Human trafficking and in particular trafficking of women and children is a serious problem prevalent all over India. As per government data, almost 20,000 women and children were victims of human trafficking in India in 2016, a rise of nearly 25 percent compared to 2015.
According to a report revealed by the America Department of State, Bharat is that the supply, destination and transit country for human trafficking United Nations agency then become involved in forced labor and sex trafficking. It went on to say that India had failed to meet the minimum standard for elimination of trafficking. Thus it is evident that this problem must be tackled on a war footing by the Government, NGOs and civil society in general.
Mohana Nair, President, IMC Ladies Wing
It is with this intention of battling this menace that we at IMC Ladies’ Wing in line with our aim to empower women and free them from exploitation had screened the movie “Love Sonia”. This film plays a great role in creating awareness and sensitivity to the plight of women and children subjected to the indignity of trafficking. We had also invited members of an NGO which helped to rescue and rehabilitate victims and had even given them a donation to help them in their humanitarian efforts. The ladies’ wing had also invited policewomen who dealt with this menace of human trafficking and 24 policewomen attended the screening. It was really an experience listening to the real-life stories of the rescued victims and the policewomen.
India has been tackling this social problem in its own fashion. It brought out labor laws like laws on bonded labour, contract labour, and inter-state migrant laws to handle exploitation and improve conditions of workers. At that stage violations of these laws were not treated as a criminal offence. The present Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 treats trafficking as a criminal act as it deals with the recruitment, harboring or transportation of a person under force for the purpose of exploitation involving a sexual act, forced labour, slavery, etc., all of which are admittedly criminal acts. Yet such a draconian Act does not take into consideration the level of poverty and precarious working conditions of a large number of Indians or think of solutions to trafficking in a holistic manner after consulting workers’ groups and labour unions.
It is time each one of us took control of this horrendous practice into our own hands. We must thus try to raise awareness and educate the ones who are not yet aware, that human trafficking very much exists in India and we must try to mobilize people to stop it. We must work towards strengthening prevention and inform vulnerable groups of the factors that make people fall prey to trafficking. Human trafficking often, especially in the case of children, stems from slavery; children who become slaves are exploited by being used as “objects” by pornographers and pimps. This damages ensuing generation physically and psychologically, and perpetuates a cycle of violence.
Furthermore, when it comes to sex trafficking, the victim is stripped entirely of rights, freedom, and humanity. In many sex trafficking cases, women are physically branded with a tattoo, marking them as their pimp’s property.
Here are some of the initiatives we as Indians must take to ensure that human trafficking, the most derogatory and inhuman behavior towards women and children, is completely eradicated:
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Do your research: When it comes to the prevention of human trafficking, we must first of all pay attention to the causes that lead to the situation of trafficking.
Poverty, state or violence as causes of human trafficking come back from completely different social spheres, reflecting the nature of economic, political, family and other relationships in a community
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More support by the government: In 2016 Global Slavery Index, 18.3 million people were reported to be pulled into modern slavery in India. The Indian government must make more efforts to support and protect the victims, even if it means to ensure their housing, counseling, medical, psychological and material assistance, keeping in mind the special desires of ladies and kids and other people in danger, like those in exile camps and conflict zones.
Enough funding must be allocated by the Centre and the State Governments to ensure that all victims receive assistance and that rehabilitation is complete and effective, so the victims are not drawn back to their old lives.
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Hold more events to raise awareness: Communities can raise awareness via bringing influencers and speakers together to promote and raise money for anti-trafficking organizations. Host an event—as simple as a potluck or as elaborate as a formal conference—to spread the word about trafficking and help others gain a better understanding of what’s really going on.
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Reinforce partnerships: India must try and build regional and thematic networks involving civil society, intergovernmental organizations and the private sector.
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Improve law enforcement efficiency: To eradicate human trafficking India must improve information exchange on trafficking routes, trafficker profiles and victim identification in order to dismantle criminal groups and convict more traffickers. For those convicted, we must ensure that the punishment fits the crime.
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