Human Trafficking as defined by the UN, involves the recruitment, transportation and exploitation of an individual through various means of force, coercion, fraud or deception. The victims are mostly poverty-stricken and vulnerable, which makes them easily fall into the traps of the traffickers who promise better lives, jobs and false opportunities. According to the UN, India comes under the list of Tier II which failed to strive to reduce human trafficking.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in India has established an Anti-Human Trafficking cell to focus on law enforcement response to human trafficking. The cell provides guidelines to states and union territories and coordinates with other ministries such as Women & Child Development, External Affairs, Labor & Employment, and Railways to address trafficking issues. According to the United Nations, South Asia, which includes countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, has one of the highest rates of trafficked children globally, ranking second only to Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2022, India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported the identification of over 6,500 human trafficking victims in the country. Among these victims, 60% were women and girls. However, experts believe that the true numbers of human trafficking victims in India are likely significantly higher due to substantial underreporting. This highlights the alarming and prevalent nature of human trafficking in the country and the urgent need for increased efforts to combat this issue.
The Heartbreaking reality of Labor Trafficking
Labor trafficking is a serious issue in India, particularly affecting vulnerable populations such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and migrant laborers, has gained attention in recent years. Exploitative practices include bonded labor, debt-based coercion, and manipulation in various industries like agriculture, brick kilns, embroidery, stone quarries, rice mills, and textile factories. Labour traffickers attract workers with promises of cash advances but then subject them to high-interest rates and fabricated debts, trapping them in exploitative conditions.
A 2017 study by NCRB in Rajasthan Brick Kiln workers found more than 40 per cent of seasonal laborers hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Rajasthan were trapped in a cycle of manipulated debts due to kiln owners, which exceeded their earnings for the entire season. Tragically, some bonded laborers lost their lives while under the control of these traffickers. These exploitative practices included entire families, who were forced into bonded labor in carpet and textile production in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh states.
In some cases, adults were forced to leave their children behind as collateral when they had to leave the premises for any reason, highlighting the grim extent of this human rights violation. Indian migrant workers in low-skilled sectors are at risk of labor trafficking in the Middle East and South Asia, and even those who travel voluntarily may end up in forced labor or debt bondage in these regions. Vulnerable children from tribal areas, such as the Kuki people from Manipur and the Nagas from the Northeast, face a higher risk of falling victim to human trafficking. Additionally, specific regions like Jharkhand and the Anantapur and Prakasam areas in Andhra Pradesh are known for being prone to human trafficking. In Tamil Nadu, Sivakasi, Young boys are forced to labor in firecracker mills.
Hidden horrors of Sex Trafficking
Women and girls are trafficked within India, particularly in Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Punjab, for purposes like commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage.The top three states with the highest reported cases as per the NCRB of human trafficking are West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. West Bengal has become a large trafficking area for agents and traffickers sending women and children to the Middle East for forced labor. Within West Bengal, three districts, namely North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Murshidabad are located along the international border with Bangladesh and are susceptible to trafficking.
West Bengal’s proximity to other states like Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Sikkim, and Assam, as well as its borders with Nepal and Bhutan, which facilitates human trafficking. Additionally, areas like Medinipur, Jalpaiguri, and the tea gardens of Alipurduar have become significant hubs for human trafficking. The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights has highlighted the connection between trafficking and disasters, dating back to the Bengal Famine of 1943, which led to the emergence of Kolkata’s Sonagachi area as a well-known red-light district.
Rajasthan has the highest number of trafficking victims in India, with approximately 900 victims, including minors and adults. In the village of Adalwara in Sawai Madhopur, the situation is very horrible, where young girls aged 15 to 16 are sold to traffickers by their parents due to economic hardships. The traffickers demand a substantial sum of money, ranging from 6 to 7 lakh rupees, for each underage teen who is bound by a one-year contract. These transactions are disguised as formal contracts, with the girls presented as singers and dancers for hotels and restaurants but these girls are forced to perform various abusable activities.
Traffickers target the daughters of poor and uneducated families, often from Adivasi communities in tribal areas who were sold in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. Due to delays in finding buyers, the traffickers subject the abducted girls to daily sexual assault. The abducted girls are also married off to individuals three to four times their age. Fake identity cards and marriage certificates are created for the girls, who are then transported to other states via private vehicles and sold to the highest bidder. Human trafficking syndicates have been identified in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, where they sell the girls.
