perspective, Dr Horne’s experience with the field was

therefore recent and this allowed the researcher to learn from her experiences related to administrative challenges in accessing research populations, research methodology strategies and areas of knowledge that remained concealed. The researcher went back to the drawing board and continued his reading, writing and rewriting.

Prof. Carol Allais, 9 October 2012 and 5 November 2012: Prof. Carol Allais was the

research leader and managing editor of the then recently released research report

Tsireledzani: Understanding the dimensions of human trafficking in South Africa

(HSRC, 2010). As a sociologist, Prof. Carol Allais provided invaluable insights into human trafficking as a “crosscutting problem” that affects “every level of society” and underscored that not one entity on its own can come up with the solution to combat the problem. Prof. Allais also highlighted the significant role played by corruption in the perpetration of human trafficking in South Africa. These two conversations with Prof. Allais served as a fundamental shift in the researcher’s thinking to include participants from civil society – ordinary citizens who experience human trafficking in their community and contribute to the investigation and reporting processes. Prof. Allais’ encouragement “… you will make a contribution to theory, practice and knowledge” remained with the researcher and served as a reminder of the importance of theory in creating meanings and better understanding complex social phenomena.

Dr Amanda van der Westhuizen, 17 October 2012: Dr van der Westhuizen is a friend,

who in 2015 completed a doctoral study on human trafficking in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, using complex systems theory (Van der Westhuizen, 2015). She had previously introduced the researcher to complexity theory concepts on 22 September 2011 and had explained the relevance and practical implications of this theory for human trafficking as a complex social phenomenon. The significance of this initial conversation about complex systems cohered and eventually led to the exploration of complex systems theory in the current research. This conversation also included the

importance of being reflexive in the research as Dr van der Westhuizen was acquainted with the researcher’s past experience and ongoing work in human trafficking investigations.

Prof. Wouter van Beek and Prof. Urmilla Bob, 11 – 15 February 2013: Discussions

with Prof. van Beek and Prof. Bob, both lecturers on the SANPAD programme, revolved around the research methodology used in this study. The value of exploring complex systems theory, historically a positivist and natural sciences theory, in the social sciences arena was also recognised and the approach welcomed. Tips and best practices regarding phenomenological interviews and data analysis were shared and noted by the researcher. The researcher grew in conviction that a focus on the actual lived experiences of participants was the most suitable way to understand the complexities involved in investigating human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

From the outset of the research conceptualisation, data analysis as proposed by Silverman (2005: 150) was conducted by the researcher. Silverman argues that data analysis, in its broadest terms, should already start from ‘day 1’. The researcher “kick-

started” his data analysis by following four of the five strategies proposed by Silverman

(2005: 150):

 The researcher initiated the data-analysis process by analysing data that was already available in the public sphere. Data sources included newspapers, radio and television programmes and observations in communities, which all bear evidence of the complexity and multilayered challenges presented by the investigation of human trafficking for sexual exploitation;

 The researcher asked for advice and engaged in discussions with his supervisor regarding his initial ideas and problem formulation of the research. The researcher’s experience with the SANPAD programme and discussions with local and international scholars made a significant contribution to a refined problem formulation and research methodology;

 The available data was analysed as it was gathered; and

 The researcher continuously asked key questions about his data.

At the outset of the interview process, the researcher made sure to return to some of the interview audio recordings and notes to evaluate his interview techniques critically.

Additional lines of enquiry were recorded and these guided subsequent interviews and sampling considerations to “provide deeper and richer understanding” (Crist & Tanner, 2003: 203-204). The researcher made use of a professional transcription service to assist with the process of transcribing the interviews. A confidentiality agreement was signed with both the primary transcriptionist, who conducted the English transcriptions, and her relevant employees, who were mandated with the Afrikaans transcriptions (ANNEXURE 7). Audio recordings of the interviews were uploaded onto a secured and encrypted site used by the professional transcriptionist, after which an acknowledgment of receipt was emailed back to the researcher.

Transcribing is an activity performed either by researchers themselves or by personnel not involved in the research (Kowal & O’Connell, 2014: 67). The researcher’s decision to make use of a professional transcription service was a reasoned and reflective decision prompted by a number of factors. These included “the vast complexity

involved in this transfer to the written code” (Kowal & O’Connell, 2014: 65) and the

multiple pitfalls that present themselves to the inexperienced and untrained transcriber (Kowal & O’Connell, 2014: 70). The researcher also considered his own entrenched position in the study (as per his reflexive autobiographical problem statement), and the deep, dense and sometimes emotional encounters during the interviews. He therefore thought it prudent to avoid the “transcripts becoming more a self-revelation of the

transcriber” (Kowal & O’Connell, 2014: 67). The quality offered by a professional

transcription service, the incubatory distance from (and only in) the transcription process, and the availability of detailed journal entries and audio recordings for subsequent quality checks made the decision a strategic and viable one.

3.3.5.2 Phase 2: From murky to muddled; from muddled to meaningful