Nagpur is a convenient location and the vast transportation system makes it a place for trafficking. Amaravati witnessed increased trafficking, especially online trafficking for sexual exploitation which is difficult to trace and detect. In addition, there are several instances of forced marriage, bride trafficking, and polyandry in Haryana, while bride trafficking affects Kashmir. Mumbai is a hotspot for skin grafting, and child trafficking has devastated the northeast’s youth. Young boys are forced in Goa’s five-star hotels to provide moral sex.
India serves as both a destination and transit country for human trafficking, with women and girls from neighboring nations like Nepal and Bangladesh often lured into fraudulent job offers that lead to sex trafficking. Exploitation also extends to women and girls from Central Asia, Europe, and Africa, particularly in areas like Goa State. Traffickers use Indian routes to traffic victims, especially from Nepal, with key facilitation areas in border towns of states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. The traffickers transport victims by bus or train to cities like Mumbai and New Delhi, where they are either sold to brothel owners or made to work in factories. Indian routes have gained prominence due to Nepal’s ban on sending domestic workers to Gulf and African nations.
Indian government Initiatives to prevent Trafficking
India has adopted the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (UNCTOC), which includes a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.
Various measures the Indian government has taken to prevent human trafficking:
- The SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating the Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution has been approved by India.
- India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June 2015 about their bilateral cooperation for the prevention of human trafficking in women and children as well as the rescue, recovery, repatriation, and reintegration of victims of trafficking.
- To serve as a central hub for transmitting various decisions and follow-ups, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) established the Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell in 2006.
- Judicial Colloquium: It is a representation of a broad range of judges to assess justice. High court-level Judicial Colloquia on human trafficking are held to educate and acquaint trial court judicial authorities. The objective is to guarantee a prompt court process and to raise awareness among judicial professionals of the several issues related to human trafficking.
- The government has organized many Training of Trainers (TOT) workshops on “Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” for police officers and prosecutors at the regional, state, and district levels across the nation to improve the capacity building of law enforcement agencies and raise awareness among them.
- Funds for the construction of Anti Human Trafficking Units in 270 districts across the nation have been made available by the Ministry of Home Affairs as part of a Comprehensive programme called as “Strengthening Law Enforcement Response in India against Trafficking in Persons” through Training and Capacity Building.
POSCO AMENDMENTS
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) deals with the sexual abuses and offenses of children and their punishments. After reviewing several rulings about the current child protection laws and taking into account the problems with child abuse, child trafficking, and child prostitution that plague our society, certain changes have recently been made.
Recently, the following POCSO Act revisions were suggested by the law commission:
- Amendments to POCSO Act Sections 4 and 8, deal with the penalties for penetrating sexual assault and sexual assault, respectively.
- Amendments to Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Section 18, Concerning Orders for Children Found to be in Legal Conflict.
- Amendments to Sections 375 or 376 of the Penal Code are required because the law now stands to allow for consenting sexual relations between a husband and wife who are under the age of eighteen will be considered rape under this provision even if the couple had consensual relations.
- To educate and empower India’s teenage population, comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education should be made a mandatory part of school curricula, and government initiatives like Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram should be used to raise awareness of child sexual abuse, sexual and reproductive health, and the provisions of the POSCO Act.
NIA’s role in combating trafficking
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches in 10 Indian states to uncover a human trafficking network with international ties. These searches spanned states like Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Puducherry, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir. In one operation in Jammu and Kashmir, a Rohingya individual was suspected, and the raids targeted slum areas where Myanmar immigrants reside. The NIA is actively investigating various human trafficking cases, including one from Sri Lanka to Bengaluru and Mangalore, and cases involving deceitful tactics used by traffickers to attract victims with false promises, like genuine emigration documents for Canada and job opportunities.
Human trafficking is an evil thing which prevails in our society; merely government actions are not enough. Urging for proactive measures, such as community surveillance to combat trafficking, establishing women’s groups for the underprivileged, and youth-led awareness programs in villages, schools, and impoverished areas. Advocating the involvement of trafficked victims to share their stories and combat the devaluation of human life.
The rise of the internet and the COVID-19 pandemic have made it easier for abusers to exploit children, leading to a shockingly low conviction rate for these crimes. To combat this, international efforts are crucial, with NGOs, legal experts, governments, and law enforcement working together to dismantle these criminal networks. It is our societal responsibility to give liberation to the victims who are trapped in the worst nightmare and empower them towards justice and recovery, emphasizing the importance of a unified global response to eradicate sexual exploitation and create a better, safer world for young girls and boys.
